150-team tournament , with more than 300 games throughout one weekend . Shawnee ’ s economic impact for the last five years has reached more than $ 130 million , according to Samantha Carney , operations director .
Events at Shawnee in 2024 include the East Coast College Showcase , West Virginia Futbol Club Capital Cup and U . S . Youth Soccer Eastern Presidents Cup .
The Summersville Arena and Conference Center seats 2,000 and has recently added a portable collegiate hardwood basketball floor . Home-grown sporting events at the arena include the National Guard Wrestling Tournament and the West Virginia Christian Athletic Association Basketball Tournament .
Summersville Arena is also the home of Biddy Basketball , an international
basketball league for children designed to teach basketball fundamentals with a smaller ball , shorter goals and an imposed height limit to make the game more competitive for younger Mountaineers .
Sports tourism is a growing industry in the Mountain State . It ’ s exciting to see how these venues are contributing to building a better tomorrow for West Virginians through sports .
Photo by Mountain Health Arena and Convention Center .
Mountain Health Arena and Convention Center in Huntington , WV , also hosts sports events in its mix of offered entertainment . Across all events , the facility hosts approximately 180,000 visitors annually , providing an estimated economic impact of $ 17 million , according to Lenny Sundahl , marketing assistant .
Of the 180,000 annual visitors , approximately 18,000 attend the center for sports events . These include the WVSSAC State High School Wrestling Tournament , which the center has hosted since 1988 , and the WSAZ-TV Invitational , the state ’ s largest wrestling tournament with more than 100 high school and middle school teams participating .
“ We also annually host the Harlem Globetrotters , the Tough Man boxing competition and Spikefest , the youth volleyball tournament ,” Sundahl says . “ We have recently hosted World Wrestling Entertainment , Rough ‘ N Rowdy boxing and , for this season , Huntington Expression Prep Basketball .” www . wvexecutive . com 13