The Space Coast Sports Commission has unanimously approved a new grant policy to attract youth and other amateur sports events to Brevard County.

The policy will tie potential grants to how much revenue Brevard County hotels generate from room rentals linked to the sports events. Money for the grants will come from Brevard County’s 5 percent Tourist Development Tax on hotel rooms and other short-term rentals.

Under the policy, events that are held from Feb. 1 through July 31 will be eligible for grants of up to 2 percent of total room revenue. Events that take place from Aug. 1 through Jan. 31 — a generally slower time for the local tourism industry — will be eligible for up to 4 percent of room revenue.

The grants will be administered through the Space Coast Office of Tourism, and would be considered on a case-by-case basis. The Office of Tourism would use the money to help pay for such things as facility or field usage fees for the event organizers. No money would go directly to the organizers.

Only sports events that book a minimum of 100 room nights would be eligible to apply for the grants, which have the potential for matching funds from the Florida Sports Foundation, if the events attract visitors from outside Florida.

Space Coast Sports Commission members said, to be eligible for a grant, event organizers would have to agree to a “stay-to-play” policy, under which teams would need to book their hotel rooms through a special online booking engine that will track room rentals for the event.

The policy also must be approved by the Brevard County Tourist Development Council at its meeting on Wednesday.

Some Space Coast Sports Commission members affiliated with Brevard County hotels expressed concerns that sports teams would try to skirt the rules, seek discounted accommodations at facilities that are not part of the booking system, or pack four or more players to a room.

Space Coast Office of Tourism Executive Director Eric Garvey said the tourism community needs to realize that the new rules could result in some event organizers deciding to go elsewhere, but that, if the organizers want to apply for the grants, they need to follow the rules.

“We have to manage this business,” Garvey said. “You can’t let the business manage us.”

Space Coast Sports Commission Chairman Tom Williamson — who also is a partner and general manager of the Hampton Inn and the Courtyard by Marriott in Cocoa Beach — said some event organizers may opt to hold their events in the Orlando area.

But Williamson said most hotels near the Orlando-area theme parks will be relatively expensive, and they don’t have the advantage of the Space Coast hotels have of being near the beaches and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Football, bowling events line up

Tom Bartosek, sales manager and visitor information manager for the Space Coast Office of Tourism, told Space Coast Sports Commission members that several new sports events are coming to Brevard County. They include:

• The Explosive Sports 7 vs. 7 Football Tournament at Mitchell Ellington Park on Merritt Island from April 21-23, which he estimates will generate 2,700 nights of room rentals.

• Next year’s U.S. Bowling Congress Youth State Bowling Tournament at River Lanes in Titusville and Shore Lanes on Merritt Island, which will be held May 26-27, June 2-3, June 9-10 and June 16-17, 2018. That event will generate about 1,000 nights of room rentals, Bartosek said.

Among the largest current generators of hotel rooms in the sports event sector, Bartosek said, is the Cocoa Beach Spring Training baseball, softball and lacrosse programs that bring teams to the Space Coast during February, March and April. Venues in Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Palm Bay, Titusville and Viera are used. The program was responsible for an estimated 4,700 nights a year of hotel room rentals, and Bartosek expects a similar number this year.

There also have been a series of other softball and flag football events held in Cocoa Beach, Palm Bay and Titusville in recent months, Bartosek said.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com, on Twitter at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54.