NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship Economic Growth

By Micha Caldwell and Princess Streeter

Leslie Dornick’s thousands of miles from her California home. She is here in Greensboro supporting her daughter as she competes in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship. It’s a very big deal for the city.

“This is my first time out here. This is her first time at NCAA, so it’s our first time in North Carolina.”

As the city hosts the swimming competition, city officials expect it to provide a boost to the local economy.

“This has a huge impact on Greensboro economically. The Convention and Visitors Bureau has estimated a $2.7 million impact from this event alone. And that puts the Aquatic Center, which has only been open since 2011, at over $80 million. It’s been a huge win/win for this community,” said Andrew Brown, public relations manager for the Greensboro Coliseum.

And swimmers from Hawaii to Tennessee are taking advantage of the Triad’s attractions.

“Oh, I’m thrilled that its here in Greensboro, I mean I really am. There’s shopping here, it food, and it’s a close drive. Things are easier to get to,” said Teresa White who’s visiting from Arkansas.

Dornick is also anticipating taking in some of the attractions and entertainment the city has to offer.

“We’re staying right down the street actually; we’ve been here for about 5 days. Most of the time we’re here at the pool and socializing with parents but we noticed there’s a nice big mall by the Sheraton so we’re going to do that too,” she said.

Brown and other city officials are excited to roll out the welcome mat for the visitors.

“We have people from all over the country coming to Greensboro for the very first time. We are really excited to host them and we hope they have a great few days during competition.”

And there’s more collegiate aquatic action on the way for Greensboro from the NCAA. Event planners say they will be back in 2017 and 2018.