Sportsplex Success! How Hillsborough County's Sports Tourism Investment Has Become an Economic Driver

By Joey Johnston

The Hillsborough County Tournament SportsPlex, celebrating its fifth anniversary, has a magnificent story to tell.

But how do you accurately describe the impact of a place that has hosted some of the nation’s premier amateur athletes — some destined to perform in professional leagues or the Olympics — along with the luminaries of over-the-top joyful ventures such as ultimate frisbee and kickball?

How do you objectively judge the success of state-of-the-art facilities that attract athletes and spectators from all over the country — and the world?

How do you quantify the decision to invest in youth sports and build such a sports palace in one of the world’s most desirable destinations?

The numbers are clear. We’re talking about millions.

Millions of smiles.

And millions of dollars.

On a random weekend, you’ll likely find kids playing tackle or flag football, rugby, or soccer in high-level events. You’ll witness lacrosse and field hockey. You’ll see cross-country runners traversing their course.

The families will hail from hundreds of different ZIP codes to compete in the shadow of downtown Tampa, surrounded by some of the world’s best beaches and tourist attractions. What’s not to like?

That was the win-win projection of Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who championed the project.

“I knew it would be successful,’’ Hagan said. “But I never envisioned results like this.’’

The pre-construction estimates of a third-party consultant, while promising, have been nearly doubled in every category.

A five-year total of more than 151,000 hotel room nights were promised. A total of more than 218,000 hotel room nights — an increase of nearly 45 percent from the initial estimates — were actually delivered.

That has generated $2 million in estimated bed-tax revenue.

Lots Of Big-Time Events

Looking for a variety of sports? That’s a major part of the SportsPlex story. It caters to all of them. Here’s a sampling:

U90C SuperCopa+ — The premier soccer event’s first year in Tampa (2023) drew 98 teams and generated approximately 3,000 hotel visitor room nights over Memorial Day weekend. In 2024, it grew to about 127 teams (with many coming from outside the United States). Meanwhile, U90C has awarded its flagship event, Premier SuperCopa, to Tampa for the summer of 2026. That should attract more than 200 teams (ages 9-12), about 20,000 attendees and more than 7,000 hotel visitor room nights.

U.S. Youth Soccer (USYS) National League P.R.O. — USYS was among the first tenants at the SportsPlex and the P.R.O has become one of the facility’s true staple events. Last February, it drew 216 teams and produced more than 6,000 hotel visitor room nights. USYS returns this summer with its Southern Regional Championship, jointly hosted by the Florida Youth Soccer Association and Visit Central Florida Sports. The week-long event will bring in more than 200 youth teams and approximately 6,000 hotel visitor room nights.

United Soccer League (USL) Academy Cup Super Y Finals — The USL, with its headquarters in Tampa, continues to host many of its premier tournaments at the SportsPlex. The Super Y Finals and Academy Finals (in December), plus the Academy Cup (March), traditionally attracts more than 275 teams and generates more than 9,000 hotel visitor room nights annually.

Tropical 7’s Rugby — The international event, over Easter weekend, is one of the largest youth rugby tournaments in North America, as well as being recognized as a top-flight global event. Over the past two years, the event has grown by 60 percent and features more than 200 teams. Ninety-eight percent of them travel to Tampa and 33 percent are international (coming from as far as Australia). The event produced more than 4,600 hotel visitor room nights in 2024.

Florida Premier FC/Tampa Bay Super Cup — Last November, the event drew 230 teams and produced more than 5,000 hotel visitor room nights. This year, Florida Premier FC will bring all three of its Tampa Bay Super Cup events to the SportsPlex (over three weekends in the fall). In 2025, it’s expected the Tampa Bay Super Cup with add a fourth weekend because of demand. Cumulatively, the events are expected to produce up to 17,000 hotel visitor room nights annually.

USA Flag/Flag Football World Championships — The SportsPlex is home to the world’s largest flag-football tournament. It has hosted USA Flag’s premier event for the past two years. It featured 788 items in 2023 and 865 teams in 2024 with the number projected at 1,000 teams in 2025. The 2024 World Championships featured more than 10,000 competitors with roughly 13,000 attendees. It generated more than 20,000 hotel visitor room nights.

Economic Driver For The Community

More numbers: The SportsPlex has hosted 161 events over five years with total attendance surpassing 372,000 spectators (and nearly 175,000 of them coming from outside the Tampa Bay area).

The SportsPlex, which was built for $17 million, was completed through a partnership with Hillsborough County, the Tampa Sports Authority, and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. It is owned by Hillsborough County and managed by the TSA. Meanwhile, the Sports Commission actively recruits and coordinates events, which have kept the SportsPlex humming with activity.

“The combined efforts of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and Tampa Sports Authority developed the vision to fill a void in our sports tourism landscape,’’ said Eric Hart, president/CEO of the TSA. “Hillsborough County provided the resources to fulfill this vision by creating the SportsPlex. I thank Hillsborough County for its faith in the Authority to manage this venue and, in partnership with the Sports Commission, we have far exceeded the initial economic projections. We will continue to make the SportsPlex a major economic driver for our community.’’

“On behalf of our board and staff, we would like to thank the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners for their vision and investment in the Hillsborough County Tournament SportsPlex,’’ TBSC executive director Rob Higgins said. “We also could not be more grateful to all of the visiting event organizers that have graciously hosted more than 160 events at the venue since its opening. The tourism generated by this venue has been truly phenomenal and has far exceeded every pre-construction expectation, which has resulted in an incredible return on investment for Hillsborough County.’’

The TBSC has helped to attract and manage many high-profile events in the Tampa Bay area, including the Super Bowl, the NHL All-Star Game, the College Football Playoff championship game, the NCAA Women’s Final Four, the NCAA Frozen Four, the NCAA Volleyball Championships, plus the SEC and ACC Men’s Basketball Tournaments.

But the TBSC’s other youth and amateur sports events, many of which are contested as the SportsPlex, represent a significant economic impact as well.

Higgins has long praised youth sports as an important part of the area’s sports landscape. He said they are essentially “recession-proof’’ because when parents are forced to cut back in lean economic times, the athletic activities of their children usually have a high priority.

Other cities realize this, too, so competition has heightened in attracting premier youth sporting events.

The SportsPlex gives the Tampa Bay area an array of attractive selling points.

It’s a tournament-only facility, meaning events never have to compete with local practice and game schedules that are commonplace at other venues.

It includes 15 full-sized fields, 10 multi-purpose fields, four quad fields and one championship field (fields can be reconfigured to accommodate many different sporting activities). There are four locker rooms, five multi-purpose rooms and a hospitality pavilion. There is premium LED lighting, wireless internet, a modified USGA field drainage system, plus plenty of restroom and parking facilities.

And in a boon for youth sports parents everywhere, there’s also a robotic field striper that uses GPS to automatically line the fields.

After five years of activity, the numbers continue to justify the SportsPlex as a more-than-worthy investment.

The SportsPlex scoreboard has reached the millions.

Millions of smiles.

Millions of dollars.