Have youth sports dodged the downturn?

Young gymnasts prepare to compete in the Texas Winter Games in Frisco.

Courtesy Frisco CVB

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By Dan Dickson

The economy has affected tourism, that’s for sure, but some say one segment of the industry — amateur sports — is so dependable it might even be stamped recession-proof.

Parents pack the stands for a synchronized swimming competition in Gainesville, Fla. Courtesy Gainesville Sports Commission

“Your 13-year-old is only 13 once, and for them to participate in that 13-and-under age-group championship, most parents will do their best to make sure their kids go to it,” said Jack Hughes, executive director for the Gainesville, Fla., Sports Commission, which recruits and creates sustainable sports events with a big-bang economic impact.

Hughes said youth sports may not be recession-proof, but they are at least recession-resistant.

“Take the leisure market, including sports,” Hughes said. “While all other categories of leisure travel are dropping, usually youth sports travel holds steady.”

Hughes admits that his sales team worked a little harder this year to get the same results, but operating in a warm-weather state helps, even with consumer adjustments.

“It’s a little easier to get people to come to Florida. We see a lot of minivacations wrapped around competitions. We also see people arriving as late as possible for competitions and leaving as soon as they’re done, while in the past there’s been some overlap and they stayed extra days,” he said.

Amateur sports pay off for communities with the right organization and venues. This summer, Gainesville hosted an AAU track-and-field meet that was a Junior Olympics qualifier, as well as the world’s largest synchronized swimming event. Between 2,000 and 2,500 participants, hundreds of coaches and 5,000 parents and family members attended.

Sacramento: location, weather, experience Location in the middle of a state is a distinct advantage for CVBs and sports corporations and commissions. Sacramento, Calif., draws amateur sports events from several huge markets within the Golden State. “For statewide youth events, Sacramento is attractive because our facilities are first-class,” said Brad Hillard, director of sports development at the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Because we’re located in central California, we’re not too far for anyone to travel to in the state. We have a good-size airport.” For out-of-state teams contemplating going to Sacramento, weather sells the city. “For many cities across the U.S., summer weather is a big factor,” said Hillard. “Lightning, thunder, high winds, humidity and storms occur in the Midwest and East, and while Sacramento can be hot, it’s a dry heat, and we generally cool off in the evening and are ideal for sports done under the lights, like track and field.” Having won and lost bids to host youth sports events in their communities, many CVBs and sports corporations and commissions have war stories about great successes and tough lessons learned. Hillard has some solid advice for host cities looking to land a great sports event. “Experience, being able to prove to the organizing body that you are capable of putting on the scope of the event, having a first-class venue that meets criteria that the organizers want both for the athletes and the managers of the event” are all important, said Hillard. Costs are important, too. “Your city must be easily accessible by air and car,” he said. “Your overnight room offerings must be not only affordable, but there should be a broad range of inexpensive, medium-priced and full-service properties offered.”

The sports commission’s assignment includes generating out-of-town visitors and room-nights. “Youth sports are best for that. Boys are great, girls even better,” said Hughes. “Almost across the board, if you hold boys’ youth events, you’re going to get one or two additional people in the travel party. But when you bring in girls, it’s usually two and a half to three extra, and that’s important to us.”

Gainesville’s youth sports strategy depends on solid contacts and relationships with events rights holders around the United States. The commission partners with local, usually parent-run organizations and clubs for soccer, basketball and swimming to provide support for events that generate economic benefit.

“If they run a local meet, we try to convince them to run a state meet next time, or if a state meet, then maybe a regional event. If they’re doing that, then maybe a national event,” said Hughes. “That’s worked well for us.”
 
Industry leaders urge cities not to underestimate the power of youth sports. Youth hockey, soccer and baseball may not make the local television sportscast or newspaper, but they’re important to a city’s hotels, restaurants, retail stores and attractions.

Another warm-weather city, Austin, Texas, caters to youth sports. “A lot take place here because just about every month of the calendar is doable for sports,” said Matthew Payne, executive director of the Austin Sports Commission. “Spring and fall are just fantastic, and we have a mild winter.”

