The YMCA of the USA and the city of Greensboro have reached a three-year deal for the YMCA Short-Course Nationals Meet. The announcement came just hours after the Greensboro Aquatic Center gave news of a new second-building that will be built by January 2019.
Greensboro has played host to this meet since 2012, and will reach nine-straight YMCA Short-Course Nationals when this agreement ends in 2020. Matt Brown, the managing director of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, said there was speculation of the meet returning to its previous host, IUPUI in Indianapolis.
“There was demand for this event,” said Brown. “We anticipated Indianapolis would be a player. We knew Sarasota (Fla.) has been after it for years. And Orlando has become more aggressive. To think we created this magnetism — ‘How do you say no to Greensboro?’ — with what we’ve done. That’s a huge accomplishment for our city.”
According to the Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau, the meet has an estimated economic impact of around $12 million for the city. Between hotel rooms for swimmers and families in addition to other local hospitalities, the city greatly benefits from this meet.
“The Greensboro Aquatic Center,” CVB President Henri Fourrier said, “is undoubtedly the best investment we’ve ever made.”
And the YMCA Nationals have played a huge role in this. Since the GAC opened in 2011, the YMCA Nationals were the first national level meet to be held in the complex in 2012. The YMCA then signed a two-year deal, and then another with an additional one-year extension option. This brings us to the current, three-year contract beginning in 2018.
Spokespeople for the YMCA made it clear that the YMCA coaches, athletes and families work hard for this event, so they want to provide the best experience possible in the best place possible.
“Our athletes and their families make significant sacrifices to help them reach their full potential,” said Lindsay Monick of YMCA of the USA. “We owe it to them to make this an experience remembered for a lifetime. We believe we’ve found such a place in Greensboro.”
Additionally, Greensboro will host the upcoming Long-Course Nationals this summer, making them the first city to ever host both the SCY and LCM Nationals Meets in the same year.
News & Record contributed to this report.
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