Seaside Days & Great Plays · round golf, tennis, fishing and boating. “Sports tourism is an economic driver for Florida, bringing billions of dollars in direct spending every year

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Palm Beach County Sports CommissionPalm Coast & the Flagler BeachesPanama City Beach Convention & Visitors BureauPasco County Sports CommissionPensacola Sports Polk County Sports MarketingSanta Rosa County Board of County CommissionersSarasota County Sports CommissionSpace Coast Sports PromotionsSt. Pete-Clearwater Sports CommissionTallahassee Sports CouncilTampa Bay Sports CommissionTreasure Coast Sports CommissionVisit Orlando Sports

Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors BureauBroward County Sports DevelopmentCentral Florida Sports CommissionCharlotte Harbor Visitor & Convention BureauCitrus County Sports DevelopmentColumbia County Sports CommissionDaytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors BureauEmerald Coast Sports Development OfficeGainesville Sports CommissionGreater Miami Convention & Visitors BureauJacksonville Sports CouncilKissimmee Sports CommissionLee County Sports DevelopmentNaples, Marco Island and Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau Ocala/Marion County Sports Commission

4a special advertising section ❘ street & smith’s sportsbusiness journal august 8-14, 2016

Sports tourism is one of the biggest industries in the state of Florida, bringing in an estimated $44 billion in economic impact, 13 million visitors and 400,000 local jobs every year.

The Florida Sports Foundation has been instrumental in the growth and development of Florida’s sports industry for the past 20 years.

“One goal is to promote Florida so we can bring in national and interna-tional events, such as the Super Bowl or NCAA championships,” said John Webb, president of the foundation. “Another core goal is to promote all of

our regional markets for seniors, youth and amateur champion-ships, as well as national and interna-tional sports. In addi-tion, the Florida Sports Foundation helps develop small-market

sports events for our rural areas that will have a significant positive economic impact for them.”

Over the last 10 years, the Florida sports industry has exploded, hosting more than 3,100 events across the state in 2015. The state now boasts 28 sports commissions, compared with nine a decade ago.

“I credit the professionalism of our 28 sports commissions for the success of sports development and tourism in Flor-ida,” said Webb. “Florida is a natural match for sports – the weather is great year round; we have easy airport access; and our venues are second to none. More importantly, our cities and commissions have deep experience in servicing visitors, from an event organiz-er’s first contact with a community to ensuring families and athletes leave with great memories of their tourna-ment and visit.”

Communities across the state play host to 10 college bowl games annu-ally. Florida has hosted the Super Bowl 15 times and 69 NCAA championships since 2000. Florida has professional sports franchises in every league and is a major destination for fans of NASCAR and the Daytona 500, as well as year-

round golf, tennis, fishing and boating.“Sports tourism is an economic driver

for Florida, bringing billions of dollars in direct spending every year. Florida is a premier destination,” said Webb. “We have 1,100 golf courses, not to mention 8,400 miles of shore line and 7,800 lakes for fishing and boating sports.”

Fishing and boating, two of the state’s most popular water sports, together are a $7 billion industry in Flor-ida. The International Game Fish Associ-ation is headquartered in Dania Beach.

The U.S. Tennis Association is cur-rently building its state-of-the-art National Campus in Orlando to house the association’s Community Tennis and Player Development divisions. The innovative new facility, featuring 102 hard and clay courts, will enhance the sport at every level and create an unparalleled playing, training and edu-cation experience for players, coaches and spectators. The facility is expected to come online by the end of the year.

“Florida hosts more professional tour-naments than any other state in the nation,” said Webb. “Golf, by itself, is an $8.2 billion industry for the state.”

The PGA is headquartered in West Palm Beach, while the LPGA is head-quartered in Daytona Beach. The PGA

Tour makes its home in Ponte Vedra Beach and the World Golf Hall of Fame is in St. Augustine.

Though the Sunshine State is not typi-cally known as a hockey hub, the state boasts 31 sheets of ice, enthusiastic leagues of youth and amateur players and hosts major events, such as the NHL All-Star Game and NCAA Frozen Four Championships.

The Florida Sports Foundation also promotes Florida spring training base-ball as a tourist destination for MLB fans that come to watch 15 MLB teams begin their preseason tune up. In 2015,

more than 1.5 million fans flocked to watch the Florida Grapefruit League, breaking per-game attendance records at the 14 facilities across the state. The tradition dates back more than a century.

In addition to hosting a Florida sports summit for the state’s sports commis-sions, bringing together bidding cities with event organizers and promoters from across the nation, the Florida Sports Foundation assists the state’s communities with securing, hosting and bringing back sports events and sports-related businesses. The foundation uses grant programs, legislative initiatives and industry partner development.

