After arriving in Fayetteville, it doesn’t take lengthy to understand that sports activities are woven into town’s DNA. From Razorback sport days to the cyclists on our trails to households filling fields and courts throughout the area, this is a group that strikes.
And that motion represents excess of recreation. It is one of many strongest economic alternatives forward of us.
Sports tourism has grown into one of the highly effective, dependable economic engines within the nation. According to the Sports Events & Tourism Association, spectator sports activities tourism generated $47.1 billion in direct spending final yr, supporting greater than 665,000 jobs nationwide. Youth and beginner sports activities, every part from tournaments to camps to regional competitions, contributed much more, with $52.2 billion in travel-related spending. These guests keep in motels, eat in native eating places, store in shops, and discover out of doors belongings, leaving a significant mark on native economies.
In Arkansas, that story is magnified. Outdoor recreation alone contributed $7.3 billion to the statewide economic system in 2023, supporting greater than 68,000 jobs. And tourism reached $17.4 billion in economic affect in 2024, with Northwest Arkansas enjoying a main position in that development.
At a time when leisure and enterprise journey have softened nationally, sports-related journey has continued to rise, offering a degree of stability and resilience that communities more and more depend upon. When communities like Fayetteville lean into their strengths — out of doors recreation, hospitality, accessibility and native tradition — the returns are important.
Fayetteville is uniquely positioned to guide the state and area on this area. We’re house to a thriving SEC metropolis, unbelievable year-round climate, world-class out of doors recreation, a number of indoor sporting amenities, and a welcoming tradition that makes opponents and vacationers really feel immediately at house.
Our group has additionally invested deliberately within the infrastructure that makes sports activities tourism potential. Centennial Park is a excellent instance. Purpose-built to host world-class biking occasions, it has already welcomed the 2022 UCI Cyclocross World Championships and can host the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships this December, and once more subsequent yr. These occasions don’t simply carry athletes. They carry nationwide consideration, media protection, and important economic affect for our motels and hospitality companies.
And that momentum extends properly past biking. In the previous yr, organizations such because the Women’s Football League, Athletes Unlimited Softball League, and the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation have approached us about internet hosting occasions in Fayetteville. Their curiosity reinforces what the sports activities group already is aware of: Our metropolis is rising as a national-caliber sports activities vacation spot.
But the worth of sports activities tourism extends past customer spending. It strengthens id and builds civic delight. It brings households collectively. It prompts public areas and showcases one of the best of who we’re. In my earlier position in Cody, Wyo., I noticed firsthand how highly effective it may be when a group rallies round its strengths and invitations the world to expertise them. In Fayetteville, that very same opportunity is in entrance of us, and we’re already leaning in.
The path is clear: We must proceed investing strategically. That means purpose-built sports activities amenities and deeper partnerships throughout the area. If we proceed investing with intention, collaborating throughout sectors, and telling our story with readability and authenticity, Fayetteville can set the usual for what a trendy, movement-driven vacation spot appears to be like like.
The momentum is already right here. Our job now is to harness it and to verify the world is aware of precisely why Fayetteville is a place price touring to, competing in, and coming again to repeatedly.
Editor’s observe: Ryan Hauck is CEO of Experience Fayetteville, town’s tourism advertising company. The opinions expressed are these of the creator.