Cornhole world championship returns to Rock Hill
ROCK HILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Many of the world’s best cornhole players are competing in Rock Hill, S.C. for the next ten days in the American Cornhole League World Championships.
Athletes will compete from August 2 to August 11 at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center.
The total payout from the championships is more than $700,000 for winners of the 30 different events.
Athletes from 50 U.S. states and four countries are set to compete at various skill levels.
City officials said the event draws thousands in from out of town and millions in tourism dollars. They said the ACL brought in $6.2 million for Rock Hill in 2023 alone.
Brian Jones, Rock Hill’s Tourism Division Supervisor with the Parks, Recreation & Tourism department said he loves watching the crowds get larger every year.
“There’s such a buzz, and the cornhole community kind of makes this their pilgrimage, their Mecca. Like every year they come back to Rock Hill to make it kind of their yearly vacation to come back to Rock Hill and hang out,” Jones said.
The sport has exploded in popularity since the foundation of the league in 2016.
The ACL World Championships in 2020 was the first live sporting event ESPN broadcast after all major leagues paused at the beginning of the pandemic. Rock Hill officials said they had to get special permission from the state to make it happen.
The Power House development is one of the businesses which hopes to benefit from the tournament. It is a mixed-use retail and residential space with a large food hall, all within walking distance from the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.
It’s been open for about a year and Tara Sherbert, owner of Power House, said the ACL is a great opportunity for them to attract new tenants, clients, and partners.
“Each day we get a better understanding and better connected with not only the arena events but just as important, if not more important, to the local community,” she said. “Having a place they can come to and be proud of and also know there’s continuous entertainment.”
Sherbert said they appreciate the wide variety of players and spectators who come to the championships.
“It’s anything from, you know, college students and younger that are really, really great at the sport, all the way up to the older generation that really has spent a lot of time doing this, but all of them enjoy being around each other in the community during the sport,” she said.
ESPN 2 will air some of the competitions.
Tickets are still available for purchase by clicking here.
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