The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) announced that they have selected Greenville, South Carolina to host their National Championships in 2012 and 2013. The MCLA is a national organization of non-NCAA non-Varsity, college lacrosse programs. The MCLA currently operates in the US and Canada with 213 teams in two divisions, across ten conferences. In South Carolina, the MCLA is represented by Clemson University and the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
The tournament, which consists of 38 teams on 6 fields at Wenwood Park in Greenville, will wrap up with semi-final and final games played at Sirrine Stadium. This will be the first time that the event—which will be televised nationally by Fox college Sports and each game webcast—has been held in the Southeast Region. Recent MCLA National Championships have taken place in Denver, Colorado, Dallas, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri and Blaine Minnesota. The event is expected to draw more than 4,000 attendees and generate 3,000 room nights for the destination.
“Greenville is thrilled to have the opportunity to host the MCLA National Championships for the next two years,” says Todd Bertka, Vice President of Sales for the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The sport of lacrosse is exploding across the landscape, particularly the Southeast and South Carolina and the Upstate is no exception. This event has the opportunity to bring more exposure to the Upstate and South Carolina and help grow the sport of lacrosse in our region. Our destination will provide excellent venues for the competitors and Greenville will furnish plenty of great shopping, dining and entertainment options for families and teams to enjoy during their off hours.”
“I’m excited about bringing our event to Greenville for the next two years,” says Larry Monaco, Director of Events for MCLA. “When we visited the area, we were impressed by its small-town atmosphere and the CVB’s willingness to work with us as a partner. I look forward to taking this event to the next level in terms of its national exposure – and being in Greenville will help us to do that.”
Another of Greenville’s draws is the town’s easy access from the Northeast, the Southeast and the Midwest, thanks to the fact that Southwest Airlines now flies in and out of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
As Todd Bertka points out, “Greenville also provides proximity to a new and largely undiscovered pool of talent for university coaches to discover. The MCLA event has the potential to follow a long line of national high-impact events (i.e., the BassMaster Classic, the BMW ProAm, and USA Cycling) in our destination and will allow MCLA to easily attract spectators and enthusiasts from the Charlotte and Atlanta metro markets. Our goal is to fill Sirrine Stadium!”
The Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau is a not-for-profit organization that is responsible for promoting the Greater Greenville area as an attractive destination for meetings, conventions, trade shows and leisure travelers. As the primary marketing and promotion agency for the City and County of Greenville, the goal of the Convention and Visitors Bureau is to increase visitor-generated revenue from local, regional and national markets, thereby strengthening Greenville’s economy.
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