Aurora – On a recent Saturday, hundreds of out-of-towners packed the Aurora Sports Park on East Colfax Avenue as the crack of bats and the screams of boys and girls filled the air.
Some 80 soccer teams and 30 girls fast-pitch softball teams from throughout the state came to Aurora. And so did their parents, brothers, sisters and coaches. They spent nights in city hotels, ate in Aurora restaurants, filled up their cars at city gas stations and spent thousands of dollars in the process.
Youth sports is big business for Aurora, which goes after the high-profile youth and adult national and regional tournaments like no other city in Colorado.
The city estimates it will net $20 million into the economy this year because of thousands of people who come to the city to play ball.
“We’re definitely spending some money here, oh, yeah,” said Dervin Taylor, coach of the 14-year-old girls fast-pitch softball team Quicksilver from Colorado Springs, in town recently for a tournament.
New team in town
But Aurora is about to get some competition for Taylor’s money.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City is looking to take a piece of the youth sports dollar.
It’s a simple formula: Attract youth teams, and their parents, particularly those from out of town. House, feed and entertain them for a few days – and collect a fee for use of the fields.
So far, Aurora has led the way among Front Range cities.
“They are a major player in going after major tournaments,” said Loree Swope, Colorado commissioner for the Amateur Softball Association, the largest group of its kind in the country. “Aurora is probably the most aggressive one in the state.”
A city can’t just decide to hold a regional or national youth sports tournament. It has to have the facilities to accommodate all the games.
The city built the now 6-year-old, $18 million Aurora Sports Park as an amenity for locals and to lure these types of money-making events. With 220 acres, Aurora Sports Park offers 23 soccer fields and 12 baseball/softball fields. Olympic Park has another four lighted fields.
The city’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. A few years ago, Sports Illustrated named Aurora the top sports town in Colorado for its innovative sports programs and facilities.
“Aurora has shown a lot of forward thinking on this,” said Paul Butcher, parks and recreation director for Colorado Springs. “We’re not in that mode. We don’t have the facilities.”
Butcher said Colorado Springs does go after some big-time events. For example, The Broadmoor is hosting the 2008 Men’s U.S. Senior Open golf tournament next year. And Grand Junction recently hosted the Junior College World Series.
But when it comes to outdoor youth sports, Aurora leads the way in Colorado. The Amateur Softball Association’s “A” State Youth Softball tournament that started last week is expected to pump at least $3 million into Aurora’s coffers.
This year, there are 29 tournaments scheduled in the city, from the Fireworks Girls Fastpitch Softball tournament in June to the Volleypalooza adult volleyball tournament later this summer.
The Fireworks tournament, with 176 teams and numerous college scouts, could mean more than $6 million for the local economy, said Lori Daniel, manager of recreation services for Aurora.
Bringing in business
Getting the tournaments to agree to come to your city is a complicated and costly process. Aurora spends thousands of dollars going to conventions each year trying to lure the most elite tournaments.
For example, it is spending $60,000 going to the ASA convention in Kentucky this year. Part of that money is used to bid for the tournament, a requirement of almost any tournament of worth. It also plans to go to the meeting of the United States Specialty Sports Association in Daytona Beach, Fla., in November.
“There’s a lot of networking and showcasing of your community and facilities,” Daniel said.
Business owners who profit from the tournaments say it’s worth the effort. Mitchell Marina, owner of The Frontier Club bar and grill, has directly benefited from the tournaments.
During tournaments, he distributes fliers about his establishment, which is about a triple off the wall away from the Aurora Sports Park. During a tournament last year, he said, about half his business one weekend was strictly from softballers. “When there’s adult tournaments, our place gets really busy,” Marina said.
But even with Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Aurora gets to cash in. Commerce City does not have a major hotel, so many travelers will still stay in nearby Aurora. But owner Stan Kroenke plans to build a massive commercial project near Dick’s park that will include hotels.
“Certainly that will have an impact,” said Carolyn Keith, Commerce City parks and recreation director. “But we’re not there – yet.”
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
