USA Roller Sports (USARS) Has Selected Fort Wayne for their Speed Skating and Figure Skating National Championships

The Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce the booking of a large, national tournament that will be filling Fort Wayne's hotels, restaurants, and attractions for 3 weeks in the summer of 2011.

USA Roller Sports (USARS) has selected Fort Wayne for their speed skating and figure skating national championships. USARS will conduct the two championships consecutively over the course of three weeks at the Memorial Coliseum from July 16 – August 8. They expect to bring between 4,000-5,000 people to Fort Wayne. The estimated economic impact will be between $5 and $6 million dollars.

"USA Roller Sports chose Fort Wayne for their national championships because of our excellent facilities, affordability, and great location," explains Dan O'Connell, president and CEO of the Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We are delighted to host yet another exciting sports tourism group in Fort Wayne and look forward to a big summer in 2011."

Mayor Tom Henry said, "Hosting sporting events like USARS is very important to our local economy. It helps sustain jobs in our hospitality industry. It generates tax revenue for our city and state. And it also gives our citizens the opportunity to see world class athletes compete right in Fort Wayne."

Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters said, "Just like in sports, it takes teamwork to be successful. Kudos to the CVB, Memorial Coliseum staff and everyone involved in attracting USARS to Fort Wayne."

CVB Board Chairman Jim Anderson and Director of the Children's Zoo said, "USARS will bring thousands of people, mainly families to Fort Wayne. They will get an affordable and friendly city and we will get thousands of extra visitors to our city's family attractions and tourism businesses. This is a win-win situation for everyone."

The national championships will use over 20 different Fort Wayne hotels. Since many of the competitors are youth, parents will bring their entire families and use this trip as their family's summer vacation. We also expect USARS to give a bump in attendance to attractions like the Zoo, Science Central, parks and TinCaps games.

For more information about USAR visit www.usarollersports.org.