The Dual Impact of Sporting Events on Local Economies and Social Cohesion
In recent years, destinations across America and worldwide have discovered a powerful economic driver that extends far beyond professional leagues and championship games. Sports tourism—encompassing everything from youth tournaments to international competitions—has emerged as a multifaceted industry capable of transforming local economies while simultaneously strengthening community bonds.
What makes sports tourism particularly remarkable is its ability to deliver benefits that transcend mere financial metrics. While the economic impact remains substantial, the industry’s contribution to community building, cultural exchange, and social cohesion represents an equally valuable return on investment for forward-thinking communities.
The Economic Powerhouse Behind Sports Destinations
Beyond “Heads in Beds”: The Multilayered Economic Benefits
When communities invest in sports facilities and events, they create ripple effects throughout the local economy. Unlike traditional tourism, which may experience seasonal fluctuations, sports tourism offers year-round potential through diverse event calendories catering to multiple sports and age groups.
The economic impact manifests in several ways:
- Direct spending from visitors on accommodations, dining, retail, and entertainment
- Tax revenue generation that supports essential community services
- Job creation across multiple sectors, including facility management, event coordination, hospitality, and retail
- Infrastructure development that serves both visitors and residents long after events conclude
For example, Fox Cities in Wisconsin saw transformative growth after opening the Community First Champion Center in November 2019. With 164,000 square feet of adaptable indoor space, this facility now drives approximately 40% of the region’s sports tourism efforts. Matt Ten Haken, director of sports marketing at Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, notes the steady increase in visiting teams, events, and hotel room nights over the past three years.
“We put 25 percent of our room tax collections away into our Tourism Development Grant fund for community development,” Ten Haken explains. “Since our CVB’s foundation in 1988, we have given over $10 million in grants to brick and mortar campaigns.”
Employment Opportunities: Creating Pathways to Professional Growth
Sports tourism generates significant employment opportunities spanning various skill levels and industries. Beyond the immediate jobs associated with event operations, the sector supports careers in:
- Event management and coordination
- Facility operations and maintenance
- Hospitality services
- Marketing and communications
- Transportation and logistics
- Food and beverage services
- Retail operations
The Community First Champion Center exemplifies this employment benefit, as Ten Haken points out: “We employ 40 part-time employees, most of which are high school or college students in the area. Getting them that first taste of working in the sports industry and customer service, a lot of skills that they’re learning are transferable to many other career paths.”
These positions often serve as entry points for young professionals, providing valuable experience and developing transferable skills applicable across multiple career paths. Additionally, the center established a legacy scholarship fund awarded annually to three graduating high school students who played, volunteered, or worked at the facility—further illustrating how sports tourism investments can create educational opportunities within communities.
Infrastructure Development: Building for Today and Tomorrow
When communities invest in sports tourism, they frequently undertake infrastructure projects that yield long-term benefits extending far beyond specific events. Modern sports complexes require supporting infrastructure, including:
- Transportation improvements
- Public space enhancements
- Telecommunications upgrades
- Accessibility modifications
- Environmental sustainability measures
According to a study by Cimarron Global Solutions titled “Creating Community Through Sport,” these infrastructure developments enhance the overall quality of life for residents while simultaneously increasing a community’s capacity to host larger and more diverse events.
Igor Bakovic, director of sports at DuPage Sports Commission (DSC), emphasizes the importance of strategic investment: “DSC thoughtfully reviews its budget so we can use our funding in the most advantageous way possible. Each opportunity is viewed from all perspectives: Impact for our venues, benefits for residents and local athletes, the goals of our partner organizations and the economic impact of driving sports visitation.”
Beyond Economics: The Social Capital of Sports Tourism
While financial benefits provide compelling justification for sports tourism investments, the social and cultural impacts deserve equal consideration when evaluating the industry’s full value proposition.
Building Community Identity and Pride
Sports events serve as rallying points for communities, creating shared experiences that foster collective identity and pride. When local facilities host regional, national, or international competitions, residents experience their community through visitors’ eyes, often gaining new appreciation for their hometown’s unique qualities.
This phenomenon extends beyond event days, as improved facilities remain available for local use. Ten Haken highlights this dual benefit: “Sports tourism can obviously drive business and that’s really important, but the community benefit is just as important, and we can do both if we do it wisely.”
