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GREENSBORO - After years of close-but-no-cigar efforts to attract a major national sports championship, Greensboro has landed a big one: The city will host the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Officials with the U.S. Figure Skating Association - the sport's governing body - could not be reached for comment, but sources familiar with Cary businessman Hill Carrow's effort to bring the event to Greensboro said tonight that the USFSA's board of directors chose Greensboro over Kansas City, Mo.

Late this afternoon, Greensboro Coliseum officials scheduled a news conference at noon Wednesday to make "a major announcement."

Reached at home tonight, Carrow said any announcement would have to come today from USFSA officials.

"I have every reason to be enthused about our chances," Carrow said.

"They don't hold press conferences to tell you you're not getting something."

Securing the skating championships is a coup for the city, which USFSA officials say would provide a $30 million infusion to the local economy.

More than 4,000 skaters, coaches, trainers media and fans are expected to be in Greensboro for the eight-day spectacle.

It's also a much-needed boost for coliseum officials, who have failed in attempts to land major national sporting events in recent years.

Just last year, Greensboro was unsuccessful in its bid to land the NCAA women's basketball Final Four.

Coliseum officials could not be reached for comment tonight.

The last major national championship to be held in Greensboro was 35 years ago, when N.C. State defeated Marquette at the coliseum in the 1974 NCAA men's basketball final.

Carrow said last month his company, Sports Properties, Inc., could spend as much as $3 million organizing and marketing the event.

He said he was confident the 2011 event could better the championships attendance record of 160,000 fans set at the 2007 event in Spokane, Wash.

Ticket sales are key to making the event a financial success. Unlike golf's U.S. Open or the Super Bowl, figure skating's national championship relies more on ticket sales than sponsorship sales to turn a profit.

Carrow said his company will "take advantage of Greensboro and the Triad as a community base, while still pulling from the larger Piedmont and the big cities of Raleigh and Charlotte."

The event, which includes competition at the senior, junior and novice levels, will be held Jan. 22-30, 2011.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com