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Amateur Sports Lead the Pack for Tourism in Springfield This Spring

By Lance Kettering, Executive Director, Springfield Sports Commission on May. 01, 2017

While the nation celebrates National Travel and Tourism Week May 7-13, Springfield will be cheering about an influx of visitors in the city for amateur sporting events in May and June.

The people attending those events will be doing the things that make tourism worth celebrating: staying at hotels, dining, shopping and visiting attractions. In other words, they’re spending money and making the local economy stronger.

The Missouri Youth Soccer Association Spring President’s Cup, for example, will have an estimated impact of about $513,000 on the city’s economy according to the Destination Marketing Association International Event Impact Calculator.

“Sports activities kick into high gear in May in the Springfield area, showcasing the value and impact of sports related activities on our economy and quality of life for the participants, spectators and families,” said Lance Kettering, executive director of the Springfield Sports Commission. “Sports travel and tourism is a window to Springfield and showcase the positive attributes of our community to our guests.

Here’s a rundown of other amateur sports events scheduled in the Springfield area the next few weeks:

May 2-8 - A first-time event, the Heart of America Baseball Conference Tournament will welcome 10 teams, along with families and spectators to US Baseball Park.
May 3-6 - About 70 competitors and families will be at the National Christian HomeSchool Championships Spring Golf Nationals at Springfield-Greene County’s Rivercut Golf Course and about 12 teams at the National Christian HomeSchool Championships Soccer Championships at the Lake Country Soccer Complex.
May 6-7 - Missouri Youth Soccer Association Spring President’s Cup will have about 80 teams, families and spectators visit Springfield with, an estimated 3,000 people in attendance at the Lake Country Soccer Complex.
May 11-14 - For the first time, the Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Tournament will welcome eight teams, families and spectators to US Baseball Park.
May 11-12 - The National Christian HomeSchool Spring Nationals Track Championship will have about 400 participants, plus additional families in attendance on the Southwest Baptist University campus.
May 13-14 - Forty teams will participate in the USSSA Springfield Slugfest baseball tournament, bringing an estimated 1,500 to Springfield and the Cooper & Ewing Sports complexes.
May 15-16 - Missouri State High School Activities Association’s State Golf championships will have about 200 in attendance, along with additional spectators and fans at Silo Ridge and Fremont Hills golf courses
May 19-20 - The Missouri State High School Activities Association State Spring Softball championship will welcome four teams and spectators to the Killian Softball Complex.
June 2-4 - About 2,000 are expected to attend Special Olympics events on the Missouri State University campus.
June 16-18 - USSSA Baseball will bring the 12 and Under AA State Baseball Championship to Springfield. The event will bring about 50 teams to Springfield, also at the Cooper and Ewing Sports complexes.

This is just a small sample of group events booked by the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Springfield Sports Commission. Many others are in the city year round, helping grow Springfield’s economy and making the city a great place to visit and live.

The CVB and Sports Commission are non-profit organizations dedicated to boosting the local economy through growth in travel and tourism. For more information, call 417-881-5300 or visit www.SpringfieldMo.org and www.SpringfieldMoSports.org.