CLARKSVILLE, TN – Clarksville-Montgomery County is poised to welcome guests in July for four divisions of the Amateur Athletic Union’s boys 10-and-under and 4th grade Division I and Division II  World Basketball Championships.

Since 1999, the city has hosted dozens of regional and national AAU basketball events. Visit Clarksville earned the winning bid for the 2021 and 2023 championship events during an AAU selection process in October of 2019. Bid fees are funded through the Clarksville-Montgomery Economic Development’s Council’s Aspire Clarksville Foundation.

“This is not the first major athletic competition we’ve hosted since the pandemic, but it’s one of the first where we’ve hosted out-of-state travelers,” said Visit Clarksville executive director Theresa Harrington. “We’re seeing that more people are comfortable traveling and plan to take trips this summer.”

Three local gymnasiums plus Austin Peay State University will lend their facilities to pool play and championship games. Registration will be held Wednesday, July 7. Game play will tip off the following day and culminates with championship bracket play on July 11.

“AAU events, and the world championship in particular, bring thousands of visitors to our community,” says Matt Cunningham, incoming Visit Clarksville board of directors chairman and manager of Old Glory Distilling. “We’ve had such a long history of providing excellent customer service along with a fantastic community experience with AAU so we’re especially excited to see them back in Clarksville.”

Visitor spending from AAU championships total upwards of $30 million, and an upswing in county tax revenue is historically seen during the months that the basketball tournaments are in the community.

“The support of our local hotels and restaurants, along with our many volunteers, is the key to our success with all of our sports events,” Cunningham said. “We could not continue to offer this high level of service to our guests year after year without that broad base of support.”

All games are open to the public. Daily passes are $14 for adults and $11 for ages 6-14, and weekly passes are $45 for adults and $35 for ages 6-14. Children 5 and under are free. Game time each day begins at 9:30 a.m., with the last games ending at 6:15p.m.

For a complete schedule of events, brackets and other tournament information, go to VisitClarksvilleTN.com/AAU.