Sports can boost economy

Sports can boost economy
Thursday, July 17, 2008

RELATIVELY MODEST investments in sports and recreation facilities are paying economic dividends for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

Gulf Shores has a $4.6 million expansion of its Sportsplex still in progress, and it has already reached deals for two large events: a three-year extension of the state high school track meet for larger schools and a regional softball tournament with 48 teams during each of the next two years.

Athletic events like tournaments bring multiple teams to town along with friends, parents and fans. The teams and all their supporters need places to stay and meals to be served by either caterers or restaurants. Likewise, they’ll be looking for something to do off the field.

This year’s state track meet drew 1,500 athletes and generated 1,243 "room nights" ? especially good news for lodging operators, since most of these events are held during off-peak times for tourism. No doubt, the beach is a big draw, but good athletic facilities and plenty of available rooms make Pleasure Island even more attractive for high school and college athletic teams.

Orange Beach has been similarly successful in the last several years with its Sportsplex. This spring Orange Beach agreed to a new deal to host the SEC championship women’s soccer tournament through 2010.

In addition to its long-running relationship with the SEC, Orange Beach hosted the NCAA Division II national men’s and women’s tournaments last year and hosted a couple of NAIA softball tournaments this year.

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have proven that successful economic development doesn’t necessarily have to involve a large industry and a lot of money for incentives. The two cities instead have capitalized on existing tourism amenities and have made strategic investments in sports and recreation facilities to create fun places to not only visit, but to compete in, too.

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Posted by JimsterP on Jul 17 2008. Filed under Breaking, Business, Life, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry