Capitalizing on Virginia's Blue Ridge regional success as a well-established sports destination, Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge (Visit VBR) officially announced the formation of VBR Sports.  “We are upping our game,” touted Landon Howard, President of Visit VBR.  “Developing a stronger, regional sports identity under the direction of a new VBR Sports Council along with a Director of Sports Development will allow our five localities to attract far more diverse sporting events and grow the region's travel and tourism industry,” added Howard. 

VBR Sports will focus on presenting the entire region as a desirable place to host a multitude of new sporting events that will provide for a superior athlete and fan experience, “Working together with local sports organizers to host various competitive sports will generate a stronger economic impact and put VBR Sports on the map on a much broader scale,” explained Bree Nidds, Director of Sports Development for VBR Sports.

VBR has experienced tremendous success in attracting sports tourism with this segment of the VBR tourism industry generating 69% of the overall group business. Nationally, the amateur sports market (includes events that travel) has proven itself recession resistant and has grown to what is expected to be more than $11 billion in direct visitor spending according to an Ohio University survey in 2017. Today, kids are playing more competitive sports than ever before. There are over 30 million boys and girls playing youth sports compared to just less than 8 million in 1970. Youth sports tourism is the fastest-growing segment in the travel and tourism industry. It is estimated that some families are spending over 10% of their annual income on sports travel.

Don Schumacher, former Executive Director of the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) stated, “A regional effort marshals all the resources that might be needed to host any event. This region has a long track record for staging events.  Capitalizing on this, the natural beauty and the central location, you will be hard pressed to find another area that has more expertise in amateur sports.”

In addition to youth sports, VBR Sports plans to continue attracting adult amateur sports as well.  Bree Nidds commented, “The combination of youth, amateur, and collegiate level events opens the door to bidding on more diverse sports opportunities.  This builds on our reputation to successfully host championships and tournaments started by the City of Salem and brand VBR Sports as a premier sports destination nationally.” VBR Sports will focus on maximizing exposure for all sports facilities within the VBR footprint including the Cities of Roanoke and Salem and the Counties of Roanoke, Botetourt and Franklin.

VBR Sports has identified the following sporting events* as the highest percentage of participant growth in the past few years:

Adventure Racing                                            Mountain Biking

MMA Competition                                            BMX Cycling

Off-Road Triathlons                                         Boardsailing/Windsurfing

Lacrosse                                                         Rock Climbing

Traditional Triathlons                                       Cheer/Dance

Rugby                                                             Softball

Archery                                                           Ultimate Frisbee

Field Hockey                                                   Gymnastics

Roller Hockey                                                  Tennis

Boxing                                                            Ice Hockey

Wrestling                                                        Squash/Pickle ball

Disc Golf                                                         CrossFit

(*Small sample of sporting events that VBR Sports will look at pursuing.)

With a winning combination of state of the art facilities and venues, Virginia's Blue Ridge region has hosted 86 NCAA Championships or Tournaments in the past 25 years and over 180 sporting events in 2017.  The new VBR Sports initiative will continue to focus on promoting the region as a premier destination for tournaments, championship and sporting events.

The official launch of VBRSports.com and kickoff event for VBR Sports was held on January 31, 2018 at Countryside Sportsplex in Roanoke, VA. Several local officials, sports organizers and representatives from multiple sports facilities attended this special announcement.

For additional information contact:

Taylor Spellman, Public Relations Manager
Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge
(540) 342-6025 Ext. 122
tspellman@visitvbr.com
www.VBRSports.com