Despite losing the bid to become the host of the TSSAA state football championships, Greater Chattanooga Sports & Events Committee representatives gained a measure of optimism that they can bring the Spring Fling home to the Scenic City.

Last month the TSSAA Board of Control broke a nine-year relationship with Murfreesboro and awarded Cookeville the right to host the football title games. That move dispelled the belief that Murfreesboro's experience and geographic advantage were too much to overcome, while Cookeville's enthusiastic bid was also a blueprint on how Chattanooga can regain the Fling.

"We're trying not to give away too much information about our bid, but we do plan to be more aggressive," Sports Committee president Scott Smith said. "Obviously the board wants to know the community is behind any proposal, so we'll make sure we have representatives from the city to show them how much we want it back.

"The football decision does make you have a little more hope than before. It seemed like everything was moving to (Murfreesboro), but to see that's not the case makes us feel pretty good."

The deadline for cities wishing to bid for the Fling is Monday, and the board will vote on a new two-year contract at its Aug. 17 meeting at TSSAA headquarters in Hermitage. Besides Chattanooga and Murfreesboro, which has hosted the event the last four years, TSSAA assistant director Matthew Gillespie said the only other cities that have expressed an intention to bid are Knoxville, Nashville and Johnson City.

Cookeville officials have said they will not bid.

"That football didn't stay in Murfreesboro shows that nothing is locked into a certain site," Gillespie said. "We've been to Chattanooga before and remember how well it ran. Who thought the Spring Fling would've ever moved from Chattanooga after nine years?

"You never know until you see all the bids what's going to happen. If one city really wants an event more than the others and puts together an impressive package, like Cookeville did, things can change quickly."

The Spring Fling is a weeklong Olympic-style set of championships in baseball, soccer, softball, tennis and track and field. The event has brought in more than $3.5 million annually to Murfreesboro's economy, and Smith projects the Fling would be worth more than $5 million to Chattanooga.

"You're looking at around 4,300 athletes, and we've projected an additional two people per athlete spending about $100 a day," Smith said. "It would be a very big boost for our city."

The TSSAA required a minimum bid of $225,000, and each city's game sites will be gauged before the board's vote. Included in Chattanooga's bid will be 12 area baseball fields -- eight that would be used for games. Those include AT&T Field for all championship games, the Chattanooga State and Lee University stadiums and high school fields at Baylor, Hixson, Ooltewah, Red Bank, Soddy-Daisy, Bradley Central, Cleveland High and Walker Valley.

The baseball championships were held at Middle Tennessee State University's sparkling new facility last spring, but neither that field nor the one at Lipscomb University, which has hosted games in the past, will be available next spring because both schools are hosting their conference tournaments during Fling time.

Mona Herring, president of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, would not elaborate this past week on that issue or the dollar amount in Murfreesboro's bid proposal.

"We've got several different scenarios that we will be presenting," Herring said. "We'll discuss that with the TSSAA. We'll be giving them several options. The big question is what is that magic number that is going to let us keep Spring Fling here?

"I think we have a greater focus toward Spring Fling (than football) because it is a bigger event that lasts longer. It brings in more revenue. We're really focused on our bid and how we'll present it in the best light of what we have here. We held this in this county the past four years and handled it flawlessly. We've had no complaints whatsoever, and we hope we can continue to hold it."

According to Smith, Chattanooga's proposal will include all softball games to be held at Warner Park, including Jim Frost Stadium. Soccer matches would be played at Baylor, Chattanooga Christian and GPS. Tennis would be at the Champions Club. Track and field competition would be at Red Bank.

Chattanooga hosted the Spring Fling for its first nine years, but the TSSAA took it to Memphis in 2003 for three years before moving it to Murfreesboro.

"Spring Fling is the event I get asked about the most," Smith said. "People want it back. It started here and is such a big event, people here feel like they still have ownership of the event."