Pittsburgh lands Bassmaster Classic for 2005

Fishing championship expected to bring tens of thousands here next summer

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Pittsburgh has reeled in a big one.

The city has beaten out Hartford, Conn., to host the 2005 Citgo Bassmaster Classic, a popular bass fishing championship billed as the Super Bowl of fishing.

The tournament will be televised by ESPN and ESPN 2 the weekend of July 29-31, 2005, giving Pittsburgh a prime opportunity to showcase its rivers, where the fishing will take place.

		Related article Bassmaster Classic dream a reality

"From an image-changing standpoint, we think this is as important of an event or as big of an event as anything," said Robert Imperata, executive vice president of the Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Bassmaster Classic tournament is no sleepy afternoon on the lake. It has the potential to attract nearly 100,000 people over the course of the three-day event, which also features a consumers show, a fishing derby for children and a series of meetings on conservation.

One of the more entertaining aspects is the daily weigh-in of bass caught by the competitors, some of whom have developed their own enthusiastic followings just as race car drivers or golfers have done.

As the tournament has become more popular, the weighs-in, which include music, commentary and giveaways, have attracted large crowds and filled arenas. The reigning Bassmaster Classic champion, Michael Iaconelli, is famous for break-dancing on stage during weigh-ins. In 2003, 23,557 people attended weigh-ins in New Orleans.

In Pittsburgh, weigh-ins, which are free to the public, will be held at Mellon Arena. The consumer show, also free, will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where fans will also have the chance to meet their favorite anglers. There also will be live TV feeds of the fishing into the show, which attracted 53,000 people last year.

Dean Kessel, vice president and general manager of BASS, the tournament owner and organizer, said the Ohio, Monongahela, Allegheny, Youghiogheny and Beaver rivers were all under consideration as sites for the fishing.

BASS sees no need to stock any of the rivers. While some Pittsburghers may not know it, the rivers are home to a "sizeable" bass population, particularly small- and large-mouth bass, said Ken Komoroski, spokesman for the local organizing committee.

The local committee used fish population studies done by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission to help persuade BASS and ESPN that the local rivers hold plenty of bass.

"The difficulty for the fishermen is that the bass here are well fed. The bass have plenty to eat. It may be more difficult to coax them to go after the artificial lures," Komoroski said.

The Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates the event will generate some $34 million locally, the equivalent of roughly five National Rifle Association conventions.

But the greater impact may be in what is seen, not what is spent.

Visitors bureau officials are hoping the tournament, with its emphasis on the rivers, the new convention center and the North Shore, where the competitors will probably launch their boats, will finally dispel the notion that Pittsburgh is still a dirty, smoky, polluted steel town.

"This is one major opportunity to really focus on the cleanliness of the rivers. We've got bass living in those rivers. That says something right there," Imperata said. "I think we're doing a geography lesson for the world, quite frankly."

The tournament won't come cheaply, however. Local organizers must raise more than $2 million for event fees and to pay for security, transportation, logistics, traffic control and other activities. Some could take the form of in-kind services, such as complimentary hotel rooms.

Local organizers are seeking a $750,000 state grant to help pay for the event. Imperata said they also will be looking for help from local corporations and foundations. Mayor Tom Murphy and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato are expected to serve as co-chairmen of the local organizing committee.

"We'll have it one way or the other. We have enough commitments out there. We know one way or the other, we're going to have it," he said. The visitors bureau and local organizers have been fishing for the classic for the last two years. Murphy and Onorato, as well as Gov. Ed Rendell, have placed calls in support of the tournament. Representatives from ESPN and BASS visited the city earlier this year to tour the rivers and potential venues for the weigh-ins and consumer show.

Next year's classic will be the first held in Pennsylvania.

To give the classic a distinctly Pittsburgh touch, local organizers plan to talk to BASS and ESPN about holding a celebrity fishing competition involving former pro athletes, Komoroski said.

BASS, the world's largest fishing organization, is now a subsidiary of ESPN. Since 2001, when ESPN bought BASS and began doing same-day telecasts of the classic, the viewing audience has increased by 90 percent.

This year in Charlotte, N.C., ESPN plans 11 hours of tournament coverage, up from three last year. It will devote 90 minutes each day to the weigh-ins. The network is working to further expand coverage next year, the 35th anniversary of the world championship bass tournament.

Anglers compete in a series of feeder tournaments for berths in the finals; about 50 will win slots. The classic offers $700,000 in prize money, with the winner getting $200,000. Each of the competitors is permitted to weigh as many as five bass on each of the three days. All of the fish must be alive for the weigh-ins and will be returned to the water.