BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham has won a bid to host the 2017 National Senior Games, an event that is expected to bring more than 12,000 participating athletes and $36 million in economic activity into the greater Birmingham area.
The Games is a 19-sport, biennial national championship for men and women 50 and over. It is the largest multi-sport event in the world for senior athletes.
Team sports include basketball, softball and volleyball and individual events include a wide variety of track and field events, as well as golf, tennis, archery and shuffleboard, among others.
Birmingham came in second to Minneapolis in its bid to host the 2015 games, so finally landing The Games has been a long time coming.
“We’ve been working hard on this with the city and the CVB (Convention & Visitor’s Bureau) for many years,” said Gene Hallman, CEO of Bruno Event Team. “We bid on this during the last bid process. We really got to know them through that process. They got to know the city well. They saw a wide array of facilities and hotel capacity. They saw a city eager to embrace their event.”
As a result of the city’s persistence, over 35,000 people will be coming to The Magic City for The Games.
There may also be a longterm benefit to Birmingham engaging in the process. According to Hallman, the city developed a good relationship with the United States Olympic Committee because The National Senior Games is under its umbrella. As a result, there may be future opportunities to host Olympic qualifiers and other championship events.
In the mean time, city officials are excited to host The Games and are looking forward to its significant impact on local businesses.
“The city has been working hard to bring the games to Birmingham for quite some time,” said Birmingham Mayor William Bell. “Our dream is finally coming to fruition.”
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