The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce that Buffalo will host two unique sporting tournaments in July. The 2008 Tournament of Roller Hockey Series Nationals will be bringing over 220 teams to Buffalo from July 4 - 12. The weekend of July 18 - 20 will see the National Professional Paintball League bring over 1,500 participants to the parking lots of Ralph Wilson Stadium for their Super 7 World Series event and trade show. Over $1.7 million in out-of-town dollars will be spent in the region's hotels, restaurants, attractions and shops as a result of the two competitions. The Amherst Pepsi Center will be the site of the 2008 Tournament of Roller Hockey Series Nationals, which is expected to consume more than 5,000 hotel rooms nights and create a $1.27 million in direct economic impact. The National Professional Paintball League National (NPPL) will bring national television exposure on FOX Sports, as well as utilizing 1,200 hotel room nights to the tune of $500,000 in direct economic impact for Buffalo. "Securing tournaments of this magnitude is validation that Buffalo is a major player in hosting events for a variety of sports," said Richard Geiger, President & CEO, Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau. "The investment that was made in Erie County sports competition facilities continues to pay big dividends to the area." It was a total team effort in securing the 2008 Tournament of Roller Hockey Series Nationals. The Buffalo Wings Roller hockey program led the bid for the tournament, with the help of the Amherst Recreation Department, Amherst Pepsi Center and the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Amherst Pepsi Center will dedicate three of its four rinks to the 12-day tournament. The roller hockey surface will be placed on top of the ice surface in order to play the games. Special dehumidifiers will be brought in to the Amherst Pepsi Center to control condensation that could appear on the roller hockey surface. The expansize parking lots of Ralph Wilson Stadium will host the 2008 National Professional Paintball League's Super 7 World Series event. The stadium's parking lots were chosen as the site was large enough to host 600,000 feet of competition space, and can handle the wear and tear of hosting the event. FOX Sports TV networks will film the competition for a future national broadcast. Paintball is considered to be the No. 1 Extreme Sport in the United States, well ahead of BMX, surfing, climbing and snowboarding. NPPL teams consist of seven players, who compete on a field playing the traditional game of capture the flag. The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, as the marketing leader of the Buffalo Niagara hospitality industry, promotes our region worldwide as a convention, amateur athletics, tourism, leisure and business destination for the economic benefit of the community.
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