to the city to establish a “base camp”of sorts to cover matches across theU.S. as well as in Mexico and Canada.William Pate, president and CEOof the Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, tells James why sportingevents play such an important role inthe tourism industry. “When we hostteams from around the country andaround the world, we often attractvisitors who are making their firsttrip to Atlanta,” he says. “They typically arrive a few days in advance toexperience all the festivities in the city,which means additional business forour hotels, restaurants and attractions.Our hope is that when they returnhome, they share the wonderful experience they had in our city and makeplans to return for another visit.”It’s shaping up to be a busy restof the decade in Atlanta, but sportingevents and the millions of fans who attend them aren’t limited to the state’scapital city.Says Markwalter, “Communitiesall across the state host a varietyof sporting events that collectivelystrengthen Georgia’s position in thetravel marketplace and drive economicgrowth— from the Masters in Augusta,drawing 200,000 attendees fromaround the world over just two weeks,GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTERto LakePoint Sports in Cartersville,attracting 3 million visitors annually.”There’s also the Rome TennisCenter at Berry College, the largesthard-court facility in the nation, andColumbus’ whitewater course runningthrough uptown which hosts the ICFKayak Freestyle World Championships,welcoming hundreds of the world’sbest freestylers to compete in an arrayof kayaking events. And of course, theBulldog faithful flock to Athens in thefall, filling hotels and downtown barsbefore heading into Sanford Stadium towatch their beloved football team.Business Travelers Power the IndustryWhen the Georgia World CongressCenter opened in 1976 it was the firststate-owned convention center in theUnited States. A series of expansionsthat included the construction of Centennial Olympic Park and the GeorgiaDome, and later Mercedes-Benz Stadium, have maintained its position asone of the premier convention centersin the country due to 3,900,000 squarefeet of exhibition space.Because the Georgia WorldCongress Center Authority (GWCCA)operates as a state-run agency it receives funding directly from Georgia’sbudget, seeing more than $360 millionin investments for capital improvements and connectivity upgrades overthe past decade alone. That is moneywell spent. The Georgia World Congress Center is the beating heart ofM AY/ J UNE 202417
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