Sanford tourism director reports 40,000 visits to Lee County Athletic Park in six weeks; TDA to target sports visitors

Sanford Tourism Development Authority staff presented data Oct. 20 showing early visitor demand at the Lee County Athletic Park and described marketing steps to convert tournament traffic into overnight stays and local spending.

The presenter, identified by commissioners as Wendy from the TDA, said the TDA has used a location-analytics product to measure visits and to map visitor paths to and from the park; she reported just over 40,000 visits in the prior six weeks and said weekend tournaments had produced roughly 2,000 visitors per weekend in recent weeks. The TDA also shared countywide tourism spending data: Lee County visitor spending in 2024 was reported at about $104.6 million, up 9.5% from the prior year, with accommodations spending of about $22.6 million.

Wendy said the TDA has created a sports-tourism landing page, invested in on-site signage and bleacher wraps, contacted tournament directors and scheduled a photo shoot to build marketing assets. She said the TDA will continue to monitor hotel occupancy data and visitor origin patterns to target promotions to the places that bring tournament participants and spectators to Sanford. TDA staff said anecdotal hotel reports showed some tournament visitors staying in town, though other large events and weddings sometimes used available rooms.

Commissioners and staff discussed possible additional highway signage directing visitors to the park, and the TDA said it will coordinate with county staff and NCDOT to pursue signage options. The presentation concluded with the TDA offering to share ongoing analytics with county officials and hoteliers to track the park’s economic impact.