Over 300 volunteers and many businesses took time out of their busy schedules to make sure visitors, fans, players, coaches and media left Cookeville wanting to come back during the BlueCross Bowl, Tennessee’s high school football state championship games held at Tennessee Tech University’s Tucker Stadium Dec. 3-5.

With an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 in the stands for each game, the crowd was more than expected. The paid attendance figure came out to be 21,305, which is a 9.3% increase over last year’s paid attendance number.

“This event has opened the door for the community and the region, showing that we are capable of hosting an event of this caliber,” George Halford, president and CEO of the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce said. “We hope it will inspire others to bring their events to Cookeville.”

Bernard Childress, executive director for TSSAA said, “We’ve been treated so nice here, we may just stay and be here for next year.”

The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce and TSSAA are currently working on accounting the gross number of attendants.

“The amount of exposure that came from this event is immeasurable,” Chamber Chairman Dr. Tom Lawrence said. “People now know, that may not have before this event, about our community, Tennessee Tech and the Highlands region.”

The Highlands region felt the impact throughout with dining, retail and lodging facilities receiving an extra boost.

Karla Clarke, general manager of Fairfield Inn & Suites and chair of the Convention and Visitors Bureau Steering Committee, reported that the economic impact of hosting the games was very good.

“Fairfield was sold-out Thursday, almost sold-out on Friday, and about 75 percent on Saturday. All the hotels are very supportive of the partnerships with the City, Tech and the community,” said Clarke. “December is the start of the slow season for the hotels, and this provided that extra boost to benefit the economy.”

Clarke also mentioned that she heard many comments about Cookeville’s hospitality and how Cookeville was so easy to work with.

Cookeville simply couldn’t have pulled it off without the help of everyone in the community and region. Everyone from the business community and law enforcement to city officials and area students, were on hand to make it work. On occasion, some of our volunteers were outside for eight to ten hours handling parking, selling programs and tickets, taking up tickets, and picking up trash.

“It was everybody pitching in…It didn’t make a difference what their position was outside this venue,” Chair of Cookeville’s BlueCross Bowl Steering Committee Ottis Phillips said. “They came here to roll up their sleeves and make it work, and that was so gratifying to see.”

Several local businesses had many of their employees working as volunteers the days of the games. The gratitude was felt by having them sacrifice their business’s gain for the gain of the community.

During the games, Tennessee Tech Vice-President of University Advancement Mark Hutchins, commented, “Our students and faculty have been so generous with what they’ve done. Not only in continuing with there classes, but also in their support of what’s happening here at the championships.”

Of course, Cookeville has learned some lessons on what works and what doesn’t. Cookeville will defiantly implement these things in planning for next year’s championship games. The goal is to make this event as close to perfect as possible.

Without the support of the whole community and the determination of our volunteers, it would not have happened.

Cookeville City Manager Jim Shipley reportedly heard several people saying, “Does everyone in Cookeville smile?”

“I am proud of how the community-wide effort worked to make those three days a success,” Shipley said.

The citizens of Cookeville, Putnam County and the Highlands region should be proud of what they have accomplished and feel privileged to live in a community and region that so willingly works together.

TSSAA’s BlueCross Bowl in Cookeville was a combined effort between the City of Cookeville, Putnam County, the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, Tennessee Tech University and the Highlands Initiative.