Recreation is big business in Columbus. A $5 million sports complex is scheduled to open Saturday and stake-holders are hoping to see it bring tourism dollars and more sales tax revenue to the area. And with a national professional fishing tournament starting the first week in October, recreation could mean millions of dollars spent in Columbus.
The Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters Team Trail National Championship runs Oct. 3-6 in the Friendly City and hundreds of professional fishermen will descend upon Columbus Lake in hopes of catching the big fish. Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Nancy Carpenter said the tournament is, indeed, a big fish in terms of potential revenue.
“I think a conservative estimate would be about $3 million,” Carpenter said. “The fishermen come from all over the U.S. and they stay here and they eat here and they buy fuel here. We have 125 restaurants in Columbus and most of our hotels have the ‘plug ins’ that the participants need to charge their boat batteries. The people fishing in the tournament don’t just come here for a couple of days: They come here sometimes a week earlier and scout their fishing spots and learn more about the area. I think it’s fair to say they will be spending at least $125 a day while they are here.”
While there is no way precise means of evaluating spikes in sales tax revenue, Carpenter said the CVB, which is funded through a two-percent restaurant tax, received its biggest checks during the months that fishing tournaments were held here.
“If you look back over the year when our restaurant checks were the highest and they were during the months we hosted fishing tournaments,” Carpenter said. “We hosted a tournament in March and when we got the March sales tax check in May, it was more than $140,000 from the city and more than $5,000 from the county. You have new money coming in with these tournaments.”
October, the first month of the fiscal year, could be an extremely good month in terms for additional revenue. Carpenter said she is optimistic tourism will help bring in the money.
“The same week of the fishing tournament we will be hosting the Fall Tour of Homes, a Class of 1971 reunion of Columbus Air Force Base Pilots and the 7th Avenue Heritage Festival,” Carpenter. “We also have several weddings that week. It’s going to be a big week for Columbus. We should have lots of visitors here spending money in our town.”
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.