Sports Commission invests in Eighteen Events, estimates over $51 million brought into Palm Beach County
The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has approved almost $150,000 of financial support to eighteen sporting events during the next year that will kick $51 million into the Palm Beach economy and deliver 98,000 room nights at area lodging establishments through sports tourism.
While some sports events seem to have become a part of the fabric of the Palm Beach County scene, the Sports Commission works to help keep these events from moving elsewhere, and by supporting and encouraging their growth and evolution. The big three golf tournaments, the Honda Classic, ADT Championships and Allianz Championships, all pack a major economic punch. At the same time, each has evolved in ways that continue to benefit the County’s economy. The Honda plans to continue its spectacular growth in attendance, the ADT now brings season-long exposure to the County as the LPGA Tour Finale, and the Allianz has tied up major agreements with area hotels for the 2009 event that minimizes the economic leakage of dollars outside of the area.
The Winter Equestrian Festival has undergone dramatic improvements, with an extended season and new events that offer the opportunity for Palm Beach County to gain marketing exposure as a tourist destination through potential television coverage to the 250 million viewers throughout Europe, and in exclusive niche markets around the US. The Delray Beach International Tennis Championships remains the diamond in the crown of the Palm Beach County tennis industry with exposure to more than 260 million households worldwide, and the Marathon of the Palm Beaches continues its steady annual growth in room nights and economic impact to the area.
The Sports Commission is equally focused on bringing new events into the County. This November will see an official world championship, as the World Powerlifting Championships are hosted at the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott hotel. The US Firefighter Games in late September and early October brings firefighters from around the nation to compete in friendly sports competition at the time of year most appreciated by the tourism industry. Two new junior golf events, the AJGA Junior All Stars and the Teens on the Green Super Qualifier will bring youth golfers from across the US. The Commission also for the first time gave financial support to the development of the Wellington Wave Soccer Shoot Out, the Adidas Palm Beach Classic, and returns to support the AYSO State Games again in 2009. All three of these youth soccer events take place at Village Park in Wellington.
The Sports Commission also strives to include a diversity of sports tourist markets, and this year includes support of the Palm Beach Pro Am Fitness & Figure and the Jupiter Fall Classic surfing championships.
A full list of events being supported by the Sports Commission during the next year cycle appears below.
National Firefighter Games
September 21 – October 5, 2008, various North Palm Beach County Facilities
Wellington Soccer Shoot-Out Tournament
October 4 – 5, 2008, Village Park in Wellington
Palm Beach Pro-Am
October 10 – 11, 2008, Palm Beach County Convention Center
Birks & Mayors Junior All Star Invitational
October 10 – 13, 2008, Country Club of Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens
Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic
October 31 – November 2, 2008, Delray Beach Tennis Center
Teens on the Green Super Qualifier
November 7 – 9, 2008, Okeeheelee Golf Course
Jupiter Fall Classic Pro/Am Surf Contest
November 14 – 16, 2008, Carlin Park in Jupiter
4th Annual Optimist International Tournament of Champions
November 14 – 16, 2008, PGA National Resort & Spa
ADT Championships
November 18 – 23, 2008, Trump International Golf Club
World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) World Championships
November 20 – 23, 2008, Palm Beach Gardens Marriott
Marathon of the Palm Beaches
December 5 – 7, 2008, Downtown West Palm Beach
Adidas Palm Beach Classic
December 20 – 23, 2008, Village Park in Wellington
Winter Equestrian Festival
January 14 – April 5, 2009, Palm Beach International Equestrian Center
American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) Section 14 FL State Games
January 16 – 19, 2009, Village Park in Wellington
The Allianz Championship
February 9 – 15, 2009, Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
February 21 – March 1, 2009, Delray Beach Tennis Center
The Honda Classic
March 2 – 8, 2009, PGA National Resort & Spa
USTA Boys’ & Girls’ 12’s National Spring Tennis Championships
April 5 – 11, 2009, Delray Swim & Racquet Club and the Boca West Country Club
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.
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