B.A.S.S. is reportedly in talks with community leaders in northern New York to bring the Bassmaster Elite Series to the St. Lawrence River for the next four years.
A report published Sunday on the website of TV stations WWNY-TV and WNYF-TV indicates B.A.S.S. is interested in making Waddington, N.Y., a recurring host community for the Elite Series.
A B.A.S.S. official confirmed the report in an email to BassFan on Monday.
Waddington hosted Elite Series tournaments in 2013, 2015, 2017 and will host it again on Aug. 23-26. If the deal goes forward and gains the necessary approval and meets funding obligations, it would be an unprecedented arrangement for one community to host Elite Series tournaments for six consecutive years.
The report does not state that the deal would be for only Elite Series tournaments, but based on crowd sizes at previous stops there, B.A.S.S.’s top circuit seems to make the most sense. It’s possible B.A.S.S. may want to put a future Eastern Open or B.A.S.S. Nation event in Waddington.
According to published reports over the past several months, Waddington has reached out to neighboring municipalities in order to sponsor this year’s Elite Series tournament, which will be the centerpiece of the Party in the Park festival.
In February, the Massena Town Council authorized a $2,500 donation to Waddington to go toward the tournament. In April, St. Lawrence County legislators approved $30,000 to help fund this year’s event.
The Waddington Village Board will consider the new proposal at its next meeting, scheduled for July 2. To read more, click here.
