Sparta Facility Inks Trapshooting Contest Extension

FROM CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS

The Amateur Trapshooting Association has signed a multi-year contract with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, keeping its Grand American competition in Sparta until at least 2036.

The Grand American brings thousands of competitors to the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Randolph County and pumps tens of millions of dollars into the local economy, according to a news release from IDNR.

The complex, which occupies 1,600 acres in southern Illinois, offers trap and skeet shooting, sporting clays, and other activities. It has more than 1,000 campsites and opportunities for fishing. This year the ATA Grand American is scheduled for July 31 through Aug. 10. Organizers expect millions of targets to be thrown during the event.