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The 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic — dubbed the “Super Bowl” of pro bass fishing — heads to Fort Worth and Lake Ray Roberts in Denton for the first time next spring.
The Classic will take place March 19 – 21 at Ray Roberts, long recognized as one of the nation’s top bass fishing lakes, the tournament and Fort Worth authorities announced Wednesday. It’s the first time a major bass tournament has been held at Ray Roberts. During the tournament, the Will Rogers Memorial Center will host the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo, and Dickies Arena, daily “weigh-in festivities.”
“There are very few firsts in the world of sports,” Chase Anderson, chairman of B.A.S.S., the international authority on bass fishing, said in a release. “We can’t wait to have a historic first next year when fishing’s biggest stage comes to Fort Worth. Our fans, sponsors, and anglers are sure to be in for an incredible experience.”
Recent Bassmaster Classics held in Birmingham, Alabama, and Knoxville, Tennessee, have drawn crowds of more than 120,000 fans to Classic Week events, B.A.S.S., the Fort Worth Sports Commission, and Visit Fort Worth said. The Outdoors Expo is the nation’s largest consumer fishing show, with 200 exhibitors selling merchandise for fishing, hunting, and camping.
Visit Fort Worth cited data from the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau that showed the 2020 Bassmaster Classic earlier this year provided direct economic impact of $20.8 million and an indirect boost in business sales of $15.1 million. Last year’s Knoxville-hosted Classic generated total economic impact of $32.2 million, according to Visit Knoxville.
“We could not have secured this world-class event without the support of our community partners,” said Bob Jameson, CEO of Visit Fort Worth, parent of the sports commission.
Dickies Arena, the City of Fort Worth, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Lake Ray Roberts, and Fort Worth Stockyards collaborated on drawing the Classic to Fort Worth, he said.
Ray Roberts was the No. 15 bass fishery in the U.S. Central Region for 2019, according to Bassmaster Magazine.
“We’re excited to be a part of providing pro and recreational anglers alike access to bass fishing’s biggest event,” Lawrence Lobpries, Academy Sports’ senior vice president of marketing, said. “We hope the experiences shared at this event will inspire growth in fishing participation across Texas and the rest of the country.”