On the weekend of April 9, thousands of people will travel to Barber Motorsports Park to watch the Indy Grand Prix, the first-ever IndyCar event to be raced at the renowned facility. And since the event will be televised in 147 countries, millions of racing fans around the world will see how remarkable one of our tourism gems truly is, and will no doubt be surprised to learn that one of the most challenging and respected race courses in the world is right here in our region. Sports tourism is important to the Birmingham Business Alliance for several reasons. These top-notch events and facilities give us the opportunity to showcase our community to economic development clients. They also mean a tremendous influx of revenue into our area in the form of hotel rooms, restaurant meals and other spillover trade with surrounding businesses.
Birmingham has long been a sports town. The success of last month's Bassmaster Classic at the BJCC set the tone for the two events coming up next month: April's Indy Grand Prix race and the Fed Cup international tennis tournament. And of course May means the hugely popular Region's Charity Classic golf tournament at Ross Bridge Resort. These events bring positive attention to our metropolitan region and the recognition by guests in attendance—or watching from home—that this city has more to offer than they may have thought. These events give us a chance to shine.
The success of high-end sports events is significant to our region, not just because of the economic impact that they mean to our local businesses, but because the people who attend them learn something about our city and take that information back home with them. It is our job to ensure that what they learn is positive. That their discoveries are good ones, that they go home impressed and surprised by the forward-looking, artistic, growing city that is Birmingham.
