GAMBLING ON Sports Tourism

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David Hucks
David Huckshttps://myrtlebeachsc.com
David Hucks is a 12th generation descendant of the area we now call Myrtle Beach, S.C. David attended Coastal Carolina University and like most of his family, has never left the area. David is the lead journalist at MyrtleBeachSC.com
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The City of Myrtle Beach now has a new sports complex.   The complex was built to facilitate a type of tourism that North Myrtle Beach is also hoping to see growth in.

 

 Did you know…  The economic impact from sports tourism in the City of Myrtle Beach totaled $167.7 million in 2015?  The estimate is up $12 million over 2014 and $42 million over 2013.  The dollar amount represents direct spending by event attendees at facilities inside the city, including the Grand Park Athletic Complex, the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium and the Myrtle Beach Sports Center, among others.

Baseball tournament attendees were the biggest economic contributors at more than $51 million, followed by Cheer and Dance competition participants at nearly $49 million.  Other top revenue-generating sports for the community included fast-pitch softball ($21.4 million), basketball ($19.8 million), running events ($6.8 million), slow-pitch softball ($5.7 million) and soccer ($4 million).

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Dollar-wise, July was the biggest month with $58.2 million in direct spending, while September was the smallest ($988,000).  The Myrtle Beach Sports Center, which just opened in March, was responsible for $22 million in direct spending during 2015.  Events at the Sports Center included basketball, volleyball and cheerleading.”

HOWEVER, although not exactly a direct 1:1 correlation, if you remove the $22 million generated from the new sports center from the 2015 totals, the year over year would be down $10 million ($167.7M(for 2015) – $12M= $155.7M for 2014.  Taking $22 million of sports center dollars off the $167.7 million would put the city at an adjusted figure of $145.7 million.

This is $10 million LESS than the final 2014 tourism numbers.

Investments like the Sports Complex must be viewed over a multi year period, however.   MyrtleBeachSC.com will keep our readers updated on how these numbers pan out over the next decade.

Having the Sports Complex in the city of Myrtle Beach adds tourism value and variety for sure.

 

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