Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau Wins Economic Impact Award

Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau Wins Economic Impact Award

1101 North 1st • Abilene, Texas 79601 • 325.676.2556 • 800.727.7704 •

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: November 30, 2016

Contact: Debi Schultz, 325-676-2556 or

Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau Wins Economic Impact Award

Abilene Wins 2016 Champions of Impact in Sports Tourism Award from Sports Destination Management

Abilene, TX: The Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce their work with for the
Texas West State Little League Tournament has won a national award. Sports Destination Management has honored the ACVB with the “2016 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism” in the large market category. Other winners include larger, metropolitan areas like Orland, Myrtle Beach and more.

“Winning this award truly speaks to the support the community has to improve Abilene through travel and tourism,” Nanci Liles, Executive Director said. “Locals came together to make this three-year commitment happen because they knew they could not only support young athletes across the state, but improve our community with substantial economic impact. I’m very proud of this effort and thrilled for what it means for Abilene.”

“Nominations exceeded expectations. We were overwhelmed by the volume and scope of entries — from team to individual, across all disciplines and all levels of play,” said publisher, Fonda Johnson. The most outstanding of those received were recognized and presented with event details in a special feature published in the November/December 2016 issue of Sports Destination Management. The entire article with full details on the winners listed below can also be found online along with a special feature on economic impact.

Sports Destination Management outlined the award details as follows:

“Abilene, Texas

Total Room Nights: 3,197
Total Economic Impact: $1,567,500

The Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau was able to convince organizers, who had previously hosted the state softball and baseball tournaments separately, and occasionally in different cities, to bring everything together in Abilene in order to create one large five-day event. This generated enormous economic impact while minimizing the resources of the city and the Texas West Little League Association. The event drew 1,691 spectators (most from outside the area) and 3,448 tourists. It also resulted in an average spend per visitor of $110.”

Sports Destination Management is written for the largest audience of sports event managers and tournament directors in the sports tourism market and maintains a focus on the important issues surrounding event location decisions and event management. With content from experts and thought leaders, SDM provides in-depth coverage of sports event planning and execution through incisive and relevant articles as well as insightful, real-world case studies showcasing best practices and successful event production.

###