As March Madness begins, Horry County was the heart of the Big South Tournament for men's and women's basketball.
"One of the things we do best in the Myrtle Beach area is hospitality," said Nora Battle, the spokeswoman for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
This is the first time the men and women's games have been played in the same location.
The games were held at Coastal Carolina University's HTC Center.
CCU lost in the first round and there were many seats empty at the championship game on Sunday.
"We knew to fill all these seats we knew one of our teams would have to be in the championship," said CCU Director of Athletics, Hunter Yurachek.
ESPN 2 and 3 reported on the games all week.
"The national publicity we'll get on that is huge," said Battle.
The chamber feels the impact from the tournament extends beyond filling the seats at the arena.
"This was a great way to show that we are destination that can host large sporting events and make it fun!" said Battle.
CCU will host the Big South Tournament for two more years.
