Detroit to host 2018 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships

DETROIT – USA Volleyball announced today that Detroit will host the 2018 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships (GJNC).

The GJNC will head to the Motor City for the first time and will be played June 25 to July 4 at Huntington Place. The GJNC, which will be in its 39th edition when it arrives in Detroit, will bring in 1,208 teams with approximately 12,000 players and over 25,000 spectators. A total of 26 titles will be awarded in five divisions and seven different age groups ranging from 11-and-under to 17-and-under.

“When it was announced Huntington Place would undergo a $279-million renovation, we understood the future impact it could have on metro Detroit, and we’re ecstatic to see the transformation pay off by being awarded the 2018 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships,” Detroit Sports Commission Director Kris Smith said. “We’re confident the thousands of players, coaches and spectators will experience the tremendous energy and excitement currently taking place in our great American city.”

Boasting one of the largest contiguous exhibit floor spaces in North America, Huntington Place is downtown Detroit’s full-service convention space. In 2015, after a $279 million renovation, Huntington Place features 2.4 million square feet of usable space. Huntington Place pairs its accommodations with spectacular views of a restored international riverfront, on-site restaurants, a business service center and its very own Detroit People Mover railway station.

“USA Volleyball was thoroughly impressed with Detroit as it hosted the 2015 USA Volleyball Open National Championships for adults,” USA Volleyball Senior Director Tom Pingel said. “It is a city on the rise with a thriving downtown area where the event will be played at and most of the participants will be staying. There is no doubt in my mind that the 2018 GJNC will be one our finest.”

The GJNC economic impact on the host city has been significant in recent years. This year’s GJNC in Minnesota is expected to generate an economic impact of $55 million, including 59,000 hotel room nights. Indianapolis hosted the 2016 event and reported $59 million in economic impact.

Detroit recently hosted the 2015 USA Volleyball Open National Championships concurrently with the NORCECA Men’s Champions Cup that brought in USA, Canada, Cuba and Mexico. Detroit was also the site of the 1938 and 1967 USA Volleyball Open National Championships for adults.

Sport Court is the official athletic flooring for all four events. For more information, visit teamusa.org/usa-volleyball/features.

CONTACT
Marty Dobek
Detroit Sports Commission
(313) 202-1977
mdobek@detroitsports.org

About the Detroit Sports Commission
The mission of the Detroit Sports Commission is to market and sell metro Detroit as a premier destination for regional, national and international amateur sporting events. The DSC is a not-for-profit charitable organization, IRS 501 (c)(3), and a subsidiary of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more information, please visit detroitsports.org or engage with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About USA Volleyball
Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a Colorado incorporated non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the disciplines of beach volleyball, indoor volleyball and sitting volleyball in the United States. USA Volleyball has over 325,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,300 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $31 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men’s and women’s senior national team programs for beach, indoor and sitting volleyball; youth and junior national teams, national championship events, coaching education, certification programs and grassroots development across all disciplines. USA Volleyball has a rich tradition of success as evidenced by winning an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984, four Paralympic medals since 2004 and capturing numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles. USA Volleyball is committed to and works toward opportunity for all to participate. It is an advocate for all Americans endeavoring to assure universal access to opportunities at all levels of the game. For more information on USA Volleyball, visit usavolleyball.org.

Visit Detroit is a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to market and sell the metropolitan Detroit area on a worldwide basis as a destination for leisure and business travel including conventions, trade shows, corporate meetings, tours and incentive travel to maximize additional visitors, visitor expenditures, state and local tax revenues and job opportunities.

More than 700 businesses are represented in Visit Detroit’s membership. Visit Detroit was founded in 1896 as the world’s first convention and visitors bureau. visitdetroit.com