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Sports tourism leaders pitch state tools and say Georgia lags peers in dedicated funding
Summary
Speakers from Georgia Sports and the Gwinnett Sports Commission told the committee that sports tourism drives hotel stays and local spending, but Georgia lacks dedicated state funding and competes with states that provide cash incentives to attract events. Presenters described a state-offered sports index platform and urged consideration of state
Officials representing Georgias sports tourism sector told the Economic Development & Tourism committee that youth and amateur events are an everyday driver of hotel stays and local spending across small and mid‑sized communities.
Lehi Hooten, director of sports development with the Gwinnett Sports Commission and a board member of Georgia Sports, said the state and local sports commissions rely primarily on a portion of local hotel‑motel tax revenue and that Georgia currently competes without dedicated state grant funding while other states (for example Texas) operate tiered grant programs.
"We are funded by primarily by a portion of the low local hotel motel tax, within our communities," Hooten said, describing how most sports tourism activity is supported locally.
Hooten summarized national and state industry figures cited by Sports ETA and Tourism Economics: sports tourism in the U.S. generates about $52.2 billion in direct spending, about $128 billion in total economic impact (reporting language in the presentation), supports roughly 757,000 full‑time jobs, and contributes about $20.1 billion in taxes. He said Georgia ranks ninth in the nation for economic impact from sports tourism despite having no dedicated state sports tourism funding.
Hooten and other speakers described a platform called the "sports index," operated by a vendor named Tempest, that the state is offering as a lead and matchmaking tool for local communities to identify and recruit tournaments and events. Hooten said local communities can contact him or the state office to access the platform.
Several committee members and partners noted legacy projects associated with major events. Nick Fernandez of the Metro Atlanta Chamber described how FIFA and other organizing committees have worked to channel event investments into lasting community projects; he also noted Atlanta Uniteds commitments to renovate hundreds of youth soccer fields across the state.
Why it matters: Speakers argued that modest state funding for sports tourism could help Georgia compete with states that use grant programs to secure events. They also said the day‑to‑day economic return of youth and amateur events is important to small towns that lack other large-scale economic activity.
Requests and next steps: Presenters encouraged the committee to consider state investment that could be layered with local hotel tax dollars to recruit mid‑size and larger events, and they offered the sports index platform as a technical tool for local sports commissions to access event leads.
