‘Very significant event;’ Global competition brings major impact on local economy

WHIO Staff
·2 min read

Tens of thousands of people are in the Miami Valley for the next two weekends for the WGI World Championships, and officials say this has a major impact on the local economy.

People from all over the world are coming to Dayton for the WGI Sport of the Arts World Championships. and it means big money.

“I didn’t know they would do great did not come to Ohio and then all of a sudden after regionals in Atlanta, I was like, Oh, I gotta get a hotel room because I gotta get to Ohio,” Sandy Gerald, who came all the way from Georgia said.

Gerald’s daughter Lily is a senior at the University of Georgia. It was a quick turnaround, but she’s excited to see her daughter on the WGI world stage.

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“It’s exciting. And for the kids, it’s like Disney World. It’s great,” Gerald said.

Gerald is one of the tens of thousands of visitors expected to be in Dayton for the WGI Championships.

“This Great Event has been coming to our community for over 37 of its 47 years in existence,” The President and CEO of Dayton Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jacquelyn Powell said.

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“This event brings so much business into our community. These people are staying in our hotels, they’re dining in our restaurants. They’re spending money at our retail outlets,” Powell said.

The Visitors Bureau estimates the event last year brought in more than $18 million of direct spending economic impact.

“It is a very, very significant event,” Powell said.

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Last year, WGI announced the event would be in Dayton at least through 2031, keeping visitors and their millions of dollars of economic impact here in the Miami Valley for Decades to come.

“This may be the first opportunity that they’ve had to visit Dayton and we want everybody to feel that it’s it’s just a terrific place to be and that we are that welcoming and warm community,” Powell said.

With her youngest daughter now a senior, Gerald will be done making the trip after this year’s competition, but she may not be done with Dayton.

“I love coming up here... it’s exciting,” Gerald said.