August 18, 2015
Elite Attendance Sets New Records With Two Events Left In Season
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With the seventh stop on the Bassmaster Elite Series tour complete, total attendance records have already been shattered before the tour’s final events.
The Huk Performance Fishing Bassmaster Elite at Chesapeake Bay, Aug. 13-16, tipped the scales on the 2014 Elite Series attendance record.
“With our year-to-date total of more than 142,000 people, we’ve already exceeded our Elite Series attendance record for 2014, which was 128,600 throughout the entire season,” said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “And the exciting part is we still have two huge events remaining.”
The Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by STARK Cultural Venues — the first event of the year — provided a great season kickoff with more than 33,000 people in attendance. The following stops at the 2014 GEICO Bassmaster Classic fishery, Lake Guntersville, and the Western swing to the Sacramento River and Lake Havasu, proved to be meccas for bass fishing fans across the country.
Then, the second-annual Zippo Bassmaster BASSfest at Kentucky Lake presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps featured an outdoors expo, a carnival for kids, an arts and crafts show, along with Bassmaster University offering seminars taught by Bassmaster Elite Series pros and B.A.S.S. staff.
The Evan Williams Bourbon Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River in Waddington, N.Y., brought its historically massive crowds to the four-day event and came close to breaking its own attendance record of 34,000 people set back in 2013.
“The past few years we have established closer relationships with our hosts in planning the Elite Series events, and they are an integral component in an event’s success,” said Angie Thompson, vice president of events and sponsorship activation. “These close relationships are clearly working, and the results are evident in the increased attendance numbers.
“All of our hosts are finding ways to build larger festivals around the Elites, which include concerts, activities for children and a chance to watch the superstars of the sport compete on world-class fisheries. The two 5k races we had in Orange, Texas, and Waddington, N.Y., are perfect examples.”
The Elite Series makes its final regular-season stop in Detroit, Mich., with fishing on Lake St. Clair. The Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year event will bring the Top 50 Elite Series anglers to Sturgeon Bay out of Door County, Wis., where a new Angler of the Year will be crowned, and $1 million of prize money will be distributed throughout the field.
“We are very excited to see the numbers continue to increase year after year,” said Eric Lopez, director of events. “This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Bassmaster Elite Series, and we’re elated that our fans continue to support us as we take the series across the country, to historic and new venues alike.”
At all Elite events visitors are invited to enjoy an outdoors expo, where the newest boats, motors, fishing tackle, lures and other sponsor producs are on display. Fishing fans and their families are invited to discover everything bass fishing, and all Bassmaster events are free and open to the public.
