Youth sports bringing big bucks to Peninsula – Daily Press
Youth sports are bringing big bucks to the Peninsula later this month as 15,000 athletes come to Hampton Roads to compete in the 11-day AAU Junior Olympic Games.
“In general, this event is huge for our area for tourism,” said Lauren Bland, executive director of the Hampton Roads Sports Commission. “Not only from hotel room nights, attractions and restaurants, it gives a big boost to our economy and it’s a great opportunity for our businesses to be impacted as well.”
An estimated 35,000 people, including family members and coaches, are expected to come to the region for competitions in various events in about 20 different sports on both sides of the water July 29 through Aug. 8, according to the Hampton Roads Sports Commission.
The commission estimates that revenue from this year’s Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games will top $50 million. In the past, the economic impact of the games has ranged from $38 million to $45 million. Hampton Roads hosted the Games four times in the past — in 1998, 2001, 2006 and 2010.
Based on contracted hotel room nights so far, Bland estimates the region will get 25,000 to 30,000 overnight hotel stays with roughly 8,000 of them on the Peninsula.
Newport News is hosting swimming competitions at the Brittingham-Midtown Aquatics Center and Hampton is hosting gymnastics, jump rope and cheerleading events at the Boo Williams Sportsplex. The commission encourages athletes to stay in the cities hosting their sporting events.
“Sporting events help sustain jobs and generate tax revenues that help pay for city services,” Newport News Tourism Director Cindy Brouillard said. And the event publicizes local cities on a national level, exposing thousands of people to Hampton Roads and increasing their chances of coming back for a vacation, she added.
The Mariners’ Museum hopes to see a bump in attendance with out-of-town visitors coming for the swimming events right down the street, said marketing director Crystal Breede. The museum is offering $2 off admission for event-goers.
The Courtyard by Marriott Newport News Airport and the Hilton Garden Inn and SpringHill Suites by the convention center and Hampton Coliseum in Hampton will be running at more than 90 percent occupancy during the Junior Olympic Games, said Elizabeth “Liz” Parker, area director of sales for MCR Development, which operates the hotels.
Still, baseball tournaments at the York County Sports Complex and basketball tournaments at Boo Williams have already been filling Peninsula hotels up this summer, added Parker, who is also president of the Newport News Hospitality Association. She said she’d like local cities and counties to find a way to work together to bring more sports to the region.
“I think sports is a major market that I think everyone needs to pay attention to,” Parker said. “They’re extremely important.”
The Junior Olympics are slated to return to the region in 2020 and 2025, Bland said. Unlike smaller sporting events in the area, the Junior Olympic Games attract an average stay of five days as families extend their stay for a small vacation, she said.
Junior Olympic events in South Hampton Roads include: baton twirling, bowling, field hockey, wrestling, trampoline and tumbling, soccer and sport stacking in Virginia Beach; Taekwondo, karate and weightlifting in Chesapeake; and track and field events in Norfolk.
After the Games, the regional sports commission, an affiliate of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, plans to visit with local parks and recreation departments and convention and visitor bureaus to find out how to best attract larger sporting events for local cities, she said.
“We’re always looking to create and plan events on the Peninsula as well,” Bland said.
Bozick can be reached by phone at 757-247-4741. Sign up for a free weekday business news email at TidewaterBiz.com.
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