Southwest Florida has become one of the most concentrated youth sports tourism corridors in the country. The region drew approximately 719,000 visits to Paradise Coast Sports Complex alone in the 2024-25 season, backed by two major public-private venue investments and a growing network of national event operators.
Key Takeaways
- Paradise Coast Sports Complex (PCSC), an $80 million, 175-acre venue in Naples, drew approximately 719,000 visits in its 2024-25 season
- Youth sports alone generate around $77 million in economic impact in Lee County, on top of $69 million from spring training in March
- Trilogy Lacrosse grew from 6 teams in 2022 to more than 40 teams from at least a dozen states in 2025 at Paradise Coast
- U.S. families spend an estimated $30 billion to $40 billion annually on children’s sports activities, with travel as the costliest component
- The Dynasty, a planned $1 billion, 159-acre multisport park in Central Florida with hotels and retail, could open as soon as next year
Two Youth Sports Tourism Anchor Complexes, One Regional Strategy
The numbers start with the facilities. Collier County’s Paradise Coast Sports Complex opened in 2020 through a partnership with The Sports Facilities Companies (SFC), a Clearwater-based firm that develops and manages venues nationwide. General Manager Adrian Moses, recently promoted to Vice President of Venue Operations for SFC, framed the company’s reach: “We’re the largest sports management company in the country, and we’re also building more sports facilities than anybody else at the moment in this country.”
Across the region in Lee County, the $78 million JetBlue Park complex opened in 2012 and sits within an inventory of 24 major league baseball fields, not counting high school facilities. Jeff Mielke, Executive Director of Lee County Sports Development, put it plainly: “We are a baseball destination first just because of the phenomenal facilities that we have here.”
Event Companies Are Scaling Fast
Facilities are only half the equation. The event operators filling those fields are growing aggressively. Trilogy Lacrosse, based in New Jersey, arrived at Paradise Coast in 2022 with just 6 teams over one week. By 2025, the company brought more than 40 teams across four weeks, including roughly 1,200 athletes and coaches from at least a dozen states. President Jimmy Vlahakis described the growth as organic: “We’re just seeing more kids playing lacrosse every year, and our events are showing really strong organic growth within them.”
The price point reflects the market. Berkshire School’s girls varsity lacrosse players each paid $1,250 for a five-day Trilogy tournament at Paradise Coast, before ancillary expenses like travel and lodging.
Perfect Game, the Sanford, Florida-based youth baseball company, organized thousands of events across the country in 2026, with marquee showcases like its Sophomore World Championship in September and Underclass World Championship in October held at major league facilities. 3STEP Sports, a Massachusetts-based conglomerate that has acquired dozens of smaller event companies, is bringing its FBU Girls Top Gun National Championship flag football event to Paradise Coast in June. Managing Partner Steve Quinn sees flag football’s trajectory clearly: “I predict flag football will be one of the biggest booming [sports] over the next five years. It’s very easy. It doesn’t cost a lot; you get a shirt and some flags.”
Competition Is Intensifying Across the Sun Belt
Sports ETA found Florida generated greater economic impact from sports tourism than any other state in 2023, ahead of Texas and California. Sports travelers nationally spent $52.5 billion on events and programs that year.
The pipeline is filling fast. Mielke described the competitive pressure directly: “I think the trend that is most relevant right now is the explosion of (sports) facilities around the state of Florida and certainly in the southeastern United States. There’s a lot more competition than there was 10 years ago all up and down the state of Florida (and), I would call them, the warmer states, that are all really evolving into sports tourism hotbeds.”
New supply is coming. The Dynasty, a $1 billion, 159-acre development in Central Florida with integrated hotels and retail, could open next year. In Fort Myers, Card & Associates is studying whether the soon-to-be-demolished City of Palms Park in Midtown could be converted into a multiuse sports tourism venue. Meanwhile, PicklePlex of Punta Gorda has expanded to 24 courts and hosts dozens of tournaments annually.
Consolidation Is Reshaping the Operator Landscape
Sean Walter, Business Development Director of Sales and Sports at the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau, described the structural shift underway: “The industry is experiencing growth through consolidation, with larger organizations acquiring tournament assets and expanding their reach. This evolution provides brands with increased access to targeted and previously untapped audiences.” That pattern is visible in 3STEP Sports’ acquisition strategy and Perfect Game’s national scale.
How Southwest Florida Built for Youth Sports Operators
Club directors and facility investors watching Southwest Florida’s growth should note the operating model: purpose-built venues developed through public-private partnerships, managed by specialized operators like SFC, and paired with anchor event companies such as Trilogy, Perfect Game, and 3STEP Sports that deliver guaranteed volume. Lee County’s experience shows that sport-specific specialization, anchored by 24 major league baseball fields and relationships with MLB spring training teams, sustains year-round demand even as competition from other warm-weather states intensifies. Operators evaluating new markets should assess their ability to secure multi-year event company commitments before breaking ground, because facility differentiation alone will not be sufficient as Florida and Sun Belt inventory continues to expand. The $77 million in annual youth sports economic impact in Lee County demonstrates that right-sized facilities with locked-in operator relationships can generate meaningful returns independent of pro sports calendars.
Southwest Florida’s $80M Paradise Coast Sports Complex and $78M JetBlue Park anchor a youth sports tourism corridor generating $77M in annual economic impact across lacrosse, baseball, and flag football. directly.
Source: Gulfshorebusiness
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