State cross country championships bring thousands of people to Columbia area
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Friday marked the first day of the Missouri cross country state championships.
Over the course of two days, about 1,900 students are registered to run from 340 different schools around the state. The championships take place at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
In years past, West said coordinators have seen 8,000-9,000 people show up. Among those groups are usually family members and friends wanting to cheer on their team or athlete. He added that some treat it as a day trip, but some visitors with a longer drive will stay the weekend too.
Of course, the meet isn’t the only event happening this weekend.
The First Friday Art Crawl will take place in the North Village Arts District. On Saturday, there’s a Mizzou home football game, and the Holiday Shophop and Tree Lighting will take place downtown.
“They may stay in Columbia,” Missouri State High School Athletic Association spokesman Jason West said. “When you’re competing with Mizzou home football games, sometimes it’s not as easy to find hotels in Columbia.”
West said some teams will also try to stay in other area cities like Jefferson City. Visit Columbia MO spokeswoman Megan McConachie said there were still hotel rooms available, but there were fewer available than on a typical weekend.
“They stay in our hotels, they shop in our stores, they dine in our restaurants, and all of that means a really big economic impact for our community,” McConachie said. “So the spending that they do while they’re here supports local jobs and business and other things that we as residents get to enjoy throughout the year."
