Hundreds of fast-pitch girls softball teams are swinging their bats on area ballfields this week as part of the Scenic City Summer Showcase that is proving to be a home run for Chattanooga’s $1.5 billion-a-year tourism industry.
The four-day tournament has attracted more than 13,500 players and spectators from 484 teams in 27 states in one of the biggest sporting tourism attractions of the year in Chattanooga. The fast-pitch softball games will be followed on Sunday with the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon with more than 1,000 participants and 1,600 spectators on the city’s waterfront.
“This weekend is going to be a sports tourism bonanza,” Tim Morgan, chief sports officer of Chattanooga Sports, a division of the Chattanooga Tourism Co., said in a statement. “Between the Scenic City Showcase and the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon, Chattanooga will demonstrate how we can utilize a variety of community assets to drive large economic returns for our tourism and…