The availability of professional-quality facilities for local use represents a significant quality-of-life enhancement. Young athletes gain access to superior training environments, while recreational sports enthusiasts enjoy improved playing conditions. This increased access to quality sporting facilities promotes physical activity among residents of all ages, contributing to public health outcomes through enhanced opportunities for exercise and recreation.
Cultural Exchange and Social Cohesion
Sports tourism facilitates meaningful interactions between visitors and residents, promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding. When communities host sporting events, they showcase local traditions, cuisine, and attractions to visitors who might otherwise never experience these regional distinctions.
A 2023 study on the impact of environment, culture, and sports tourism by Sonia Lohana and colleagues found that “sports tourism promotes community engagement and social cohesion,” uniting residents and visitors in shared experiences that celebrate local culture and environmental assets. This cultural exchange enhances mutual understanding and enriches the community’s social fabric, strengthening bonds that can be long-lasting.
Moreover, sports tourism encourages the preservation of cultural heritage by placing value on local traditions, landscapes, and customs. The study notes that preservation is often supported by infrastructure development tailored to maintain and highlight the area’s unique qualities. By strategically combining cultural assets with sporting events, communities create compelling destination narratives that attract tourism sustainably.
Developing Youth Opportunity and Engagement
Perhaps most significantly, sports tourism infrastructure creates expanded opportunities for youth participation in athletics. In communities with superior facilities, young people gain access to:
- More diverse sporting options
- Higher quality training environments
- Exposure to higher levels of competition
- Opportunities to observe elite athletes
- Enhanced pathways to college recruitment
Ten Haken observes this benefit directly: “Beyond the ‘heads in beds’ of sports tourism, [Community First Champion Center] has allowed us to provide more opportunities for kids to play. My daughter is playing in a volleyball camp there as we speak.”
These expanded opportunities contribute to youth development beyond athletic skills, fostering teamwork, discipline, goal-setting, and healthy lifestyle habits that serve young people throughout their lives.
Brand Building Through Sports Tourism
Destination Marketing and Differentiation
In an increasingly competitive landscape for both tourism dollars and economic development, communities seek distinctive positioning that differentiates them from similar destinations. Sports tourism offers a powerful platform for destination branding, allowing communities to highlight their unique attributes and facilities.
This brand-building extends beyond the sports community, influencing broader perceptions about a location’s quality of life, innovation, and economic vitality. When a destination becomes known for successfully hosting certain types of events, this reputation attracts additional investment while raising the community’s profile among potential visitors, residents, and businesses.
“Building your brand is a critical part of current social and economic cultures,” notes sports tourism expert Christopher Silbernagel. “Which is why the Olympics are still a ‘dream’ event to host despite the financial strain they can often place.”
While most communities won’t host Olympic Games, regional and national tournaments can similarly enhance a destination’s reputation when executed successfully. The cumulative effect of well-managed events builds a destination’s credibility within the sports tourism industry, creating a virtuous cycle of increased opportunity.
Media Exposure and Destination Awareness
Sporting events generate media coverage that extends well beyond sports-focused outlets, particularly for larger competitions. This media attention introduces destinations to new audiences who might not otherwise encounter information about these communities.
Television broadcasts of tournaments, newspaper coverage of championships, and social media content from participants all contribute to expanded awareness of host communities. Additionally, participants and spectators frequently share their experiences through social media, creating authentic, user-generated content that showcases the destination to their personal networks.
Strategic Implementation: Maximizing Returns on Sports Tourism Investments
Communities seeking to leverage sports tourism for economic and social development must approach this opportunity strategically, aligning investments with community needs and realistic market opportunities.
Facility Planning With Dual Purpose
Successful sports tourism facilities serve both visitor and resident needs, maximizing utilization rates while ensuring community benefits. Rather than developing single-use venues that might sit empty between tournaments, forward-thinking communities create flexible spaces capable of hosting diverse events while accommodating local recreational needs.
For example, indoor court facilities can serve traveling basketball and volleyball tournaments while providing practice space for local teams during evenings and off-seasons. Similarly, baseball and softball complexes can host weekend tournaments while serving local leagues during weeknights.
