The Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau announced that the 53rd Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics – which was held last week in Greensboro – set a track and field athlete record with a greater number of participants than at any time in the event’s history.
During the event, which was a major win for Greensboro when the city was selected as the location for 2019, junior athletes converged on the area to compete. The Junior Olympics games consist of 20 sporting events and, this year, those were held at three facilities: NC A&T’s Irwin Belk Track, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and Kentner Stadium at Wake Forest University.
Henri Fourrier, the president and CEO of the Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the turnout was terrific.
“This was the first time that we played host to the games and Greensboro set a record with 13,641 track and field athletes,” he said.
According to the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the 10-day competition had a nearly $50 million economic impact on the area.
Greensboro is expected to host the event again in July 2024.
Fourrier said this shows how important it is to maintain area sports facilities well.
“Continuing to keep our venues and facilities top notch will allow us to bid on events of this magnitude in the future,” he said.
In recent years, Greensboro and Guilford County have made sports tourism a cornerstone of a plan to showcase the area to visitors and bring in more outside dollars from fans, athletes and their families. The county is currently having a great deal of success in this regard, and area leaders are thrilled that, in early 2020, Greensboro will host both the men’s and women’s ACC basketball tournaments in back to back weeks, followed by an NCAA men’s regional the next week.
