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Legends Event Center credits partnerships as visitors, room nights and economic impact climb
Summary
City presenters and Destination Bryan told council that Legends Event Center’s mix of tournaments, concerts and community programming drew tens of thousands of visitors and generated what Destination Bryan estimated as more than $30 million in economic impact from 32 sports‑tourism events in FY'25.
Jamie, the presenter for Legends Event Center, opened the council presentation by thanking partners and framing the facility as a regional attraction approaching its third anniversary.
"You should be proud and commended for your commitment and resources to recruitment of a lot of these large events," Jamie told council, and highlighted concerts, national tournaments and trade shows that have used the facility.
John Freebould of Destination Bryan presented the event-by-event metrics the city uses to measure sport‑tourism impact. He said the staff counted 32 sports‑tourism events in FY'25 that drive hotel room nights and estimated more than $30,000,000 in total economic impact from those events. "These numbers are still likely conservative," Freebould added, while explaining he limited the event sample to those that reliably generate room nights.
Freebould said the 32 events produced more than 28,000 room nights from 10 newly recruited events and estimated roughly $630,000 in taxes generated from those sports tourism events, with about $250,000 characterized as new tax revenue tied to the activity. He cautioned that the figures combine impacts across the Bryan–College Station region and that precise city-level shares are estimated.
Council members asked about facility capacity and local use. Presenters said weekday court utilization is near capacity and that the venue markets open-court availability and day passes when space exists. The presenters credited a close partnership with Bryan ISD for overflow court space and for making some large high‑school showcases possible.
The presentation concluded with council praise for the venue’s staff and a suggestion to revisit the facility’s original plan to evaluate future expansion if demand and financials support it.
