CHARLOTTE — Spending on hotel rooms, restaurant meals and other expenses related to events hosted or promoted by the Charlotte Sports Foundation added $52 million to the local economy last year, according to new figures compiled by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. The estimated total impact reached $94.76 million when spin-off expenses are included.
The non-profit sports foundation recruits events to promote tourism and generate spending for visitors. Major events in 2021 included a college football game between top-ranked teams Clemson and Georgiathe annual ACC Football Championship and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
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All three games, plus a season opener between Appalachia State and Eastern Carolina, were played at Bank of America Stadium in downtown.
The sports foundation also provided local organizing assistance for the ACC Baseball Championship, a week-long event played at Truist Field. It was the first time Charlotte had hosted the ACC baseball tournament in 20 years — and the first for Truist Field, which opened in 2014.
Combined, the college football and baseball events drew 271,831 fans, filling 113,994 hotel room nights.
(Watch the video below: A college football player fixes a broken down team bus and wins)
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