PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh has landed the 2005 Citgo Bassmaster Classic, which is expected to lure 70,000 visitors and could net the region between $20 million and $30 million, according to BASS, the tournament owner and organizer.

Hosting the tournament is also a sign that the health of the region's once-polluted waters are getting cleaner.

"We've known for quite some time about the quality of the fishery here," Ken Komoroski, a member of a local committee that worked to bring the tournament to

Pittsburgh, said Tuesday. Bass in the two- to three-pound range are common in local tournaments and five-pounders are also caught, he said.

"The fishery is phenomenal out there," said Dean Kessel, vice president and general manager of BASS.

The Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau, state Fish and Boat Commission, local and state politicians and others had been working for more than two years to land the tournament. It will be held next July 29-31.

Pittsburgh is a new market for the tournament, which has been held in southern states for most of its 34 years. This year's tournament is in Charlotte, N.C.

Pittsburgh beat out about a dozen other cities, including Hartford, Conn., the other leading contender to host the 35th tournament.

Joseph McGrath, president of the visitors bureau, said he hopes the tournament will help dispel the outdated - but still prevalent - image of Pittsburgh as a grimy steel town.

"It is a green city and certainly a sports city as well," he said.

Kessel estimated that the economic benefit to the region would be in the $20 million to $30 million dollar range, based on the tournament's impact in other host cities.

What hasn't been decided exactly is which of the region's rivers will be fished - the Ohio, the Monongahela, the Allegheny or the Youghiogheny rivers. Anglers will launch their boats from one of two landings near downtown - one by Heinz Field and PNC Park along the Allegheny and Ohio or one along the Monongahela.

The event will also include a consumer show at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, a fishing derby for children and meetings on conservation.

One popular element is the daily weigh-in of bass caught by amateur and pro anglers, which will be held at Mellon Arena. Last year, 23,557 attended the weigh-ins in New Orleans.

ESPN televises the event.