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For 40 years, the prestigious Smoky Mountain Classic Softball Tournament has increasingly contributed to the local economy to the point that the impact is now estimated at $400,000 to $600,000 a year.

This includes costs for overnight stays at hotels, motels, campgrounds and cabins, food purchased at area restaurants, filling vehicles with gasoline and shopping in local businesses.

"We still get a good local representation, but now a lot of the tournament-goers are from out of town," said Joe Huff, executive director of Parks and Recreation. "Over the last 10 years, teams are bringing in more fans with them."

This 40th year of the Classic, which starts at 5 p.m. today and runs through Sunday, will feature 30 teams, the maximum amount that area parks can accommodate, said Chris Clark, superintendent of athletics for Parks and Recreation.

"We could have taken 50 teams easy if we had the facilities," he said. "A lot of the tournament teams are dwindling from 30 to 25 to 20, and even to 15 teams per tournament.

"Teams call every week begging to get in. We just don't have the space to accommodate every team. There is such a strong field this year that any team can beat another on any given day."

The Smoky Mountain Classic has developed into one of the two best, if not the top, slow pitch softball tournaments in the nation, Clark said.

"If a team comes to one tournament a year, this is the one they want to come to," Huff said.

This year, for the first time, 20 of the teams that play on the same circuit are on the Classic schedule.

Teams play six games on the circuit, and the first berth they mark is the the Smoky Mountain Classic, Huff said.

Of the 30 teams accepted for the slow-pitch softball tournament, 25 are from out of town and will require overnight stays.

Each team has 15 to 20 members, and family and friends often accompany the teams. The Classic usually draws 10,000 to 12,000 spectators over the weekend.

While Maryville, Alcoa and Blount County don't have one of the more modern softball venues with multiple fields in a complex, the area does have older parks, Huff said.

"There are trees, natural shade and berms, which means spectators don't have to sit in a stadium all weekend," he said. "People can bring a blanket or lawn chairs and sit on the grass.

"We try to promote a county-fair atmosphere, with kettle corn, funnel cake and face-painting for the kids. This is good, cheap, family entertainment." Admission is $5 today and Sunday and $6 on Saturday. The Classic will begin at 4 p.m. today, 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday. During Saturday games, four teams will be sent home about every hour.

Games are held at various fields in the Parks and Recreation system until around 5 p.m. Saturday, when they are down to about 13 teams. Play is then confined to Sandy Springs Park in Maryville, including the championship on Sunday.

The Classic adds to the coffers of not only Parks and Recreation but to Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau and Blount County through the hotel/motel tax split.

"Most of the hotels and motels will be full this weekend," Clark said. "A couple of the teams I talked to said they have been here since Sunday and are staying at cabins in Townsend, and others are staying at area motels. They turn the event into a family vacation."

The Classic will provide 70 to 80 people with jobs for the weekend. This includes the 6- and 7-year-old ball shaggers, 13 umpires (four of which are local) and Parks and Recreation administration staff.

"When the Classic comes to town this week, they will fill up a great part of the rooms in the airport area," said Herb Handly, executive vice president for tourism of the Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau. "This event has been extremely popular for 40 years. This is something we count on every year for hotel/motel tax dollars.

"Some of these participants come in and make a vacation of it. They take part in the Classic and stay extra days. This includes ball players, families, friends and team followers," Handly added.

The Visitors Bureau has helped financially promote the Classic since its inception, he said. "Parks and Recreation has done a magnificent job managing this particular event. It serves Blount County very well."