“Our grant program is supported pri-marily by our 10 major league, profes-sional teams across the state to create team-specific Florida license plates,” said Webb. “Our license plate program

is a tremendously successful partner-ship.”

The foundation produces a Florida Sports Directory and Facilities Guide, breaking down the state by sports commissions and available facilities, providing a wealth of information for event organizers.

The Florida Sports Foundation is also charged with producing and promot-ing the Sunshine State Games and the Florida Senior Games.

The Sunshine State Games is an Olympic-style festival program held throughout the state for amateur ath-letes of all skill and age levels, and pro-vides athletes with the incentive to train and the opportunity to compete.

“The Sunshine State Games give us a chance to introduce Florida youth to new sports and to assist sports that need help with growth and expenses. Last year, we had 11,000 kids across the state participate,” said Webb. “We have seen a new wave of participation in a variety of sports, such as lacrosse, which is one of the fastest growing youth sports in Florida.”

The Florida Senior Games attract more than 20,000 athletes, ages 50 and up, in 20 regional competitions. The 2016 Florida Senior Games serve as the qualifying event for the 2017 National Senior Games. The 26 sports offered include archery, table tennis, badmin-ton, track and field, basketball, bowl-ing, cycling, powerlifting, swimming and pickleball.

“Seniors are our fastest-growing age group and Florida continues to be an attractive retirement destination,” said Webb. “The goal of the Senior Games is to promote a healthy lifestyle and to provide an opportunity for seniors to compete at local, state and national levels in an affordable environment.”

Amateur sports, in particular travel teams and tournaments, are a resilient business for Florida, said Webb.

“We’ve all seen that in economically difficult times, like our recent recession, parents will forgo a lot of things for themselves, but they will do whatever they can to keep their children in sports and to travel to tournaments,” said Webb. “And Florida is a perfect choice for parents. They can combine the best in tournament experiences with a fam-ily vacation at the nation’s best possi-ble destination.”

NASC CelebrAteS itS 25th ANNiverSAry

The Florida Sports Foundation brings together 20,000 athletes, ages 50 and older, to participate in 26 sports for the Florida Senior games.

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Florida’s great weather, dedicated sports commissions, easy access and state-of-the-art venues are a natural draw for outdoor amateur and youth sports.

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Florida boasts more than 1,100 golf courses statewide, including The Ocean course at Hammock Beach Resort, a Jack nicklaus signature course.

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Florida Sports Fuels $44b Impact

John Webb, naSc

8a special advertising section ❘ street & smith’s sportsbusiness journal august 8-14, 2016

Palm Beach County, Fla., with its year-round climate, dedicated sports commission and world-class facilities, has long been a favorite among events rights holders.

With the opening of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in January 2017, the future spring training home of the MLB Houston Astros and Washington Nation-als, the county will double its capacity to host national and international base-ball and softball competitions.

Palm Beach County will be the only Florida county with four MLB teams in two world-class spring training facilities as the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins train at nearby Roger Dean Sta-dium. Between the new stadium and Roger Dean Stadium, Palm Beach County can tap into 26 MLB-quality dia-monds, as well as world-class training facilities and seven multipurpose fields, built to FIFA specifications, for soccer,

lacrosse, field hockey, rugby and flag football.

“In 2015, we hosted 19 baseball tour-naments in Palm Beach County, bring-ing in 700 teams with 12,000 athletes, 20,000 room nights and $12 million in

direct visitor spending,” said George Linley, executive director of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. “And next year, we’ll have the capac-ity to double that. We are already the state leader for hosting amateur base-ball tournaments. With those 26 dia-monds, plus our other MLB-quality fields, it will be hard for anyone to compete with us for baseball.”

The county already draws some of the best brands in amateur baseball, such as USA Baseball; Perfect Game USA, the nationally renowned premier provider of amateur baseball events; and the Under Armour Baseball Fac-tory.

Now, Linley said, “we can build mega tournaments with 10,000 visitors each, filling thousands and thousands of room nights.”

Palm Beach County has a deep his-tory in the sports travel industry, and is a

charter member of the National Associ-ation of Sports Commissions, said Linley. The success derives from the county’s continued investment in diverse, top-of-the-line facilities and its investment in a sports commission team dedicated to bringing extraordinary levels of service to rights holders.

“Our motto is ‘Just Bring your Game,’” said Linley. “We want event organizers to solely concentrate on the sport-specific components of their tour-nament. We can handle everything else.”

