Big tourism money rolls in with bowling championship tournament in Addison
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thousands of women of all ages are ready to roll, trying to strike it big in the suburbs.
A DuPage County bowling alley is hosting some of the best bowlers in the country for the USBC Women's Championships.
And it lasts for more than 70 days.
CBS 2's Meredith Barack reports from the Stardust Bowl in Addison on why those bowlers aren't the only ones walking away with big wins.
It's the biggest women's sporting event in the country, and women from all over the world will be bowling in Addison until July 3, which means a big boost to the local economy.
"By the numbers, 72 days of bowling excitement, we're expecting about 12,000 to 13,000 participants and their families."
For the past seven years, Beth Marchetti and the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau have been anticipating these 84 lanes being filled with female bowlers.
The 102-year-old tournament hasn't been hosted in the Chicagoland area in more than 70 years.
"We're competing with Las Vegas, Reno, Nevada, Baton Rogue, Wichita, Kansas," Marchetti said "So it's just such a pleasure and honor to host this here in DuPage County," she said.
The tournament has drawn women from Alaska, Bermuda, and several European countries. Sarah Bercau is from Newport News, Virginia, competing in the women's nationals for the first time.
"To be with all these women, I mean, some of these women have been doing this for 25, 30 years coming to this tournament, it's amazing," Bercau said.
In between their strikes and spares, Sarah, her teammates, and other bowlers are expected to spend millions of dollars.
"Right now, we have at least 6,000 hotel rooms booked. We're expecting that to double," Marchetti said. "So on a conservative average, we're thinking this may be a $12 million estimated economic impact on the Chicagoland area.
Money won't just be spent at hotels, but in restaurants, shops, and tourism attractions. Dollars, Beth said, are desperately needed for post-pandemic recovery in Illinois.
These competitors range from professional to women who are simply here to have fun. They bowl with either a team or on their own and could walk away with some of the more than $2 million dollars in prize money up for stake.
