Sports Tourism in Virginia is on the Rise

Virginia’s economic impact study highlights rapid growth in sports tourism industry

By Christopher D. SIlbernagel

Virginia’s successful economic impact in the sports tourism industry is no secret. The 2023 State of the Industry Report by the Sports Events and Tourism Association (Sports ETA) revealed the Commonwealth of Virginia is among the top 10 states in the U.S. for most economic impact. These annual reports by Sports ETA are all encompassing, which means that they provide data on a national scale without great depth for specific states.

Virginia set out to change that with its own in-depth report at the state level. While it is not an annual report, the Economic Impact of Sports Tourism in Virginia has set new standards for states across the country, helping to better understand why the industry is critically important to statewide growth by example of Virginia’s continued success by the numbers.

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Virginia Sports Tourism: The core numbers

Released in 2023 by Virginia Tourism Corporation, in collaboration with Oxford-based Tourism Economics, the Economic Impact of Sports Tourism in Virginia provides data from 2019 through 2022. Splitting the state into four regions—Central & Southern, Northern, Coastal and Western—the report takes into account adult and youth amateur events and collegiate tournaments, not collegiate regular season games or professional sports.

There have been arguments that sports facilities themselves do not bring in enough revenue to account for the cost of being built, but Virginia’s study highlights why they are important on a greater scale. While tournament operations in the state accounted for $289.3 million, sports traveler visitor spending accounted for $2.4 billion across all communities, bringing the direct spending impact to $2.7 billion—up 12 percent from the previous year. That $2.4 billion came from visitor spending at restaurants, hotels, retailers and other local businesses.

“Understanding the economic impact of sports tourism is crucial for driving local support and maximizing the benefits for our communities,” said Megan Hazzard, manager of business development and event operations at Henrico Sports & Entertainment Authority. “[The report provides] insights into job creation, revenue growth and tax revenues from sports events and facilities throughout the Commonwealth and helps identify which bring the most benefits. This information can help ensure that Virginia reaps the full economic benefits of sports tourism.”

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The greater economic impact of Sports Tourism in Virginia

It’s critical to understand where these economic impact numbers come from and ultimately the wider scale of sports tourism’s importance. According to the report, 12.1-million sports travelers attended a sports tournament, race or other event in 2022, with approximately 45 percent staying overnight and the remaining 55 percent visiting for a day. From lodging to transportation, all four regions of the state reported higher direct spending in almost every sector, even when compared to 2019’s pre-pandemic numbers.

“The 2023 U.S. Youth Soccer Eastern Regional generated over 7,000 room nights and $8 million in economic impact for Northern Virginia, which added to the post-pandemic recovery,” said Torye Hurst, national sports sales manager at Visit Loudoun, who also commented on the importance of having plentiful and up-to-date facilities. “We are only as good as our sports venues and several have been added in recent years such as Hal & Bernie Hanson Regional Park, Ion International Training Center, Segra Field and the future looks especially bright with the addition of the USTA Mid-Atlantic Campus in Fall 2026.”

Sports travelers in 2022 generated a total fiscal tax impact of $645.2 million, of which $165.9 million was collected by the state government and $177.9 million by local governments. As growth continued post-pandemic, this also directly impacted the state’s workforce with the industry supporting 28,138 full-time and part-time jobs.

“Sports tourism represents 73 percent of the Richmond Region’s overall group bookings,” said Jerrine Lee, vice president of sales at Richmond Region Tourism. “Our small businesses see the impact of tournaments and events as teams, families and fans visit restaurants and stores before and after games. The report allows us to keep the business community informed and engaged on sports tourism’s economic impact. It’s also a great tool to share the positive momentum with local leaders and elected officials, and with our wider community.”

Discover the full depth of Virginia’s work

Overall, the sports tourism economic impact accounts for eight percent of the tourism economy in Virginia. This may not have seemed like much at first glance, but breaking down the industry’s numbers first and understanding exactly what that percentage represents, it highlights for destinations across the state the reason to keep building new facilities or repurposing existing infrastructure, improving existing ones and spending more money and effort into this rapidly growing industry.

For more information on the Economic Impact of Sports Tourism in Virginia, please visit the official Virginia Tourism Corporation website.