(Cobb County, Ga.) — July 12, 2016 — Travel and tourism remains the number one economic driver in Cobb County, with a total economic impact of more than $2.75 billion and employing more than 32,000 people. Sports tourism has contributed significantly to this number.
Rachel Rogers, Sports Sales and Services Manager, and Holly Quinlan, CEO, from Cobb Travel and Tourism presented to the Marietta Business Association on July 11 about the economic impact of sports. In Cobb, sports tourism is supported by the Cobb Sports Alliance, which markets Cobb County as a sports tourism destination. Founded in 2013, the organization is composed of 35 entities that have a joint interest in seeing sports become a catalyst for Cobb County.
Sports tourism has had a $9 billion impact in the United States, and Cobb County has been able to account for $505 million from sports. This is revenue coming from outside of the county to inside of the county, and trickles down to support salaries, taxes, and various things throughout the Cobb community.
All parts of the county have been touched by sports tourism in some way, and the Cobb Sports Alliance has brought some major, diverse events to the area. A few of these include Perfect Game, an elite level baseball tournament that has called Cobb County home for the past 12 years; the Major League Lacrosse Championship, hosted at Kennesaw State University’s Sports and Entertainment Park since 2014; and the Korean Paralympic Training Camp, which will help athletes train and adjust to the temperature and time differences that they will face in Rio de Janeiro. Cobb County has hosted athletes from 30 countries and had competitors ranging from ages 2 to 85.
Cobb County has become a sports power alley, with three major league teams announcing their move to Cobb in the last 24 months – Major League Lacrosse’s Atlanta Blaze, Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves, and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United. Cobb County is the only destination in the United States to do this and truly shows the county’s commitment to the growth of sports.
