Clarksville, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Visitors from all over Tennessee and Kentucky are on their way to Clarksville for the Tennessee-Kentucky Future Stars football games. Visit Clarksville officials expect the event to bring about 1,370 guests to the city this week.
Clarksville hosted its first Future Stars event in 2017, in which Tennessee’s top seventh and eighth grade football players square off against their Kentucky counterparts. The games alternate states each year and are returning to Tennessee in 2019 with the introduction of sixth graders to the event.
“We are thrilled for Future Stars to return to Clarksville and we look forward to giving them a fantastic, one-of-a-kind Clarksville experience,” said Visit Clarksville Executive Director Theresa Harrington. “It was one of the first football events we hosted in the new Fortera Stadium. This year, sixth graders will join the seventh and eighth graders [in the games], so we’re expecting our numbers to almost double.”
“Clarksville has an outstanding facility at Austin Peay, and having our guys play on a Division One campus is a big goal for us,” said Tennessee Future Stars Executive Director Josh Jones. “We had such an amazing experience in Clarksville in 2017 – a great city, a great facility, and great service from all of the staff. There was never a question of us considering going anywhere else.”
That “one-of-a-kind experience” includes several activities throughout Clarksville when the kids are not playing football, including time off at The City Forum, swimming at Austin Peay’s Foy Center Pool, and – for the seventh and eighth graders – a trip to Fort Campbell.
Jones said the event is also an excellent opportunity for middle schoolers to get an early start on college exposure as they are heading into high school.
Tryouts for students are held in cities throughout Tennessee in April, with teams being named in early May. Tennessee teams, coaches, and parents arrive in Clarksville on Wednesday, June 12 for three days of practice at Fortera Stadium. Kentucky teams arrive on Friday, June 14 and join their Tennessee counterparts for a social event that evening.
All three games are televised and played on Saturday with sixth grade kicking off at 11:00 AM, seventh grade at 1:00 PM, and eighth grade at 3:30 PM. Games are open to the public and general admission is free for active-duty military with their military ID.
“There’s not a better venue – or a better city – in the State of Tennessee where these guys can play football and have this great experience,” said Harrington. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep the Future Stars games coming back to Clarksville.”
The 2019 Future Stars games mark the fourth major football event Clarksville Tourism officials have recruited and hosted since the renovation of Fortera Stadium. In addition to the two Future Stars games, the Toyota All-Star East West Classic chose Clarksville as its home in 2017 and 2018 and will be returning to Fortera in 2019 as well.
In total, the four football events brought 4,200 visitors to the city and produced $1.9 million in direct event revenue for the city, county and state.