MACON, Ga. -- One Bibb County tennis facility is getting ready to host a tournament that could help businesses "ace" this weekend.
Adam Dalton, tournament director for the Macon Tennis Association, said the event is bribing five out of the top 10 players from this region's section.
"It's the highest level event, within the Southern Section," said Dalton. "We have 230 kids that come from across nine states."
This weekend the John Drew Smith Tennis Center in Macon will host some of the best 12-year-old tennis players in the south -- but it doesn't stop there.
It'll be fun and games out on the tennis court, but Bibb County businesses are also expecting to see some good from so many visitors.
"We're estimating about a $500,000 economic impact to the city for the participants and their families that are here, and we're just excited and glad to have them here," said Visit Macon's Valerie Bradley.
Tennis players need to eat and sleep, and since Macon will be their home for the weekend, Bradley said it's a perfect combination for tennis and business in Middle Georgia.
"Eating at the local restaurants, staying at our hotels, if they choose to when they are not participating in a tournament to go out and explore our city. So all of that pulls into the economic impact number that we're estimating for this tournament," Bradley said.
The Tennis Center will be hosting some of the best of the best, because of Georgia's positive tennis reputation, and some say Macon offers a great setting for players and businesses to come together.
"Pretty much from Atlanta south, it's one of the nicest, and it's hosted a lot of big events and it's centrally located so it helps us to bring in tournaments and keep them here because it keeps the travel times down for the players that are coming to the event," Dalton said.
https://wgxa.tv/news/local/bibb-co-expecting-big-impacts-from-tennis-tournament
