October 26, 2017 - Mayor Tom Henry and Visit Fort Wayne officials announced four sports tournaments receiving Sports Development Business Grants at a press conference earlier today.
The City of Fort Wayne is providing $20,000 in Sports Development Grant Fund dollars to help Visit Fort Wayne book these tournaments and secure their economic spending investment for our community. The four events receiving this funding will bring an estimated 3,700 people and $1.7 million in economic impact to Fort Wayne.
The sports tournaments receiving grants are:
OneHockey – 2017 Fort Wayne Forecheck
October 27-29, 2017 (2,000 attendees)
Adaptive Sports USA – 2018 Junior Nationals
July 21-28, 2018 (500 attendees)
US Figure Skating – 2019 Sectional Figure Skating Championship
November 13-17, 2018 (500 attendees)
International Jugglers’ Association – 2019 Festival
June 24-30, 2019 (700 attendees)
This will be the first time that any of these events are held in Fort Wayne and will draw visitors from varied destinations as one is a sectional, one a regional, one a national and one international!
The Adaptive Sports USA Junior Nationals are the largest longstanding annual multi-sports event for youth with a physical disability and/or visual impairment in the United States, and chose Fort Wayne for our great sports facilities and amenities, community hospitality, and reputation of Turnstone.
“Fort Wayne is gaining a reputation as a destination for adaptive sports thanks to our tremendous partner, Turnstone,” adds Dan O’Connell, President of Visit Fort Wayne. “We look forward to adding this prestigious competition to the list of those who have met with great success in our community.”
“We’re looking forward to being the host city for these important and unique events,” said Mayor Henry. “We value and appreciate our partnership with Visit Fort Wayne as we work together to ensure Fort Wayne continues to be a point of destination for visitors.”
These events are just a few of the many outstanding tournaments and meetings that choose Fort Wayne each year. In total in 2018, Fort Wayne will welcome over 70 sports tournaments and sporting events that will bring an estimated 115,000 visitors to Fort Wayne with over $25 million worth of direct spending.