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Greensboro to play major role as North Carolina wins bid for 2029 World University Games

Greensboro will be among several cities hosting events. Things like swimming and gymnastics will be hosted in the gate city.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The FISU World University Games are coming to North Carolina and Greensboro could host some of the biggest events.

You might remember our state lost a bid to host the games in 2027. Instead, we'll get them in 2029.

The event is second in size only to the Olympic Games. Thousands of student-athletes from 150 countries come to compete in their sports.

The events will be split between counties in the Triangle and the Triad, with Greensboro hosting some big events.

Chairman of our state's bid committee, Hill Carrow, said Truist Stadium at North Carolina A&T will host track and field events. Swimming and diving is set to be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center and the Greensboro Coliseum will host gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and taekwondo.

Many of those competitors will stay at UNC Greensboro, set to host one of two athlete villages.

You might remember last year, game organizers toured those facilities. They also visited the AAU Junior Olympics and the Wyndham Championship. Carrow said it made a big impression on the group.

"Greensboro shows that no matter if you've got two mega events going on simultaneously Greensboro can handle it without any problem. You can count on the fact that Greensboro and the Triad are essential to this bid," Carrow said.

The winter University Games are going on right now in Lake Placid, New York. Carrow and a few other North Carolina bid committee members are getting an up-close look at what it's like to put on the games there.

Transportation, security and other logistics are factors he said are important to learn more about. He thinks it might not be such a bad thing that our state lost out on its 2027 bid to South Korea.

"It gives us more opportunities to raise the necessary funds for these games and be as prepared as possible which always takes more time than you think," Carrow said.

The budget for the games is $135 million dollars and Carrow said the state has pledged $25 million dollars to the committee. He expects the federal government to contribute a similar amount of money but he said the bulk of that money will come from sponsorships and broadcast rights agreements.

The potential economic boost could be as much as $300 million.

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