C-USA is a success for the Coast

With the 2017 Conference USA Tournament in the books, the teams have left town and the banners are coming down across Biloxi, but tournament organizers say there will be a lasting economic impact.
Tim Bennett with Overtime Sports is the man responsible for bringing the Conference USA Tournament to the Gulf Coast. MGM Park enjoyed a nice turnout, setting a new record for largest attendance in tournament history as the Southern Miss Golden Eagles made a trip to the championship game, bringing their fans with them.
Bennett tells News 25 that this organization’s next move is to ensure that the 2018 tournament is bigger and better. “We start right now getting ready for next year. The thing we didn’t have the ability to do last year was to prepare and know exactly what we were getting into with the tournament, having such great success this year, we know exactly what we need to do better next year. We hope Southern Miss is there because they draw well, but we’ve got to do some work to help the other teams generate more attendance and popularity where they’re from and bring their fans as well.”
Bennett says the tournament typically brought around three million dollars to its former host site in Hattiesburg and its possible this tournament generated about the same or more business here on the Coast.