Visit Monroeville has announced its next steps within the growing field of sports tourism.

The Monroeville, Pennsylvania visitor’s center announced the development of VM Sports on September 6th, heralding an expedited adventure into the sports tourism landscape. The move should enable Monroeville and eastern Allegheny County to take advantage of the area’s existing sports complexes and venues while luring in a diverse range of tournaments and sporting events.

“When sports events, big or small, come to town, the athletes and their families and supporters bring their wallets,” said Sean Logan, president and CEO of Visit Monroeville. “They’re looking for quality lodging, excellent food, entertainment, and shopping. Monroeville has it all – along with proximity to a major international airport and downtown Pittsburgh. Monroeville, with its amenities and wide variety of sporting facilities, is the perfect place to bring their teams.”

Visit Monroeville’s promotion of sports tourism has been paying off. Their biggest sports event partner, Atlantic Coast Sports, annually generates over $1 million in direct spending in Allegheny County’s hotels alone. Visit Monroeville attracts tournaments like Tyrant Wrestling, which has recently doubled in attendance and is projected to double again for November 2019, the Showstoppers Dance Competition, which is under a two-year contract with the Monroeville Convention Center, and Terrain Race at Monroeville Community Park, which has 8,000 participants.

“Visit Monroeville is always looking for new ways to bring events into our region,” said Amy Capcara, sales and marketing manager of Visit Monroeville. “The development of VM Sports just formalizes our dedication to tap into this growing market. Sports are part of our area’s legacy, and we couldn’t be more excited about VM Sports.”

Visit Monroeville celebrated the launch of VM Sports with a new section of VisitMonroeville.com, which provides in-depth field measurements and new photography taken by local creative and marketing multimedia agency Twothirty Media. The VM Sports logo was designed by graphic designer Devin D’alessandro, owner of GK Creative.