Over Memorial Day Weekend, you might have noticed a certain buzz in the air. Maybe it seemed Missoula’s population took a sudden uptick, or maybe you wondered why there were so many teenagers running around town? Did school just get out?
Nope! What you were experiencing were the effects of the 2016 MHSA State “AA” & “C” Track & Field Meet held in Missoula over the weekend. The event meant the community had an influx of approximately 3,000 event attendees with 101 different high schools from across the state represented. This was a huge event for our community and it was so much fun to feel the vibrancy and competitive spirit of these young athletes permeate town.
The meet, held May 27-28 at Big Sky High School’s MCPS Stadium, received great community support. With the help of over 200 volunteers each day, Jennifer Courtney, Athletic Director for Big Sky High School, said it was nice to see the school communities and local businesses come together to make this a highly successful event.
Event organizers continue to receive positive and enthusiastic feedback from athletic directors and coaches across the state. The Montana High School Association (MHSA) expressed it was one of their best events to date!
With 101 schools represented in the Meet, the whole community undoubtedly felt a positive impact with teams and their families spending time and money in and around our town. Early estimates show the event should have had an economic impact of approximately $900,000 over the three days. Economic impacts like this are one of the reasons it is so important to continue to bring events of this scale into our community.
The success of this event would not have been possible without the support of our Platinum Sponsors: C’mon Inn, Cravens Coffee, Culligan Water, First Security Bank, Montana Club and Universal Athletic.
On behalf of Destination Missoula, the Missoula Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and the Destination Missoula Sports Commission, we would like to thank everyone who participated in the 2016 MHSA State “AA” & “C” Track & Field Meet for your help in making this event an enormous success.
