This SC city just scored its largest sports event ever — expected to have a $70M impact

The U.S. Bowling Congress has announced its 2028 open championship will be held in Greenville, the largest event staged in the Upstate city.

It is expected to bring 55,000 people to the city over the March to July event and have an economic impact of $70 million.

“Our bowlers have expressed a desire to see the tournament head to new areas of the country, and our partners at VisitGreenvilleSC, the City of Greenville and Greenville County have been incredible in helping this come together,” Bowling Congress Executive Director Chad Murphy said.

This year’s event, which is wrapping up now, is being held in Las Vegas. It’s being broadcast on bowl.tv. It began Feb. 23 and will conclude July 29, with more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers to the South Point Bowling Plaza.

Chosen for the championship in 2025 is Baton Rouge, 2026 in Reno and 2027 in Las Vegas.

The closest championships to Greenville were in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1970 and 2003.

VisitGreenvilleSC President and CEO Heath Dillard said bowling will take place over 150 days, 20 hours a day with 400 to 500 people participating in singles, doubles and teams of five each day.

The prize pot is $5 million to $7 million across the three divisions based on averages.

A total of 60 lanes will be constructed at the Greenville Convention Center for the championship. The wood and wiring will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.

To date, the largest event hosted in the city of Greenville was the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, which had an estimated economic impact of $16 million this year over the course of five days.