The Delaware Tourism Office (DTO) has announced a new grant program, the Tournaments, Events, and Athletic Meets Sponsorship (TEAMS) Program, designed to expand the office’s resources in recruiting sporting events to Delaware.
The program aims to attract new regional, national and international sporting events at amateur, collegiate and professional levels while ensuring that current sports events maintain their place and continue to grow for years to come in Delaware.
“Sports tourism represents a $128 billion global industry, with Delaware’s sports events bringing in millions of dollars and drawing thousands of visitors each year,” said Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “It is important that we not only keep and grow sports events the State presently hosts but also attract brand new events that further contribute to our state and local economy.”
The TEAMS program is open to both new events in the state and existing Delaware events seeking to expand or enhance their offerings. This initiative will continue Delaware’s efforts to support sporting events that increase the number of overnight stays, provide a positive impact on the state, and promote regional or national media coverage of sports tourism in Delaware.
“This program is critical to enhancing the growth of Delaware’s sports tourism industry and maintaining our state’s competitive edge on a national scale,” said Delaware Tourism Office Director Jessica Welch. “When event owners consider holding a sports tournament in Delaware, they often ask if our office has financial incentives or other programs that could help offset the cost of hosting these large-scale events.”
Applications for the TEAMS Program are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and will be reviewed in the order in which they are received until available funds are depleted. DTO will review applications within 30 days of receipt and estimate the anticipated economic impact of the event to determine the financial incentive provided. Economic impact is calculated using the number of room nights booked, the average daily spending of those attending the event and the duration of the visit. Once the event is complete, DTO will request a post-event report to be completed by the event owner. Based on the data submitted in the post-event report, DTO will distribute the financial incentive amount to the event owner. Depending on the economic impact generated by the sporting event, financial incentives from the TEAMS program can range from $1,000 for events with an economic impact of up to $100,000 to more than $25,000 for events generating more than $2.5 million in economic impact. DTO has $500,000 available to distribute.
Within the past few years, Delaware has been selected to be the home of many national events including the USA Lacrosse Youth Nationals, the MEAC Volleyball Championship, the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, and the state’s first PGA Tour event, the 2022 BMW Championship, which saw nearly 130,000 attendees and contributed more than $30 million to the local and state economy.
“In recent years, Delaware has hosted a number of sporting events that have brought thousands of visitors to our state and contributed millions of dollars in economic impact,” said Delaware Tourism Office Sports Sales Leader Ryan Wolfe. “This program gives us another resource in our sales and marketing toolkit and provides an opportunity to host additional sporting events that shine a spotlight on the state.”
Event owners and organizations in the operation and development of sports events can find more information and apply for the TEAMS program by visiting the Delaware Tourism Office’s website at www.visitdelaware.com or call toll-free at 866-284-7483.
