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SPORTS TOURISM

www.scgov.net

2012 SARASOTA COUNTY

941.861.5000

SportsTourism

Think you know how much money athletic endeavors

bring into the community? You

may be surprised.

BASEBALL • Sarasota Baseball Classic $323,524.18• Snowbird Baseball Classic $805,973.90•USSSA Gulf Coast Championship $355,800.28•USSSA Slugtoberfest $644,766.53• Florida State Finals $1,296,829.15 • Suncoast USSSA Baseball District 2 Championship $357,130.03• Suncoast USSSA Baseball Kickoff Classic $677,637.48•Suncoast USSSA Baseball President’s Cup $613,692.72•Suncoast USSSA Baseball Spring Break Mayhem $226,826.51

SOFTBALL• Hitmen County Shootout $90,030.00•Mid-Season Tournament $395,131.16•Sarasota Heat A.S.A. Qualifer $287,734.07•Sarasota Heat Showcase $170,189.91

BASKETBALL•Sarasota Xplosion $650,063.52• Save-On Shootout @ Riverview High $58,468.36•SCF Classic $113,172.01

BMXSTRIDER• Florida BMX State Qualifier $391,581.09• Strider World Championship $184,504.07

SpringTrainingProfessional baseball has been a Sarasota tradition since 1924, when circus magnate John Ringling helped recruit the New York Giants to hold spring training here. The Sports Complex and Ed Smith Stadium are one of the most utilized public facilities in Sarasota County, hosting the spring training of major and minor league teams that develop rising talent at Twin Lakes Park Complex throughout the year. Sarasota’s partnership with the Baltimore Orioles is the latest chapter in the county’s history with professional baseball, an economic engine, driving both professional league fans and amateur players to visit the area.

SiestaKeyBeachDesignated in 2011 by “Dr. Beach” as the No. 1 Beach in America, Siesta Beach has earned its reputation as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Siesta’s fine white sands are composed of 99% pure quartz and attract international sculptors to the annual Crystal Classic Master Sand Sculpting competition. Shallow water near the shoreline, a variety of amenities and year-round lifeguard protection also make this beach a favorite for world-class volleyball, and amateur and professional triathlons.

In 2012, our hats were off to the

Baltimore Orioles, who moved

spring training to Ed Smith Stadium.

Siesta Key is one of the largest sandboxes in the world, and it attracts thousands to the annual “Crystal Classic” Master Sand Sculpting Competition.

Bird is the word every March, when the weather is cool, the bats are flying, and boys of summer descend on Sarasota County’s ballfields.

BEACHVOLLEYBALL•4C Totally Light 2Go Beach Volleyball Series $19,879.82•Dig the Beach Volleyball Series $174,331.83•Dig the Beach Volleyball Series Gulf States Open $180,026.96•Fiesta on Siesta Key $188,440.13•Volley America East Coast Championships $100,893.09

BOATRACING•28th Annual Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Festival $14,306,173.00

CRICKET• Sarasota Six-A-Side Festival $379,893.25

DISCGOLF/FRISBEE•Sarasota Amateur Disc Golf Championships $27,432.45•The SSP Open 2012 $19,617.45•USA Ultimate Club Championships $2,295,324.47

EQUESTRIAN•Camp Fox Lea Grand Prix $1,297,835.78•Fox Lea Farm Grand Prix Spring Concours I $368,236.25•Fox Lea Farm November Grand Prix $342,066.80

OV

ER

VIE

W

!

SarasotaCounty’s

extraordinary year-round weather and numerous recreational venues are tailor-made for outdoor enthusiasts. These highlights barely the touch the surface of how great an impact sports and eco-tourism have on the local economy.

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SPORTS TOURISM

www.scgov.net

2012 SARASOTA COUNTY

941.861.5000

RowingCompetitive rowing is one of the hottest amateur sports in the country, and Sarasota County’s Nathan Benderson Park is staged to become one of the top rowing destinations in the world. This beautiful park and rower’s paradise hosted its first regattas in 2009 (the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association State Championships and the 44th Annual Florida Scholastic Rowing Association State Championships), attracting more than 10,000 spectators

GOLF•Sara Bay Classic / LPGA Symetra Tour $292,656.52

KARATE •Florida State Karate Championships $96,161.05

RACQUETBALL•Suncoast Open Pro-Am Racquetball Tournament $75,797.68

ROWING•FIRA and FSRA Sculling Championships $222,178.40•Florida Scholastic State Championships $1,044,007.97•Sarasota Invitational 2012 $206,493.35•Southeast Regional Championships $973,944.16

RUNNING•First Watch Sarasota Half Marathon & Relay $2,312,600.00•PAL Half Marathon $193,625.10•Ringling Bridge Run IX $73,655.91

SOCCER•IMG Boys Soccer Cup Invitational $611,975.05 •Labor Day Soccer Showcase U.S. Soccer Winter Showcase & Nike Friendlies $1,941,069.32

SWIMMING•Area 3/5 Champion Swim Meet $372,626.02•Bumpy Jones International Classic $34,139.33•College/Club Winter Training Program $519,697.06•Florida Age Group Championship Swim Meet $997,542.99•Florida Swimming Senior Championships $749,663.05• Tropical Splash Open Water Swim $166,389.48

TENNIS• 2012 Sarasota Open $1,686,041.19• Eddie Herr Tennis Tournament $947,236.50• Little Mo International Junior Open $282,666.82 • Super Senior Grand Prix Tennis Tournament $263,861.40

TRIATHLON• Florida International Triathlon $222,354.12• Life’s A Beach Triathlon Sarasota Longboat Key Triathlon Race Series $122,830.13• Longboat Key Triathlon Race Series $78,948.18• Siesta Key Triathlon $106,666.56• Total impact $41,752,418.85

and participants. The Sarasota County Commission has approved the concept plan and preliminary design plan to build one of the most advanced rowing venues in the country — a 2,000-meter course, a straight shoreline perfect for viewing and enclosed fresh water with no current. Design and engineering for the park is now under way through a public/private partnership with the Benderson Development Corporation.

These hands aren’t idle, they’re pulling

precious cargo across the finish line.

On your mark, get set…GO! And then just try to keep up with the blur of oars slicing into the water at Nathan Benderson Park.

These gals (and guys) are built for speed, rowing for gold and spreading the word that Sarasota County is a world-class regatta venue.

Totalimpact $41,752,418.85