“Take the Fifth” – April 2026
The Bassmaster Classic is a lucrative opportunity for any community. Look no further than a few weeks back when the most prestigious bass tournament in the world ascended on Knoxville, Tennessee and saw a young college angler hoist the most desired trophy in bass fishing among a shower of confetti and cheers.
The 2026 Bassmaster Classic was another smashing success for the Knoxville community. The “official” numbers haven’t been released; however, it’s anticipated that the folks in Knoxville came very close to eclipsing their record attendance achieved in 2023 (163,914) when they broke the mark we set in Greenville and Green Pond the previous year when 154,932 people were in attendance over the three-day event.
In fact, if my numbers are correct, Knoxville and Greenville boast five of the top six Bassmaster Classic crowds of all time. With numbers like that, you can understand why Knoxville and the Upstate of South Carolina are among the most desirable locations in the country for the folks at Bassmaster to bring their crown jewel event.
What makes a great Classic you ask? Location. Location. Location.
The Bassmaster Classic is a three-headed monster. You have the daily launch which requires a lakeside facility with amenities to host large crowds, sponsor activation, and creates a championship environment. If you’ve been to a Bassmaster Classic, then you know about the Classic Expo, a consumer fishing show that requires, at minimum, more than 250,000 square feet of exhibit space. The Classic Expo is wall-to-wall fishing for three days and will meet all your fishing needs. It was rumored at the recent Knoxville Classic that a few of the brands enjoyed more sales on Friday at the Expo than on all three days in Ft. Worth last year.
No Classic experience is complete without a trip to the arena for the Classic Weigh-In. A minimum of 15,000 seats is required to meet the arena needs to have a Classic Weigh-In in your community. The arena must be able to accommodate the crowds, the trucks, the boats, and the bass and the many production efforts that include television.
With Knoxville, you have a community able to host all three elements of the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing. They’re really an anomaly when you get down to it. No one else can do it the way they do in Knoxville. It’s a credit to their staff, their community, and their facilities.
Here at home, we have our advantages as well. Our people are our greatest asset. Aside from the Classic going to Knoxville, the relationship between Anderson and Greenville serves as the closest distance in host communities when it comes to hosting the Classic. The 40-minute ride from Green Pond Landing to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena is the shortest trip required by the anglers of any other place the Classic is held.
Geographically, the Upstate of South Carolina serves as a great market for hosting the Classic. We’re located conveniently between Charlotte and Atlanta along I-85, and many of the tops brands and manufacturers in the fishing industry are geographically close as well.
We began this entry by describing the Bassmaster Classic as a lucrative opportunity for your community or region. I’ll use another sports reference to sum this up.
As I am writing this, the first semifinal of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four is on the television behind me. When the NCAA Tournament (March Madness) began a few weeks ago, our neighbor friends in Greenville hosted First and Second Round Tournament Games in the BS Arena. The games featured eight colleges and universities and the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Illinois…. teams that travel extremely well. We’re all familiar with March Madness, the NCAA Tournament, and we’ve probably all filled out a bracket at some point in our lives. Well, when the Bassmaster Classic visits Greenville and Lake Hartwell in 2027, the Classic will outdraw and outperform the NCAA Tournament in terms of attendance and economic impact, as well as being featured on more live television opportunities.
Such a tremendous opportunity for our communities in Anderson and Greenville, Lake Hartwell, and the surrounding South Carolina upstate is why we have all worked so hard to bring the Bassmaster Classic back to Lake Hartwell for a record fifth time.