And that service pays off.“In the past year, we’ve hosted 138

major sporting events that represented 40 different kinds of sports, which gen-erated 185,000 room nights — and the year isn’t over,” said Linley. “Consider that in the first decade of the millen-


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The Ballpark of the palm Beaches will host spring training for the astros and nationals.

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Wilmington, N.C., and its surround-ing beach towns are seeing contin-ued growth in a far-ranging swath of the sports tourism market.

The Tony Hawke Foundation has committed funding toward Ogden Skate Park, a professional competi-tion-level facility opening in 2017. And as the NCAA has grown the sport of beach volleyball, the area has seen an increase in bookings for tourna-ments for its three manmade beach volleyball courts, along with the miles of natural beach courts.

“Our cities and New Hanover County have worked hard to create a spectacular inventory of facilities for both sports tourists and our local com-munity,” said Kim Hufham, president and CEO of the Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Next May, the city of Wilmington

will host the 2017 Wells Fargo Golf Championship at Eagle Point.

“We expect to show that we can handle a PGA-sized tournament,” said Hufham. “Our residents have stepped up to ensure it’s a success. We expect the championship will only grow our golf market.”

Within the next 15 months, the area will add to its hotel inventory by another 400 to 500 rooms, as several new hotels come online.

Hufham is expecting continued growth in all areas of the sports tour-ism market. IRONMAN North Carolina has acquired the area’s traditional PPD Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon and will drive participation numbers even higher. It is expected to spur more similar events for the area. Triathlete magazine named the B2B one of the top five iron distance tri-athlons in the world.

Promoters and organizers, such as USSSA youth baseball, NSA girls fast pitch softball and the U.S. Tennis Asso-ciation, return to the area year after year. The Seaside Soccer Classic, now in its 23rd year, brings more than 4,300

regional athletes on 300 teams.Wilmington, and the towns of

Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, draws regional bas-ketball, softball and lacrosse youth tournaments and national and inter-national marathons and triathlons. Proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway make the area a natural home for watersports. Wilmington is also home to great ten-nis at the Althea Gibson Tennis Center, which features 19 lighted courts

“Wilmington and the beaches offer the full package for families,” said Hufham. “With 8,000 rooms, from hotels to cottages, at a wide range of prices, there are options for every budget. Our facilities, combined with our great year-round weather, the wealth of activities and beautiful beaches, have made amateur sports travel our fastest growing market.”

Quality Venues a Sports Magnet for Wilmington

Ogden park, a professional-competition level skate park, opens in 2017.

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Palm Beach county Tourneys continue to Grow

nium, we averaged 75 events a year. We’ve roughly doubled that output. We’re now supporting almost as many events in the summer alone as we used to support in a full year.”

In addition to great service, Linley credits the continuing growth of facili-ties inventory, including more fields, tennis courts and gym space.

Palm Beach County has won bids for two of its biggest events this year because of one dynamic facility — the International Polo Club Palm Beach, which offers nine polo fields and a commitment to bringing amateur events of all kinds to the county.

In July, the county hosted the bien-nial, week-long American youth Soccer Organization National Games, bringing more than 200 teams with 4,000 ath-letes and 9,000 total visitors to town for 13,000 room nights.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the county will support the National Hockey Festival, owned by USA Field Hockey, bringing another 200 teams and 8,000 visitors for the long holiday.

“The reason we won those bids was because of the polo club,” said Linley. “We can lay out 30-plus contiguous soccer fields so that all the soccer can be played in a single location. We were able to bring the National Hockey Festi-val here because the polo club could accommodate 33 hockey pitches. It’s very tough for other cities to compete with that ease of access.”

The two events combined, he said, involve 40 hotels creating a strong, pos-itive economic impact throughout the county’s 38 municipalities.

Palm Beach County is also Florida’s No. 1 golf destination. With more than 170 courses, it’s a natural spot for the Honda Classic, a premier PGA tourna-ment, that topped 200,000 attendees in 2016, as well as the PGA Allianz Championship and the LPGA Legends’ Walgreens Charity Championship.

Palm Beach County is having an “Olympic moment” this summer before the games in Rio de Janeiro, Linley said. In late July, the county hosted Argen-tina, the world’s leading soccer team, playing against the No. 3 Colombian team and then, two days later, against the Haitian team, an emerging Carib-bean powerhouse.

