The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is pleased to welcome two multi-weekend tournaments to the Rockford region beginning this weekend. The Rockford Raptors Soccer Club’s Puma Cup returns to the Rockford region for a 15th consecutive year. The Illinois United States Bowling Congress Bowling Association (USBC) Men’s State Tournament is back to the Rockford region for the first time since 1973. Both events are expected to generate a combined 11,525 room nights and an estimated $2.1 million in economic impact that directly supports local area businesses and continued tourism efforts.

“These Big Win tournaments are directly responsible for boosting our local economy in the Rockford region throughout the next few months. We’ve hosted Puma Cup for many years now and it runs so smoothly because of the region’s great sports facilities and partnerships we’ve made with the Rockford Raptors and Rockford Park District,” said Lindsay Arellano, RACVB director of sales and servicing. “We’re also thrilled to welcome back the IBA Men’s State Bowling Tournament to the region. The last time Rockford hosted this tournament was in 1973. The USBC and our local bowling organizations work hand-in-hand to host successful tournaments here. It’s an honor to work alongside such dedicated people and we encourage folks to come out and support these events over the next several weekends.”

2017 Puma Cup (rockfordraptors.org)

Date: The Puma Champions Cup College Showcase will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 31-April 2. The Puma Champions Cup will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 7-9.

Location: Both tournaments will be played at Mercyhealth Sportscore One (Rockford, IL) and Mercyhealth Sportscore Two and Wedgbury Stadium (Loves Park, IL.)

Note: The Puma Champions Cup College Showcase includes approximately 210 teams representing U12-U19 year old athletes in boys’ and girls’ divisions. The high level of competition attracts approximately 82 college coaches to scout and recruit players. The Puma Champions Cup is a competition for 539 teams representing mid to lower level boys’ and girls’ teams in the U8–U19 age range. These combined tournaments include teams traveling from across the Midwest, Colorado and including 20 international teams from Canada. Admission is no cost and spectators are encouraged to attend.

2017 Illinois United States Bowling Congress Bowling Association (USBC) Men’s State Tournament (ibabowl.com)

Date: April 1-2, April 8-9, April 22-23, April 29-30, May 6-7

Location: Don Carter Lanes, Rockford, IL

Notes: Admission is no cost and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Quote: “We haven’t had the opportunity to host the Men’s State Bowling tournament in many years and are happy to have the chance to host them once again this year. It’s great that our local bowling facilities are contributing to the positive changes happening in this community,” said John Sommer, Don Carter Lanes owner and president. “We are grateful to work with local organizations, like the Rockford Men’s Bowling Association and the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, who are determined to make sure elite bowling groups continue choosing the Rockford region to host their tournaments.”