FLORENCE– The Florence-Lauderdale Convention + Visitors Bureau (CVB) hosted the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on March 18, 2021 on Pickwick Lake. Economic impact figures have been calculated with estimated travel-related expenditures exceeding $1.1 million in the local economy.
The Bassmaster Elite Series is the highest level of professional bass fishing tournaments. Competitors must qualify for the series through Bass Pro Shops, Bassmaster Opens or through B.A.S.S. Nation, and anglers who are already on the Elite Series must re-qualify each year by maintaining enough points throughout the season.
One-hundred anglers took to the waters over 4 days with elimination beginning on Day 2 of the tournament and leading to the final day with the top 10 anglers competing for a $100,000 first place prize.
Sales Manager of Sport + Travel Trade, Tyler Dolan, remarked how Bassmaster’s operation of the event was a highly efficient process with great organization and detail.
“It was impressive to see a high-caliber operation execute such a remarkable event”, said Dolan.
The Florence-Lauderdale CVB has already hosted 6 bass tournaments in 2021 along with the AHSAA North Regional Softball Tournament at the Florence Sportsplex. Tournaments on an annual basis produce over $5 million in travel-related expenditures with additional media value for the Shoals area.
Rob Carnegie, President & CEO of the Florence-Lauderdale CVB, has said that the tournaments generate significant spending locally and this has led to some record breaking revenue months for the Florence-Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Rob Carnegie
“For the first time in our organization’s history, we set revenue records for the months of March and April”, said Carnegie. “April revenues exceeded $105,000. This is the first time in our 26-year-history as a bureau that we have seen six digit revenues in the month of April.”
Additionally, Bassmaster set the highest traffic record in Florence on Bassmaster.com since 2018, the highest weigh in minutes streamed since 2017 and 3 million social media video views, which was 96% higher than the first two Elite tournaments in 2021. They also set an all-time record for social media engagement (including the Classics Series) of 759,000 views.
Media Release/Florence-Lauderdale Tourism/Rob Carnegie
President & CEO
