Murfreesboro, TN - Beginning on Tuesday January 9, 2024, Stones River National Battlefield will offer reduced services in the visitor center while contractors replace carpet and repaint most of public spaces. The reduced services may include:
- Closure of the museum exhibits,
- Closure of the orientation movie, and
- Limited selections in our America's National Parks store.
There will be a period of 2-3 days when the visitor center lobby will be closed for repainting. During that time, the public will have access to the restrooms and be able to pick-up a park folder, Junior Ranger books and access Passport to National Parks cancellation stamps in the restroom lobby. The recarpeting/repainting process may take 4-6 weeks - updates will be posted to the parks Facebook page.
MORE ON VISITORS: In a report released by the National Park Service (NPS), information indicates 418-thousand visitors made the Stones River National Battlefield a priority in 2022 and spent $27.6 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 360 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the Rutherford County economy that added up to $40.1 million.
“Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 300 million visitors every year. The impact of tourism to national parks is undeniable: bringing jobs and revenue to communities in every state in the country and making national parks an essential driver to the national economy,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.
"People come to Stones River National Battlefield to connect with one of the key moments in our nation's Civil War, to explore the battlefield's natural beauty, and to enjoy a wide range of recreational activities,” said Superintendent Brenda Pennington. “We recognize that this tourism is a critical driver to the local economy, bringing 360 jobs and $40 million in revenue to communities within 60 miles of the park.”
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service. The report shows $23.9 billion of direct spending by nearly 312 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 378,400 jobs nationally; 314,600 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $50.3 billion.
As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $9 billion in economic output nationally during 2022. The restaurants sector was had the second greatest effects, with $4.6 billion in economic output nationally. See the report from 2022 HERE.
