Big Table Tennis Tournaments Boost Economy
An NCTTA Feature - October 2011

By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Relations Chair

Table tennis offers no cure for America’s bad economy. But hosting a big tournament can provide a little economic shot in the arm for US communities from coast to coast.

Organizers who actively courted the recent U.S. Open earlier predicted the summer event would have more than a $1 million impact on the Milwaukee area. This summer, we are hearing from leaders of the 2011 U.S. Table Tennis Nationals that the event will boost restaurants, hotels, shopping and other things for Virginia Beach in December.

“The economic impact of the U.S. Nationals being held in Virginia Beach will be very positive,” says Dean Johnson of the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Johnson expects there will be nearly a thousand table tennis players plus friends, parents, coaches and others on hand for the competition. He also predicts several thousand spectators during the five-day event. It will be an obvious plus for oceanfront restaurants and hotels and help show off the $22 million convention center that’s hosting the event.

When folks see this fantastic facility up close plus all the museums, and other cultural attractions in the Virginia Beach area, they will tell friends and family. And that could very well trigger more convention business for the city. The table tennis tournament is happening at Virginia Beach during the winter and that’s a “traditionally slower time of the year,” Johnson noted. The U.S. Table Tennis Nationals will help turn that around for a few days.

The Virginia Beach-Hampton Roads area is home to a population of 1.7 million people. There are about 100,000 recreational table tennis players in the area, Johnson estimates. Johnson says tournament organizers are hoping to attract folks out of neighborhood recreation centers where table tennis is played. Others may be attracted to the tourney from their basements and garages where the game is also a very popular sport.

Besides luring some of the best table tennis players in the USA and Canada, the tournament also hopes to attract people who are new to the game. Newcomers will have their own competitive events in Virginia Beach.

The theme of the U.S. Table Tennis Nationals is to “be part of history.”

Table tennis may not make significant changes in the history books regarding America’s current economy with its 9.1 percent unemployment and Wall Street on a scary roller coaster ride. But hosting a major tournament will provide a nice lift to Virginia Beach for five days by pumping in more cash.

At NCTTA, we hope our 2012 Nationals will be a terrific event that also proves to be an economic plus for the good folks of Plano, Texas next April.

To find out more about the 2011 US National Championships, visit: www.usnationalsvabeach.com

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