In 2016, Asheville welcomed Carpetbagger Lacrosse and the Asheville Lacrosse Classic to the Buncombe County Sports Park with 81 teams.
In planning for the return of the event in 2021, the event was expanded to two weekends with the boys playing Friday-Sunday, June 18-20, and the girls playing Friday-Sunday, June 25-27. The tournament will be played at the Buncombe County Sports Park and John B. Lewis Soccer Complex.
“As we were planning, we asked to go to a two-weekend model based on the COVID-19 recommendations at the time. With the adjustments made by the State of North Carolina, tournament organizers have been able expand the tournament field while still meeting all recommended COVID-19 safety precautions,” said Demp Bradford, President of the Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission.
Pre-tournament impact data predicts that over the two weekends, the tournament will generate over 6,000 room nights and an event value estimation over $3.2 million dollars.
This tournament is a collaborative effort of the Asheville Buncombe Youth Soccer Association (ABYSA), Buncombe County Parks and Recreation, Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission and Explore Asheville. While not a soccer event, ABYSA has been the driving force in making sure that all fields are ready and the tournament is staffed and a success
“We really strive to make the most of our relationships with Explore Asheville, Asheville Buncombe County Regional Sports Commission, the City of Asheville, and Buncombe County. In managing our relationships at the Buncombe County Sports Park and John B Lewis Soccer Complex, we have found a great balance in hosting sports tourism events that benefit the community economically, and benefit thousands of ABYSA soccer players and families the other 80% of the time. We are big fans of the “tourism builds community” idea and really love working with the Carpetbagger Lacrosse event owners, They are professionals and very good at what they do. Events like this help us make the most of the weekends that our facilities can serve sports tourism as opposed to just local soccer players,” said ABYSA Executive Director Mike Rottjakob.
ABYSA has helped to scheduled ultimate frisbee, rugby, and adult lacrosse events, in addition to three soccer tournament weekends in August. While just starting events in late June, this could still become a record-breaking event for the events held at facilities in Buncombe County. “Mike and his board have always been great partners, believing that everyone benefits from these type of collaborative efforts not only the local soccer players,” said Bradford. “We could not host these type of events without the partnership with ABYSA and Buncombe County Parks and Recreation.”
Visit www.cblax.org for additional information.