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Sporting Events Give Hotels a Needed Boost

ATLANTA-College football and NASCAR help fill local rooms for Labor Day weekend.

By Carl Cronan | Updated on September 07, 2009

ATLANTA-A busy Labor Day sports weekend made hotel rooms difficult to find locally, with college football and stock-car racing dominating two of the three days. It’s a boost the market could use after dealing with lagging demand this summer.

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates an economic impact of $29 million from the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, played Saturday night at the Georgia Dome. Nearly 75,000 spectators attended the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Virginia Tech Hokies, both ranked in the top 10 in several college football polls.

Other sports events filling hotel rooms included another college football game Saturday between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Jacksonville State (AL) Gamecocks, a NASCAR Sprint Cup race Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway and a three-game baseball series between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds Friday through Sunday at Turner Field. From a non-sports standpoint, roughly 20,000 were expected to attend Dragon*Con, a science fiction and fantasy convention Friday through Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, with an economic impact of at least $10.3 million.

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