Sports Events Fill Hotels and Bring Dollars, promote Palm Beach County as a Tourist Destination around the US and Worldwide

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has approved financial support of over $140,000 to eleven sports events taking place in the 12 months following October 1st 2007.

The big 3 golf majors; The Honda Classic (February 25-March 2, 2008), ADT Championships (November 13-18, 2007) and Allianz Championships (February 4-10, 2008), all received $25,000 of support from the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. In return, the County receives exposure through hours of TV time on the major networks and Golf Channel here and around the world, dedicated ad spots, millions of dollars into the economy and over 5,000 total room nights. The continuing success and support of the Big 3 reinforces the tourism message that Palm Beach County is the Home of Golf in the USA.

Additionally, the Optimist Golf received a $1,000 grant for its Tournament of Champions (November 16-18), which brings together top junior golfers from around the country.

The National Horse Show (December 5-9, 2007) and Winter Equestrian Festival (January 30-March 23, 2008) bring new opportunities in new media advertising through event web casts, plus considerable media exposure in the US and Europe. An independent economic impact report done in 2005 estimates that the event brings in over 85,000 room nights to our area annually. The Festival underpins the equestrian community and consequently fuels much of the economic activity in the Wellington area.

The Marathon of the Palm Beaches (November 30-December 2) brings nearly 1,000 room nights plus considerable exposure to Palm Beach County through advertising buys in specialist running magazines and a presence at other marathons around the country. The event is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and Boston runners are specifically targeted with information on traveling to Palm Beach County to race.

The County-owned Roger Dean Stadium plays host to the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Championships (October 25-29). 80 teams fill over 3,000 room nights and bring an $800,000 economic benefit as top high school players are evaluated by the more than 600 professional and college baseball scouts on-site.

Spring Fling Lacrosse (March 1-31, 2008) continues to consolidate in Palm Beach County, bringing around 3,000 room nights and $2 million to the local economy. Top women’s colleges include Yale, Notre Dame, Amherst, UMass, and Dartmouth; more than 100 teams in total traditionally attend.

Newly-funded events this year show the diversity of growth in sports events in Palm Beach County.

The Generations Bowling Tour (October 31-November 6) is slated to take place at Jupiter Lanes the weekend following Perfect Game. It should generate approximately 1,000 room nights by bringing top senior tour bowlers into the County.

The Jupiter Fall Classic (November 17-19) is a grass roots surfing event that has grown tremendously in recent years. It is now one of the top 10 competitions on the East Coast, with over $25,000 distributed in total prize monies. The event includes unique additional activities such as Movie Night on Riverwalk, Jupiter’s newly-operational commercial district.

The American Youth Soccer Organization, Section 14 will host its State Games (January 18-21, 2008) at Village Park in Wellington. Over 100 teams are expected, with 800 room nights and more than $400,000 in economic impact.

All funded events help the Sports Commission reach goals set to retain and nurture multi-year repeat business, develop exposure in the international marketplace, and by capturing an event that brings the baby-boomer generation here. Other benefits include supporting events that utilize the natural environment; reinforcing the County’s commitment to its core competencies in equestrian, baseball and golf; and diversifying our sports event portfolio through youth soccer and senior bowling.

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is a 501(c)(4) organization that contracts with Palm Beach County to bring in and support sports events that put people into hotel rooms, to maximize the positive economic impact of these events to the County; and to market the image of Palm Beach County as a tourist destination nationally and internationally.

For more information on County-wide sports events that impact tourism, go to www.palmbeachsports.com or call (561) 233-3124.