Charleston, W.Va. (WVDN) – The Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is celebrating another year of success in sports tourism. Throughout 2025, the CVB helped to bring major sporting events to the Capital City, including USA Cycling, WVSSAC Championships, the Great Race, WVU Men’s Basketball and The Basketball Tournament (TBT).
The Charleston CVB kicked off 2025 by announcing it had branded the Capital City Bike City USA. Building on the firm foundation of cycling events and access to endless biking trails and opportunities, the CVB created a website, bikecity-usa.com, that hosts information to plan a successful ride, including a map with parking locations, bike shops, routes, and links to AllTrails, a trusted platform for outdoor exploration.
The CVB helped to sponsor the Black Bear Mountain Race at Kanawha State Forest this year. This race is recognized as one of the oldest mountain biking series in the nation. In addition, the CVB sponsored the Kanawha River Wildcats, a youth cycling team, in the Interscholastic Cycling League.
Spilman Thomas & Battle became the presenting sponsor of the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships in 2025. The event, which took place in May, generated an estimated $6.9 million economic impact, increased visitor spending (14% of total visitor spending), supported 1,030 jobs, and generated $591,000 in local taxes.
Based on statistics from the CVB and USA Cycling, total social media engagement was 149K; video views were 1.5M; and total impressions were 3.04M. Ad Value Equivalency (AVE) was $3.07M, and the event was mentioned 388 times in media, creating a potential news reach of 332M. These social media stats won an award at the West Virginia Governor’s Conference on Tourism for Media Excellence.
The Great Race rolled through town in June bringing antique, vintage, and collector cars to Haddad Riverfront Park. An arrival ceremony followed by Veterans Night at Live on the Levee presented a one-of-a-kind event for the Capital City.
In July, the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center hosted the return of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) to the city. The teams, including alumni teams from Marshall University and West Virginia University, filled the coliseum with excitement and home-state rivalry.
In September, Charleston hosted the Spartan Opening Ceremony in support of the 2025 West Virginia Spartan Trifecta World Championships in Glen Jean. Athletes registered for the race during the afternoon and participated in the Parade of Nations following the Opening Ceremony.
Charleston also hosted a variety of WVSSAC championships throughout 2025, including Girls’ and Boys’ Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Track & Field, Football, Baseball, and Cheerleading.
In December, the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center hosted the West Virginia University Mountaineers and Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the Holiday Hoopfest.
CVB officials have already announced additional sporting events for 2026, including the UC Marathon and the 2026 USA Gymnastics for All GymFest.
For more information about events in Charleston, visit the CVB’s website, www.charlestonwv.com.
