Tournament Bringing Bank to Tri-Cities

Summary

Two tournaments are headed to our area, promising a cash infusion to local businesses. They are bringing thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Story Published: Feb 26, 2009 at 6:26 PM PST

KENNEWICK--Two tournaments are headed to our area, promising a cash infusion to local businesses.

They are bringing thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Visitors and Convention Bureau says that this is a great time of year for this type of event since visitors dump so much money into our economy at a typically slow time.

The High School Tournament brings about $50,000 to local businesses, but the big one is the NWAACC basketball tournament.

It covers four days, bringing in about $450,000, that is half a million dollars between the two weekend.

The Visitors and Convention Bureau tells me that even with the struggling economy they still expect the same amount of people to show up.

Businesses are banking on it, but it's never a sure thing.

The VCB bids for these tournaments, competing with Spokane, and communities trying to show off new venues on the west side.

The VCB tells me they try to sell the sunshine, the location, the venue, and the number of hotels we have.


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