Platte Co Visitors Bureau

Norm Manstedt Wrestling Invitational finds success at new venue

Norm Manstedt Wrestling Invitational Spectators and wrestlers on Day 3 at the Columbus Fieldhouse

The second week of January, Columbus hosted the annual 3-day Norm Manstedt Wrestling Invitational, formerly the High Plains Invite. The tournament was previously hosted at Central Community College, but due to the growth of wrestling and the addition of girls’ program, they outgrew the facility. In 2025, the tournament transitioned to the Columbus Fieldhouse. The new venue allowed for nine wresting mats [five more than the prior facility] making the tournament run smoothly.

Wow! 600+ girl athletes compete…

Day one was focused on the girls wrestling program hosting 55 teams of Class A, Class B and Junior Varsity and over 600 athletes. Teams traveled from far and wide including Bayard, Omaha, Pierce, O’Neill, Valentine, and Winnebago, to name just a few. The field of athletes was very competitive with tears of joy and tears of falling short, but each athlete gave their all.

Map, Visitors by Origin, Norm Manstedt Wrestling Invitational, Wrestling, Tournament, Visitors, Travelers
This map highlights where visitors traveled from to attend the Norm Manstedt Wrestling Tournament.

Boys takeover the field…

The competitive spirit continued the following two days when the boys wrestling programs debuted. With 26 teams and 300 athletes, the Fieldhouse continued to be alive with activity. Kearney Catholic, Syracuse, Oakland-Craig, Gering and York were just a few of the teams who competed. The boys met some tough competition and kept striving for perfection throughout the two days.

The data tells a story…

Not only were there over 900 athletes, but there were family and friends who came to experience this event. Over the three days, the Fieldhouse supported over 5,000 unique visitors with 2,200 visitors on day one, 1,400 visitors on day two and 2,200 visitors on the final day. [Data insights from placer.ai] All the matches were broadcast on NEwrestle.com which gained another 3,500 viewers over the three days.

What does this mean for our community?

The economic impact of visitors in Columbus was phenomenal. Conservatively speaking, potential visitor spending for this event was over $216,000*. Visitors spend money at our gas stations, grocery stores, convenience stores, coffee shops and more! These generated dollars help to keep our economy strong. As an example, House Sips, located within the Fieldhouse, was constantly busy with seemingly endess lines. On day one, they ran out of supplies at 1 pm, restocked and reopened at 3:30 pm that same day. The lines for specialty drinks remained through the 3-day event. The impact for House Sips was definitely one for the books!

With tourism being the third largest industry in Nebraska, hosting events like the Norm Manstedt Wrestling Invitation and bringing visitors to our community is vital. When hosting larger events, we need assistance from our community members to ensure success. If you are interested in being on our volunteer list, please send us a message or call 402.276.3606. The Visitors Bureau will continue to support and look for other opportunities like this to keep Columbus on the map. If you are interested in hosting an event, please let us help you!

*Visitor spending is calculated using regional and national daily spending rates of the average visitor and is based on 60% of the spectators being local and 50% being day travelers. It also includes an average daily hotel rate and associated taxes. The value derived included 50 expected total hotel room nights.

 

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