If you build it, they will come. That is the approach that Collier County (Florida) is taking as they recently unveiled plans of constructing eight new outdoor sports fields and new sports stadium. Athletic Business reported on the plans and how Collier County expects the new fields to be a major attraction in the area.
Each year, Collier County hosts a youth football tournament known as the Football University tournament which draws over 40 teams from across the country. The newly proposed expansion will help better facilitate the Football University tournament as well as draw additional traveling youth and amateur teams to the area for local, regional and national tournaments.
“We want to be for Naples what the Little League World Series is for Williamsport, Pennsylvania,” said Doug Berman, CEO of All American Games.
Between purchase costs and construction expenses, the entire project may reach upwards of $60 million, although a county-funded study has projected a $468 million economic influx to the area due to the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors to the sports fields. On top of the economic benefits from the construction of the new fields, local residents will benefit by being able to use the fields for recreational and league play – just like every other park within the county.
In addition to having the ability to earn additional revenue through field rentals, Collier County could also utilize Spotz to easily schedule all of their fields when hosting the All American Games. Sotz is the only company that allows for multi-space, multi-day booking. With just one transaction, the entire All American Games can be scheduled in Spotz. Spotz can help tournament directors save time and increase efficiency by quickly scheduling the fields and assigning maintenance related tasks to their field staff.
