Large economic impact expected with WIAA State Track Meet in La Crosse

Thousands will flock to La Crosse this weekend for the 2019 WIAA State Track and Field Meet.

The event, going on 30 years, is very beneficial economically for the area.

“It’s huge for the city of La Crosse and surrounding communities,” Jeremiah Burish with Explore La Crosse said. “People stay all over the place. We probably get an economic impact of $3-$3.5 million.”

Despite the long history connected with La Crosse, it’s still just a yearly agreement, something that Burish is hoping to change.

“The city, the college and the WIAA always come together to handle the details,” Burish said. “We definitely want to have a little more security that it will be here officially for a number of years.”

Burish added that a big thing in La Crosse’s favor is Veterans Memorial Stadium on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse campus, which already has many of the amenities needed for such an event.

“It’s one of the best facilities, unquestionably, in the Midwest,” he said. “It’s got a great background with the bluffs, it has a large seating capacity and the jumbotrons, and other electronic items, are already in place.”

UW-L police officers will be out directing traffic near the campus area starting at 6 a.m., as more ore than 2,700 athletes will compete in the two-day event.