O'Fallon sports park generated ~ $9.25 million in visitor spending last year, staff says
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Summary
City staff told the Parks & Recreation committee that tournaments and leagues at O'Fallon Sports Park produced about $9.25 million in visitor spending in 2025, roughly 1.5 million visits and 370,000 unique visitors; turf‑field construction is underway and staff expect fields 9–10 by late April.
City staff reported to the Parks & Recreation committee that tournaments and leagues at O'Fallon Sports Park generated an estimated $9,250,000 in visitor spending in 2025 and drew roughly 1.5 million visits of at least 10 minutes and about 370,000 unique visitors.
"You'll see on this very first slide, an estimated over $9,250,000 in economic impact to the community through the tournaments that we hosted and leagues at the park over this last year," project presenter Patrick said. He attributed a small year‑over‑year dip in totals to bad weather that canceled several tournaments in spring and caused event delays.
Patrick listed the park's core tournament users — GMB Baseball, U.S. SSA softball, Metro Alliance, Gateway Rush and Saint Louis Scott Gallagher — and said those organizations account for the largest portions of the impact. He told the committee Placer.ai visitor tracking showed attendees from 49 of 50 U.S. states last year and that weekend heat maps and hotel‑stay data demonstrate local restaurant and lodging spillover.
City staff emphasized the $9.25 million figure is an estimate of visitor spending in the community, not direct revenue to the city. "That 9.25 is not revenue for the city of O'Fallon. That's revenue brought into the city," a staff member said, adding the city collects taxes and related impact from that spending.
In a separate construction update, public‑works staff said site grading, rock base and sub‑surface drainage are in place, backstops and fence posts are installed and curbing work was underway. They said turf installation will follow curbing and that the city expects fields 9 and 10 to be ready by late April, with a plan to rotate renters so field 2 can be refurbished without breaking existing contracts.
Committee members asked about visit metrics and clarification on unique visitors versus total visits; Patrick explained unique visitors counts distinct individuals while total visits tallies every recorded arrival. Committee members did not take action on the item.
The Parks & Recreation committee did not receive any public comment on the report and adjourned after the update.
