MOLINE, Ill. – FLW Outdoors announced Wednesday that the world’s most lucrative walleye tournament will be staged on the Mississippi River in 2004, attracting as many as 400 anglers to the Moline area and paying out as much as $1.4 million in cash awards. The four-day Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship will kick off Sept. 29 and culminate Oct. 2 in a sure-to-be thrilling finish that will award the winning pro as much as $400,000 cash.
The true winner, however, is the Quad Cities area, as RCL Championship contenders and their families, tournament staff, sponsors and spectators will descend upon the region and patronize local businesses, leading to a total economic impact of more than $10 million. Moline and the Mississippi River will also benefit from nationwide media coverage, as the RCL Championship is featured in media outlets across the nation, including the Outdoor Life Network, which will broadcast tournament coverage to its 65 million subscribers on the “FLW Outdoors” television program.
“Because the world’s best walleye pros will be visiting Moline for the RCL Championship, which is the nation’s premier walleye event, anglers across the nation will now look to the Quad Cities area as a prime walleye-fishing destination,” said Joe Taylor, president and chief executive officer of the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The publicity that will be generated by this event is invaluable, and the boom to our local economy thanks to the hundreds of tournament competitors, sponsors and staff will be felt for years to come. We are excited and proud to be the host site for the 2004 Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship.”
“Hosting the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship is a terrific opportunity to showcase our city and the entire region to the nation’s outdoor enthusiasts,” said Moline Mayor Stanley Leach. “Fishing is a huge economic driver in the tourism industry, so the exposure we receive from this event will pay dividends for many years.”
Pros and co-anglers qualify for the RCL Championship by competing in the $3.19 million Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League or RCL sanctioned events. Two hundred pros and 200 co-anglers comprise a full championship field, with pros in the running for as much as $400,000 cash and co-anglers vying for as much as $150,000 cash. This past October, Ranger pro Tom Keenan of Hatley, Wis., emerged as the 2003 RCL champion and earned $300,000 cash for the win.
“We held a terrific Wal-Mart FLW Tour event in Moline in 1998, and we’ve been working to get back there ever since,” said Charlie Evans, executive vice president of FLW Outdoors. “With the first-class facilities, resources and, of course, people in the Moline area, it’s a prime place to hold a tournament of this caliber. We are fortunate to bring the RCL Championship to Moline and the Mississippi River.”
The Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Championship is administered by FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing. FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League, the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the EverStart Series, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail.