📌 Key Takeaways
- Sports tourism generated $20 billion in taxes across 109.7 million trips in 2024, with youth sports emerging as a critical growth driver
- Post-pandemic data shows team sports participation surging, feeding a youth tournament pipeline that creates multi-generational tourism patterns
- Under Armour’s sponsorship of the first girls high school flag football nationals signals major brands recognizing youth sports’ untapped potential
- Communities like Pigeon Forge prove that “right-sized” facilities (even just six fields) can drive significant economic impact
- Indianapolis, Orlando, and Fort Worth top the list for creating memorable sports tourism experiences through strategic coordination
⚡ TLDR Section
- Youth sports drives lifelong tourism patterns within broader $20B sports tourism industry
- Smart venues now include amenities like beer gardens for parents
- Major brands entering youth sports space for family reach
While the sports tourism industry generated $20 billion in federal, state, and local taxes across 109.7 million trips in 2024, the real revelation was hiding in the subset data: youth sports tournaments were creating 30-year customer lifecycles that no other tourism segment could match.
The Multi-Generational Tourism Machine
Quick Take: Youth sports creates tourism patterns that span decades, turning young athletes into lifetime destination visitors.
John David, CEO of Sports Events and Tourism Association, shared a revelation during last week’s SBJ Live session that captures this phenomenon. As a young BMX racer, his favorite track was in Milton, Florida, outside Pensacola. After successful races, his father would take the family to nearby beaches. Today, David vacations with his own three daughters in the same Florida panhandle a pattern he sees repeated “over and over again in sports tourism.”
This anecdotal evidence reflects a broader trend within the sports tourism sector’s impressive 11.5% year-over-year growth rate. Youth tournaments aren’t just weekend events; they’re customer acquisition strategies with decades-long payoffs.
Deep Dive 🔍 “Destinations and rights holders executing events the right way are planting seeds,” David explained. “When you take a 10-year-old to their first national tournament and show them the community’s assets, that’s planting a seed that’s going to last a lifetime.”
Key Evidence: Amanda Shank from Unrivaled Sports notes that families register for events like Cooperstown All-Star Village “at least a year out, sometimes longer,” providing destinations unprecedented planning time to convert competitors into repeat leisure visitors.
The New Economics of Youth Sports Facilities
Quick Take: Communities are learning that successful youth sports complexes require family-first thinking, not just more fields.
A $70 million youth sports complex opening south of Chicago made headlines not for its scale, but for an unexpected amenity, a beer garden. This addition signals a fundamental shift in how communities approach youth sports infrastructure.
“We’re really thinking about how do we bring the magic of sports to as many kids as possible,” explains Shank, whose company operates 15 youth sports venues nationwide. Success factors include “parking, close bathrooms, play spaces for siblings,” and crucially, collaboration with local communities to curate the entire family vacation experience.
The most profitable complexes reject the “bigger is better” mentality. Unrivaled’s Pigeon Forge facility thrives with just six fields built into a mountainside, proving that right-sized, well-designed facilities can outperform sprawling mega-complexes.
Key Evidence: In audience polling during the SBJ Live session, Indianapolis topped the list for best sports tourism experience, followed by Orlando and Fort Worth, all cities known for strategic coordination rather than just facility size.
Major Brands Recognize the Opportunity
Quick Take: Under Armour’s strategic youth sports investments reveal how smart brands are reaching entire families, not just athletes.
During a recent weekend in Canton, Ohio, Under Armour didn’t just sponsor another tournament, they created a new category. The company backed the first-ever girls high school flag football nationals, outfitting every participating team including eight elite invitational programs.
“It’s not the biggest event that Under Armour will invest in this year,” Shank acknowledged, “but I think they were really happy with the impact that it had on those teams and those families.”
📊 Data Moment: The strategic value becomes clear when you consider the audience reach. These aren’t just athletes, they’re entire families planning vacations around tournaments, creating brand touchpoints that extend far beyond the playing field.
Key Evidence: Local businesses in Cooperstown have adopted the venue’s pin-trading culture, with restaurants creating commemorative pins, demonstrating how deeply youth sports can integrate with and benefit local economies.
The International Youth Sports Goldmine
Quick Take: Cities are discovering massive untapped audiences for international youth sports in their own backyards.
Janice Burke from Sports Events and Tourism Association revealed how Houston uncovered hidden tourism opportunities within its diverse population. When hosting youth cricket tournaments, 45,000 fans appeared, a community the city didn’t fully realize existed. Youth table tennis events sold 30,000 tickets.
“We were always amazed at these communities that were part of Houston citizenship,” Burke explained. “Sometimes even in our own community we’re surprised by these pockets that maybe are silent for some American sports but light up for international sports.”
🎯 Reality Check: With traditional international tourism facing headwinds Canadian visitors down 20% in early 2024 youth sports offers a unique bridge. International families attending youth tournaments often extend trips to explore multiple U.S. destinations, providing crucial tourism revenue.
Key Evidence: FIFA World Cup sponsors are actively seeking connections with non-host cities, recognizing that youth sports tournaments offer year-round engagement opportunities beyond one-time mega events.
The Infrastructure of Success
Quick Take: Top destinations succeed through unprecedented coordination between venues, hotels, and local businesses, not just better facilities.
The difference between leading sports tourism destinations and struggling markets isn’t facilities, it’s system integration. Cities like Indianapolis and Orlando excel through comprehensive coordination.
“We share our NPS scores and survey feedback with destination partners after every event,” Shank revealed. This includes flagging underperforming hotels to destination partners, creating accountability that drives continuous improvement across the entire visitor experience.
💡 Insight: Orlando’s sports commission will host 7,500 teams for AAU Junior Volleyball Championships, a logistical achievement requiring year-round coordination with over 200 local businesses. This level of integration separates thriving destinations from those merely building fields.
Key Evidence: Both Indianapolis and Orlando have independent sports commissions, though John David notes success ultimately requires “commitment to sports tourism” with dedicated, passionate staff regardless of organizational structure.
Within the broader $20 billion sports tourism economy, youth sports represents more than just another segment, it’s a generational investment strategy that forward-thinking communities are beginning to recognize. These destinations aren’t just building fields; they’re creating tomorrow’s tourism pipelines today.
By 2030, the winners in sports tourism won’t be cities with the biggest complexes, but those who understood that investing in a 10-year-old’s tournament experience creates a customer relationship that can span half a century.
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Via: SBJ YouTube