“We’ve had some banner years,” Linley said. “We’ve exceeded our expected growth in every area for the last five years. I attribute that to not only the growth in the sports travel market, but to the Palm Beach Sports Commis-sion’s high level of investment in quality services, along with the continued expansion and growth of our world-class venues.”

august 8-14, 2016 special advertising section ❘ street & smith’s sportsbusiness journal 9a


It’s not if you Win or LoseIT’S HOW WHERE YOU PLAY THE GAME The Palm Beaches is home to some of the nation’s premier sporting facilities and events. Discover a variety of high-quality sports venues, while being swept away by warm breezes and world-renowned accommodations. All this in the tropical paradise called The Palm Beaches. Call now for more information about how to make your event a winner! 561.233.3180

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paLM BeacH cOunTY, FROM page 8a

The International polo club palm Beach config-ures to hold 30 soccer fields or 33 hockey pitches.

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The palm Beach Sports commission has supported more than 138 youth and amateur sporting events for 40 different kinds of sports in the last 12 months, generating 185,000 room nights in palm Beach county.

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august 8-14, 2016 special advertising section ❘ street & smith’s sportsbusiness journal 13a


Pensacola, Fla., has a rich, storied tradition with sports that nearly matches its long deep community his-tory as the first European settlement in America.

“Some of the greatest names in sports have their roots here in Escambia County,” said Ray Palmer, executive director of Pensacola Sports. “Baseball Hall of Famer Don Sutton; NFL Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith and Derrick Brooks; golf great Bubba Watson; Olym-pic gold medal sprinter Justin Gatlin — the list goes on. The list is even more remarkable considering we have a population of fewer than 300,000.”

The sports commission itself, founded in 1955, is one of the oldest sports tour-ism organizations in the nation and prides itself on its ability to create and manage sporting events and bring an unprecedented level of attention to every necessary detail. The sports com-mission team is a dedicated group of event organizers and planners, empha-sizing service over quick sales.

Palmer thanked the National Associ-ation of Sports Commissions for bring-ing together the nation’s sports com-missions to advance sports tourism and to promote industry-wide professional-ism.

“The NCAA has turned to us for national championships because they trust that we have the needed depth of knowledge and the ability to meet all of their specific requirements,” said Palmer. “Rights holders and governing

bodies know we understand what it takes to handle all the details.”

The sports commission created and operates one of the top 15K runs in the nation, the Pensacola Double Bridge Run, which brings in about 5,000 out-of-town athletes.

“That sounds small, but not many people actually run 15Ks,” said Palmer. “Our small residential population means those 5,000 runners must come from everywhere, both nationally and inter-nationally, to compete. And they do.”

Pro Watercross Jet Ski Racing, some-

times called “NASCAR on the water,” for three years running, has brought teams from all over the world to partici-pate in racing and freestyle driving at Pensacola Beach.

Sports tourism is a solid economic engine for the family-friendly vacation spot set on the sugar sands of the Gulf of Mexico. It generates about $30 mil-lion in direct spending and about 30,000 room nights.

Relying on a strong mix of city, county and university facilities, along with private venues, Pensacola is a

competitive player in the youth sports market.

Soccer is the No. 1 tournament sport, played at the area’s 18-field soc-cer complex, followed by baseball and volleyball. Lacrosse is an emerging tour-nament market for Pensacola. The Roger Scott Tennis Center, a 28-court facility, is a frequent site of USTA events, including the Pensacola Futures Cham-pionship, a pro circuit event.

The sports commission also brings to life the Subway High School All-Star Series for football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball and baseball across three counties of athletes.

“In Escambia County, there is a pas-sion for the development of youth sports of all kinds,” said Palmer. “And it shows in the quality of our tournaments and in the phenomenal athleticism we see from kids who’ve grown up here.”

In 1988, Escambia County had seven native sons and daughters com-peting for the U.S. Olympic team. Five of those Olympiads were from the same high school.

“We have phenomenal youth coaching,” Palmer said. “Our world-class athletes come from every kind of background, from the poorer inner city to the country club kids to any combi-nation in between. If we could figure out exactly what makes Pensacola such a hotbed of great young athletes, we’d bottle it and sell it. We’ve decided it must be something in the water.”


sports destination with more to explore

Pensacola Sports congratulates the National Associationof Sports Commissions on this year’s milestone.

For 25 years the NASC has been promoting sportstourism and helping local communities like the

Pensacola Bay Area create incredible experiences surrounding athletics.

Visit Pensacola and Be Moved by the sporting competitions we host - running and cycling events,

baseball, soccer, tennis, golf and more!

Celebrating a 25-year winning streak!

FOR A FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS, VISIT PENSACOLASPORTS.ORG

Pensacola Sports History a Draw for Athletes

clockwise from top left, the pensacola Double Bridge Run; the pensacola Beach Firefighters challenge; Subway High School all-Star Series football and basketball.

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Seaside Days & Great Plays · round golf, tennis, fishing and boating. “Sports tourism is an economic driver for Florida, bringing billions of dollars in direct spending every year