One of Austin’s most popular youth-sports events involves the Lone Star Soccer Club, one of the biggest in the country. It does a large Labor Day cup each year with up to 400 teams.

“We also hosted the USA Tae Kwon Do Juniors event, part of National Junior Olympics, and [we] host Austin Junior Volleyball, another big local player,” said Payne. The durability of sports for athletes 18 and under is apparent.

“It may not be recession-proof, but it may be the least impacted tourism group. Many tourism events may be affected, but — bottom line — when there’s a regional championship to be played, parents will make sure their kids and family go,” Payne said. “People may cancel a family vacation, but they’re not going to cancel their trip for little Susie, who qualified for a championship.”

Austin has earned a national reputation for music and tourism activities. Many bigger Texas cities bid for youth sports events, but Austin is gaining ground on cities like Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. “We rely on that buzz Austin has gotten the last 10 years: the cool vibe, nightlife and hospitality. Many organizers find attendance numbers do really well in Austin,” said Payne.


College towns thrive
A major college town, Austin works with the University of Texas in amateur sports. The university plays a role because it is high profile and Texans identify the university with Austin.

“They have fantastic facilities, and although their availability is a little short because they’re busy, we’re talking about bringing some events there,” said Payne.

What advice would Payne have for college towns trying to lure youth sports? Whatever events you discuss should benefit the university. “First and foremost, their facilities are built for student athletes. Be sure outside events help the university, too,” he said.

Another college town, Knoxville, Tenn., is chummy with its local university. “We’re lucky because we have great city and county venues and the University of Tennessee, so we bid for and host many youth sports,” said Jennifer Morris, sports sales manager for the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corp., the product of a merger between the CVB and the local sports corporation. Good college venues helped the city land the Junior Olympics in 2002 and 2007.

More than 11,000 youth athletes traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., for the 2007 Junior Olympics. Courtesy Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corp.

Knoxville isn’t as warm as Gainesville or Austin, but the weather generally cooperates. “Our youth sports season starts in early spring with temperate weather. Youth baseball begins in February; outdoor sports run until October or November,” said Morris.

Travel is reasonable, too. The CVB says Knoxville is within a day’s drive for 75 percent of the U.S. population.

Morris seems confident in this tricky economy, but she’s also looking forward to when it improves. “If the economy kicks back in, we’ll be even busier than we are now,” she said. So we again pose the question: Are youth sports recession-proof? “That seems to be the case. I hope the trend stays,” she said.

Knoxville’s best youth-sports success story was hosting the 2007 Junior Olympics, which included 11,000 athletes. “Things ran pretty smoothly,” said Morris. “They [Junior Olympics] are growing by leaps and bounds, so logistics became harder with so many athletes. We learned you need extra seating and volunteers to cover shifts.”

Now that Knoxville has pulled it off, what’s next? “The best thing about the Junior Olympics was the exposure and buzz about Knoxville hosting something so large. We’re working on events for 2010 to 2015, some bigger than the Junior Olympics. But I’m keeping them under wraps until they’re booked,” Morris said.


Underserved markets
In Syracuse, N.Y., the CVB goes after any sport that seems a good fit for local facilities, which sometimes include those at Syracuse University. “We look for a niche that isn’t served,” said Jeff Mickle, the CVB’s sports development director. “For example, [serving as host for] a nontraditional sport like girl’s under-14 hockey was organized by a Syracuse-area citizens group. They brought them in over the holidays, and it’s going to grow.”

So does Mickle believe that youth sports are recession-proof? “We’re all learning that the term is a misnomer in today’s economy,” he said. “It has forced everyone to work harder on partnerships, whether in the industry, at venues, [at] hotels, or with city and county parks and recreation departments.”

The CVB has also noticed that families are more often wrapping their vacations around their kids’ sports activities.

Lacking year-round warm weather, Syracuse adjusts with the seasons.

“Our best pitch is that we offer events and services all year,” said Mickle. “If you’re a snow or skiing enthusiast, of course Syracuse has that. We also have lots of water for people to use, and in good weather, there’s hiking, biking and more.”

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