information provided by Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau
LANSING, Ill. (March 8, 2018) – Sports travel produces over 20 million visitors annually who spend more than $10.47 billion, according to National Association of Sports Commissions. The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau, headquartered in Lansing, is continuing to increase the amount of new sports business coming to the region through aggressive sales and marketing campaigns.
Collectively these events will attract over 20,000 participants generating over 2,250 hotel rooms for the Southland region. Participants will be staying in local hotels, shopping in the area, eating in nearby restaurants, and visiting regional attractions.
The variety of sporting events scheduled for the spring to fall season includes:
- May 25–26 • American Cornhole Organization (ACO) Midwest Major, Southland Center, Lynwood
americancornhole.com/aco-in-the-media
300 estimated participants expected - June 2 • 3rd Annual Chicago Southland Dragon Boat Festival, MWRD SEPA Station & Waterfall Park along the Cal-Sag, Blue Island
chicagodragonboats.com/#register
700 estimated participants expected - July 14–15 • 39th Annual World Wiffle Ball Championship, Memorial Park Fields, Midlothian
worldwiffleball.org/2018news
500 estimated participants expected - July 20–22 • United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Illinois & Wisconsin Baseball All-Star Weekend, Oak Lawn Pavilion & Centennial Park, Oak Lawn
usssaillinoisbaseball.com
1,000 estimated participants expected - July 28–29 • US Lacrosse Teams Development Program, Gaelic Park, Oak Forest
teamusa.uslacrosse.org/news/sites-selected-for-us-national-team-player-performance-camps
500 estimated participants expected - September 14–16 • 2018 National X-Ball League (NXL) Midwest Paint Ball Championship,
Gaelic Park, Oak Forest
nxlpaintball.com
3,000 estimated participants expected - October 20 • Spartan Stadium Series Sprint at Toyota Park, Bridgeview spartan.com/en/race/detail/4093/overview?filter=stadium
10,000 estimated participants expected
“Sports planners love the Chicago Southland location due to our variety of sports venues available, reasonable prices, interstate accessibility, proximity to downtown Chicago, exciting extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of support services we offer,” stated Joel Koester, Sports Market Manager for the Chicago Southland CVB. “We are excited about the nice variety of sporting events coming to the area.”
The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official destination management and marketing organization for Chicago’s 62 south and southwest suburbs. The Chicago Southland CVB markets the Chicago Southland region as a destination for leisure, meetings and conventions, group tour and sports events. For more information, go to VisitChicagoSouthland.com.