USTA Clay Court Nationals latest event to economically impact city

The United States Tennis Association (UTSA) is bringing in 224 young players this week for the 16-Under girls Clay Court Nationals.

Those players, and their families, will also bring a financial windfall for the city.

According to Joel Lamp of the Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) the tournament from July 10-17 will have an estimated economic impact of $887,000 with a projection of more than 1,000 hotel rooms filled for the entirety of the event.

Mark Russell, Huntsville Sports Commission (HSC) Executive Director, added that the event is somewhat unique as far as travel.

“This is a great tournament because the players end up staying almost the whole week,’’ he said. “They’re not in and out of town, they basically move here for a week. That’s unusual. A lot of tournaments are just for the weekend. Tennis players travel well. They usually bring their parents and brothers and sisters.’’

The singles/doubles tournament – scheduled for the Huntsville Tennis Center (HTC) at 2304 Airport Road and Athletic Club Alabama (ACA) at 3250 Leeman Ferry Road – has just two entrants from Alabama among the 224 entered.

Those two players are Montgomery’s Gabby Barrera and Vestavia Hills’ Ansley Cox. Entrants represent 28 states around the country.

“Every area is covered, which is great,’’ former playing professional, Huntsville High and Georgia Bulldogs star and current ACA owner Eddie Jacques said. “They’re willing to travel and put forth the time and effort to play in a high-level event like this.’’

The tournament, as is the case with most athletic events in the city, is supported on several fronts.

“We’re all one part of the sports tourism team,’’ Russell said. “The City of Huntsville, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Huntsville Sports Commission, our partners with the facilities, we all work together and are essential to each other.’’

As John Hunt Park continues to spread and other venues are added to the city’s athletic and entertainment scene, Russell, a Huntsville High graduate, said growth in those areas should continue.

“It’s not the same Huntsville it was 20 years ago,’’ he said. “People know we’re the best city in the nation. People know about Huntsville. We’re in the top three on tournaments we’d (previously) never, ever been considered for.

“We’re being considered, we used to not be considered for many events and now we’re pretty much on everybody’s radar and people listen to us. We also have a great resume. We’ve hosted the SEC Gymnastics Championships. There are things we hosted. And we’re getting a good reputation, because we want everybody who comes here to have a great experience.’’

Lamp added, “When talking about the Von Braun Center there are six weekends of the year there’s no event at the South Hall. And two of those are Christmas and New Years.’’

Lamp echoed Russell regarding events and tourism.

“The  calling card now is that people have heard of Huntsville,’’ said Lamp, a Tennessee Valley product from Decatur. “Now, we’ve got the validation with, ‘Hey, we’re the largest city in the state. We’re the No. 1-ranked city to live in (according to U.S. News and World Report).’’ 

For those who might not know, when Lamp and Russell and associates reel off the City’s resume during conference calls the response on the other end is usually similar:

“Wow!’’