Football Championships Bring $800K To DeKalb Area

Tourism officials say last year's Illinois high school football championship brought an economic boost of about $800,000 to the DeKalb area.  
 The DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau says more than 22,000 people visited DeKalb the weekend of Nov. 27 and 28 when the Illinois High School Association held the championship. Officials say 465 hotel rooms were booked in DeKalb and Sycamore.  
 The(DeKalb Daily Chronicle reports that restaurant owners say they saw a 35 to 50 percent bump in business.  
 Visitors Bureau Executive Director Debbie Armstrong says average spending per visitor per day came out to $75. It did rain on Nov. 27, which organizers said has them hoping to prepare for poor weather in 2017.