Playing Together to Win

Ohio has plenty of sports destinations. Team Ohio Sports is making sure they’re talking to each other

In sports, teamwork is typically simple: Put the right players on the field, get everyone moving in the same direction and work toward the same goal.

Sports tourism isn’t quite that easy. Destinations compete for tournaments, facilities compete for events and communities want to fill their hotels, restaurants and attractions with visiting athletes and families.

But in Ohio, a growing group of sports tourism professionals is making the case that competition and collaboration can coexist, and that the state can be stronger when its sports destinations work together.

Stay on top of what’s happening in sports tourism. Explore the latest trending news.

That’s the idea behind Team Ohio Sports, an organization created to bring Ohio’s sports tourism professionals together and build a stronger culture of collaboration across the state.

The organization has made considerable progress in its first two years, hosting the Team Ohio Sports Summit in two Ohio communities (Liberty Township and Huron). The summits give members a chance to network, exchange ideas, share best practices and learn from one another. Team Ohio Sports also works with Sports ETA as a sponsor, creating opportunities to share sports leads with members who may not attend tourism conferences. During the 2025 TEAMS Conference in Columbus, the organization hosted a state client event that provided another opportunity to showcase Ohio while connecting with the national sports tourism industry.

Explore more destinations, facilities and sports tourism ideas in the latest Sports Planning Guide.

Expanding the conversation

For Team Ohio Sports President Matt Prewitt, bringing more people into the conversation is an important part of the mission.

“Team Ohio Sports has worked to educate and onboard professionals who may not traditionally consider themselves part of the sports tourism industry, while also opening membership to parks and recreation departments,” Prewitt said. “We recognize it takes facilities, communities, parks and recreation departments and other partners working together to have success.”

That broader approach is reflected in the Team Ohio Sports website (teamohiosports.com), which serves as a statewide resource for event organizers looking for sports facilities and destinations. Users can search by sport, region, facility, amenities and other criteria, making it easier to discover Ohio venues and connect with the people behind them. The network includes destinations ranging from Greater Columbus and Dayton to Cincinnati, Canton, Akron and Shores & Islands Ohio.

An impressive sports infrastructure

The breadth of Ohio’s sports infrastructure is impressive. The Team Ohio Sports network encompasses traditional youth and amateur sports such as baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, hockey and lacrosse, while also showcasing facilities capable of hosting swimming, gymnastics, wrestling, esports, pickleball, cheer, dance and a variety of emerging sports.

“We didn’t form Team Ohio Sports because Ohio lacked great sports tourism destinations,” Prewitt said. “We formed it because Ohio has so many great destinations that we believed there was an opportunity to connect them in a more intentional way.”

The organization’s goals extend beyond simply generating more leads. Team Ohio Sports wants to establish a statewide network for education, collaboration and professional development while bringing more communities and industry partners into the sports tourism conversation.

Columbus, for example, promotes more than 1,375 total events hosted and more than 700 new events since 2002, while Dayton combines a deep sports-event history with a broad collection of facilities and attractions. In Northeast Ohio, destinations such as Ashtabula County can pair sports facilities with Lake Erie, outdoor recreation and other visitor experiences.

“Our goal isn’t simply to help individual communities win more events,” Prewitt said. “It’s to help Ohio become a stronger, more connected and more competitive sports tourism destination as a whole.”