Sports Tourism

Sports tourism is more than the event on the calendar.

It's one of the most powerful economic engines in the United States, but capturing its value takes more than winning bids and filling hotel rooms. We help destinations build the strategic vision, stakeholder alignment, and community readiness to turn sports events into lasting economic and community development.

Start a conversation See how we help
Sunset aerial of a stadium with the city skyline and river behind it
339MSports travelers in 2025
$111.2BDirect visitor spending
1.6MJobs supported
$274.5BTotal economic impact

Source: Sports ETA, 2026 State of the Industry Report.

Why destinations call us

Sports tourism is outgrowing the way most DMOs manage it.

The next decade brings a wave of landmark events to the U.S.: FIFA World Cup 2026, LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and an expanding calendar of college, professional, and amateur competitions at every level. The destinations positioned to benefit will be the ones that build strategic capacity now.

  • Our sports strategy relies on one person.

    No shared framework, no portfolio strategy, no organizational alignment between tourism, parks, and economic development.

  • We're winning bids but not capturing value.

    Events come and go. Local businesses aren't prepared, spending leaks outside the community, and residents see disruption, not benefit.

  • We just had a giant event, now what?

    A new venue, a rising field of nearby competitors, an unclear DMO role. The question is how to turn the momentum you created into lasting impact.

How we help

Events are the catalyst. Strategy is what captures the value.

Most destinations approach sports tourism one bid at a time. We take a systems view, connecting event strategy, community readiness, infrastructure, and measurement into one framework. When those pieces reinforce each other, every event delivers more.

01

Build the framework

Strategy & Alignment

We help destinations define their sports tourism position, align leadership around a shared strategy, and determine the right organizational model — a sports commission, a DMO-embedded function, or a regional partnership.

  • Sports tourism strategic plans
  • Board and leadership alignment sessions
  • Sports commission viability assessments
  • Event portfolio strategy: anchor draws, niche programming, seasonal coverage
  • Vision, mission, and strategic imperative development
02

Capture the value

Readiness & Activation

We help destinations prepare their communities, businesses, and infrastructure to capture the full economic value of sports events, not just host them. That includes the assets you already have: trail systems, walkable districts, and outdoor recreation that extend stays and strengthen bids.

  • Business readiness playbooks
  • Needs and gap analysis
  • Outdoor recreation integration and asset positioning
  • Stakeholder engagement across tourism, parks, and economic development
03

Prove the impact

Measurement & Advocacy

We help destinations move beyond room nights to spending geography, event lift, and community quality-of-life indicators — then build the tools to make the case for continued investment in front of a board or a council.

  • KPI and dashboard development
  • Board and government advocacy materials
  • Community sentiment measurement
  • Communications support and planning
Sports tourism strategy assessment

How ready is your destination?

Before we scope an engagement, we ask destinations to reflect on seven dimensions of readiness. Each one maps to a capability that separates destinations capturing value from those just hosting events.

Seven dimensions

Rate your destination

1 · Not true yet5 · Fully true
01Our board and leadership have a clear, shared understanding of how sports tourism fits into our broader destination strategy.
02We have consistent, compelling metrics for demonstrating sports tourism impact beyond room nights and tax revenue.
03Outdoor recreation assets are actively integrated into our sports tourism sales and visitor experience strategy.
04We have a deliberate event portfolio strategy that balances anchor events, niche programming, and seasonal coverage.
05Our local businesses are prepared and activated to capture visitor spending during events.
06We engage stakeholders across tourism, parks, economic development, and community leadership in sports tourism decisions.
07We track and act on visitor spending geography — not just aggregate room night counts.
—Rate all seven

Your result

Rate each statement from 1 (not true yet) to 5 (fully true) to see which phase fits where you are.

Scoring: 7–16 Get Clear · 17–26 Get Focused · 27–35 Get Moving. Self-assessment, not a diagnostic.

Who guides the work
Aviva North, Senior Associate Principal at Coraggio Group

Aviva North

Senior Associate Principal · Sports Tourism & Destination Strategy
Sports tourism is outgrowing the way most destinations manage it. The ones pulling ahead are the ones investing in the connective tissue: business readiness, supporting infrastructure, community visioning, and partnerships that turn a three-day event into a lasting economic relationship.

Aviva guides Coraggio's sports tourism work within our Travel & Tourism practice and is your point of contact from the first conversation through activation. She brings a background in sustainable community economic development (M.Env., CU Boulder), geography (BA, Mount Holyoke College), and active engagement with the industry through Sports ETA and sports tourism strategy work for DMOs across the country.

Start a conversation with Aviva Read her article

Be a steward of your sports tourism economy.

Start with a conversation. We'll help you name what's really going on, then scope the work to address it — one phase at a time, together.

Start a conversation 503.493.1452