Sports & Recreation | Sports & Recreation |
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The region's rivers and mountains are famous in their own right with outdoor sports enthusiasts, offering fishing tournaments, hiking and whitewater rafting competitions. The region also boasts a surprising number of organized collegiate and amateur athletic events, hosting numerous AAU amateur events, including the AAU national basketball and cross-country tournaments, as well as many regional AAU baseball and wrestling events. Our local colleges have football programs (both the American and European versions) and the region has five baseball farm teams that represent the Astros, Cardinals, Mets, Twins and White Sox MLB franchises.
For those who like to attend really big sporting events, the region offers several world-renowned venues. At the heart of our region sits one of the most famous NASCAR facilities, the Bristol Motor Speedway. "The World's Fastest Half-mile" track hosts two Nextel Cup races per year with an average attendance of 160,000 spectators per race. Neyland Stadium, and the world-famous University of Tennessee Volunteers football program are a short drive away. For those who prefer the solitude of outdoor recreation, the region offers many prime hiking, cycling, rock climbing, caving, hunting and fishing locations. The Creeper Trail, a nationally known 35-mile walking and cycling trail follows an old railroad bed that starts with stunning views high in the southwest Virginia mountains and ends yards away from Virginia's official state theater, the Barter Theater. The region is ringed by the Cherokee National Forest and Smoky Mountains National Park and intersected by the Appalachian Trail, and nestled close to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Appalachian Trail, in particular, has a major impact on the economy of the quaint town of Damascus, Virginia. Cross country, downhill skiing, and snowboarding are also available close by, with slopes in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee all within an hour's drive. |