This dual-purpose approach ensures facilities maintain high utilization rates throughout the year, generating revenue while providing community recreation opportunities. Additionally, flexible design allows facilities to adapt to changing market demands and evolving sports trends.
Strategic Event Selection and Development
Not all sporting events deliver equal economic and social returns. Communities should evaluate potential events based on:
- Alignment with available facilities
- Participant and spectator demographics
- Seasonal timing and duration
- Potential for repeat business
- Opportunity for community involvement
- Media exposure potential
By strategically selecting events that match community assets and objectives, destinations maximize returns on their tourism investments while building sustainable event portfolios.
Igor Bakovic from DuPage Sports Commission exemplifies this approach: “Each opportunity is viewed from all perspectives: Impact for our venues, benefits for residents and local athletes, the goals of our partner organizations and the economic impact of driving sports visitation.”
Collaborative Governance and Funding Models
Successful sports tourism initiatives typically involve collaboration between multiple stakeholders, including:
- Convention and visitors bureaus
- Parks and recreation departments
- Local government agencies
- School districts and universities
- Private facility operators
- Sports organizations and governing bodies
- Local businesses and chambers of commerce
These collaborations often extend to funding models as well. The Fox Cities model of dedicating 25 percent of room tax collections to tourism development grants represents one approach to sustainable funding. Other communities utilize public-private partnerships, dedicated tax districts, or bond measures to finance sports tourism infrastructure.
The Future of Sports Tourism: Emerging Trends and Opportunities
As the sports tourism industry continues evolving, several trends present new opportunities for community economic and social development:
Esports and Digital Competition
The rapidly growing esports sector represents a significant opportunity for communities to diversify their sports tourism portfolios. Esports events require different infrastructure than traditional sports, often utilizing convention centers, theaters, or purpose-built gaming arenas.
These events attract tech-savvy demographics that may differ from traditional sports participants, potentially introducing new visitor segments to host communities. Additionally, esports events frequently incorporate technology showcases, educational components, and entertainment elements that extend their appeal beyond competitive gaming.
Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices
As environmental consciousness increases among travelers and event organizers, sustainable sports tourism practices represent both a competitive advantage and an operational necessity.
Forward-thinking destinations are implementing sustainability measures including:
- Energy-efficient facility design
- Water conservation systems
- Waste reduction and recycling programs
- Alternative transportation options
- Locally sourced food and beverage options
- Carbon offset programs for events
These practices reduce environmental impacts while appealing to environmentally conscious participants and organizations. Additionally, sustainable facilities often realize operational cost savings through reduced energy and water consumption.
Health and Wellness Integration
The growing health and wellness movement presents opportunities to expand sports tourism beyond competitive events to include fitness retreats, training camps, and active lifestyle experiences.
Communities with diverse recreational assets can package these experiences for visitors seeking active vacations rather than competitive events. Trail systems, water access, climbing opportunities, and other natural assets complement traditional sports facilities in this expanded definition of sports tourism.
Conclusion: A Strategic Path Forward
Sports tourism offers communities a multifaceted development strategy that delivers both economic returns and social benefits. Through thoughtful investment in facilities, strategic event development, and collaborative governance, destinations can leverage sports tourism to:
- Generate substantial economic activity
- Create diverse employment opportunities
- Develop infrastructure with lasting community benefits
- Foster community identity and pride
- Facilitate cultural exchange and preservation
- Expand youth development opportunities
- Build distinctive destination brands
As Ten Haken from Fox Cities reflects: “What I’ve found over the past 14 years in this position is that there’s nothing more rewarding than to help create facilities or events in this community. Seeing kids playing in tournaments here and their families visiting local businesses is super rewarding to see, knowing that [money spent] is going directly to our friends and neighbors who own and operate [these businesses].”
For communities seeking sustainable economic and social development, sports tourism represents a strategic opportunity worth exploring—not just for the visitor spending it generates, but for the lasting community assets and social cohesion it creates.
By recognizing and pursuing both economic and social objectives, communities can maximize their returns on sports tourism investments, creating lasting value that extends far beyond tournament weekends to enhance quality of life for all residents.
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