USATF National Junior Olympics Track & Field Championship kicks off at Cushing Stadium

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The USA Track & Field Junior Olympics kicked off Monday at Texas A&M University, bringing thousands of young athletes from across the nation to Aggieland.

It’s the latest major event to take over the university this summer after the George Strait concert and Mexico versus Brazil soccer match in June. Both of those events each brought in an estimated $10 million, according to the city.

With nearly 8,000 athletes, 200,000 bottles of water, and 35,000 pounds of ice, the USATF National Junior Olympics Track and Field Championship is no small event.

A coach from out of state told said he was impressed with what College Station has to offer for a competition of this size.

“What a gift, what great facilities for them to use here and compete in,” Visit College Station’s Jo Beth Wolfe said.

Bringing the Junior Olympics to Aggieland has been three years in the making. In addition to athletes, the city estimated around 20 to 30,000 supporters, coaches, and scouts to be in town.

According to College Station Mayor John Nichols, it’s a strategic investment on the city’s part to bring more tourism to the area outside of football season.

”That’s really what economic development of the city is all about, it’s to try to bring more opportunities for our businesses, to utilize the assets that they’ve invested here for other big events,” explained Mayor Nichols.

The City of College Station agreed to invest around $950,000 into bringing the Junior Olympics to College Station. Mayor Nichols said a grant from the governor’s office will recover most of that cost as long as the city hits the state’s parameters.

“This is a good case of committing to funds upfront and knowing you’re going to fully recover those funds and be ahead of the game before you ever start counting the revenue,” Mayor Nichols continued.

Over the course of the event, the city is expecting residents and visitors alike to spend around $10 million within the community.

City officials said it’s a way for them to use resources like Texas A&M to bring an economic boost to the area, continuing a trend of bringing major events to the area.

“We work very closely with our hotels in town and we know that they’re at or near capacity for the week,” shared Wolfe.

However, the city relayed that it’s not just about bringing tourism revenue to the area. This event in particular exposes athletes, potential future Olympians, to what Texas A&M has to offer.

Mayor Nichols detailed what that pull means for College Station’s economy, “The visibility of the city on national television, covering something like the Junior Olympics.”

Wolfe, convention sales manager for Visit College Station, told KBTX she sees the Junior Olympics in particular as an event with a unique long term impact.

“Having these athletes of this caliber here this week, all eyes in this industry will be on College Station,” Wolfe added.

The USATF National Junior Olympics Track and Field Championship is available to watch live by following this link.