Events at the National Sports Center accounted for more than $89 million in visitor economic impact over the past year

Blaine, Minn. (August 1, 2019) – A newly released report from the National Sports Center (NSC) in Blaine reveals that sports events at the NSC over the past year generated more than $89 million in visitor economic impact. The report calculated spending from tourism events held over the period from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.

The report quantified the economic benefits generated by visitors traveling more than 50 miles and staying overnight, and tracked spending in lodging, transportation, food and beverage, retail, recreation, business services, and venue rental.

The National Sports Center uses a calculator developed by Destinations International, a trade organization of visitor bureaus. The Destinations International Event Impact Calculator is one of the most-used and most-recognized economic impact calculators of tourism revenue.

“There is no longer any question that sports tourism is a major generator of tourism revenue,” said National Sports Center Executive Director Todd Johnson. “And specific to amateur sports the Wall Street Journal reported that it’s currently a $17 billion industry and will grow to $41 billion in the next five years.

“Creating economic impact through sports events is a key part of the NSC’s mission, and we’re proud to be the major economic impact engine in amateur sports in Minnesota.”

Spending by local visitors is not included in the Destinations International calculator, but local spending produces significant additional impact to the City of Blaine, Anoka County and the Twin Cities.

Here is a breakdown of the numbers, and a summary of the top ten economic impact-producing events held at the National Sports Center.

For the year July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019:

72 NSC events produced tourism spending that totaled:

Direct spending of $57.5 million
Direct spending is a dollar-for-dollar calculation of money spent by visitors.

Economic impact (multiplier factored in) of $89.7 million
The multiplier accounts for the fact that money recirculates in the economy.

Total local sales tax revenue of $675,106

Top ten visitor economic-impact events at the National Sports Center, July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019:

1. Target USA CUP soccer (July 2018) – $28.1 million #
2. North American Hockey League tournaments (September 2018-February 2019) (5 events counted together) – $13.9 million *
3. All-American Cup soccer (June 2019) – $4.3 million #
4. USA Ultimate Youth Club Championship (August 2018) – $3.8 million *
5. Tier I Elite Hockey League Tournament (February 2019) – $3.7 million *
6. One Hockey Minnesota Gone Wild hockey tournament (January 2019) – $3.6 million *
7. World Broomball Championship (October 2018) – $2.3 million *
8. Fall Cup soccer (October 2018) – $2.2 million #
9. Spring Cup soccer (May 2019) – $2.0 million #
10. USA Ultimate U.S. Open Championship (August 2018) – $1.9 million *

* Outside bid event
# NSC-owned event

For a complete list of all 72 visitor events at the National Sports Center that went into this calculation, and the economic impact data for each, contact Barclay Kruse at [email protected].