State Games coming back to Lake Norman area

By: Media General News Service | Statesville Record & Landmark
Published: January 03, 2012

North Carolina Amateur Sports announced this week that the Powerade State Games of North Carolina will return to the Lake Norman region in 2013 and 2014.

Visit Lake Norman in partnership with Mooresville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Visit Charlotte, Charlotte Regional Sports Commission, Cornelius PARC Department, Huntersville Parks & Recreation, and Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation, presented a bid proposal together to the NCAS Board of Directors on November 30th.

The presentation, coupled with the success of previously hosted tournaments, secured the 2013-2014 games for the region.

The Powerade State Games are North Carolina's largest multi-sport festival and one of the most prevalent State Games programs in the United States.

VLN hosted the youth baseball, youth soccer and youth gymnastics portions of the Olympic-style event for the first time in June 2009. The competition generated more than $615,000 in visitor spending to the immediate area.

In June 2010, VLN hosted the youth baseball, youth softball and youth soccer portions of the games, which generated $2.17 million in visitor spending.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with these outstanding communities again," said Chuck Hobgood, President of NCAS. "We are glad to share the economic impact benefits of the event and provide our participants with the opportunity to compete in the best facilities in North Carolina."

The Powerade State Games continue to be a highly sought after event by competing communities across the state, due to the consistently large economic impacts created from visitor spending.

Last year, more than 9,500 athletes from North Carolina and South Carolina competed in the 25th Anniversary event held in Winston-Salem, also the host of the 2012 games.

The Lake Norman team has also submitted a bid to host the games for the two-year agreements during 2017-2020. To date, the Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Cary), Greensboro, and Winston-Salem area have also submitted proposals for those four years.

NCAS will announce the award for the chosen host cities in January 2012.

NCAS is a nonprofit charitable organization that annually hosts Cycle North Carolina in addition to the Powerade State Games.