TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Over 2,500 cross country runners flooded into the Laverne Gibson Cross Country Course at the Family Sports Center in Terre Haute on Sunday to compete in the Nike Cross Country Regionals of the Midwest Section.
An event of this scale generates hefty revenue, and has a positive impact on all of the businesses that surround the Family Sports Center. David Patterson, Executive Director of Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that this event brings in thousands of participants and visitors.
“You couldn’t find a hotel room in Terre Haute last night,” Patterson said. “I would tell you that this is well over a half a million dollars of impact to our community.”
Not only for the course itself, Patterson said that the money that was generated from this tournament will be felt by many businesses in Terre Haute.
“It helps pay the bills whether it’s from concessions or parking,” Patterson explained. “The swirl of money that this event generates for our community is just huge.”
This tournament hosted teams from five different states. Patterson said that this isn’t the first time that the course has hosted big regional, nationwide or even global events.
“The fact that we have a national and international presence that we have for the collegiate meets, we’ve had several dozen go on to run in the Olympics,” Patterson said. “It’s really impressive what these young people do.”
