The Tourism Office in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Montgomery County has been working on a plan to grow sports tourism in the region over the past few months. They have partnered with a team led by Jon Schmieder, CEO of Huddle Up Group, to develop strategies that will attract more visitors through sports events.
The focus of the plan is on youth soccer and other travel sports, as these are highly competitive markets. Neighboring counties such as Danville, Lynchburg, and Salem have already seen success in sports tourism, and Montgomery County could follow suit. One of the proposed ideas is to use facilities like Christiansburg Huckleberry Park to host tournaments for various sports like soccer and lacrosse.
David Rotenizer, executive director for the Tourism Office, emphasized the need to build upon the existing sports tourism infrastructure in the area and take the next steps to attract more events. Local residents such as Christiansburg mom Alycia Irish have expressed support for the initiative, believing that it would bring more exposure and activity to the community.
The Tourism Office aims to have events up and running within the next six months to boost sports tourism in the area.
