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ARENA AT GWINNETT CENTER POISED TO HOST 2012 NCAA WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The NCAA's recent decision to bring the 2012 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships to the Arena at Gwinnett Center marks the initiation of a partnership between the Atlanta Sports Council (ASC) and the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau (GCVB) in event recruitment and management. The 2012 championships, hosted by Georgia Tech, will take place April 20-22.
"We are honored to host the NCAA Gymnastics Championship in 2012. With our experience hosting the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2009, as well as numerous SEC events, we feel like our facility is ideal for not only the teams and fans, but our staff has deep experience with tournaments of this caliber," said Preston Williams, CEO of GCVB and the Gwinnett Center. In the past few years, attendance has been between 14,000-15,000 for the three-day event, and "we hope to top that," notes Williams. The tournament will also have tremendous economic impact on Gwinnett's hospitality industry, filling up area hotels, restaurants and area attractions. With the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia ranked second and third in the nation in women's gymnastics, crowds are expected to be positively impacted by the strong local support.
Over the past few months, the ASC and Gwinnett CVB have jointly explored other viable events with national and regional partners, showcasing Gwinnett County as a strong candidate to host sporting events. The partnership underscores how the ASC is approaching event recruitment with a new and expanded direction, according to Dan Corso, executive director of the Atlanta Sports Council.
"The Gwinnett Center is a tremendous facility that has proven it is capable of hosting a myriad of big events across several sporting platforms," said Corso. We'll use this event as a springboard to identify new and unique ways to work with Gwinnett County and its venues as we look to bring more sports events to the region."
"We look forward to partnering with the Atlanta Sports Council staff to develop new events for Gwinnett County, and work together to market and promote our upcoming events," added Williams.
"Metro Atlanta has a long-standing reputation of hosting the highest level of sports events, and we are looking forward to working with both the NCAA and Gwinnett Center in putting on another tremendously successful championship," said Ken Chin, vice president, Business Development and Events for the Atlanta Sports Council.
