New grants aim to grow sports tourism

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Mayor Tom Henry is announcing a new grant program that is designed to bring more amateur sporting events to Fort Wayne.

The goal is to stimulate the local economy by attracting new visitors to Fort Wayne.

Those visitors would then spend money on things like hotels and restaurants.

IPFW's Consumer Research Center documented that a youth basketball tournament with 300 teams generated over $1.2 million in Fort Wayne in just one week.

"We have several sports complexes with the ability to draw crowds, such as Spiece, Hefner Soccer Fields and the new ice facility," said Mayor Henry.

"With this program, we have an opportunity to  capitalize on the existence of these venues and to offer incentives to bring tournaments in to Fort Wayne," said Henry.

The Sports Business Development Grant Program (SBDG) will help non-profits to host, recruit or bring athletic events to Fort Wayne.

The grants are designed to help defray the start-up costs, hosting fees and promotional expenses to attract an event.

To qualify, events must be amateur and generate out of city spectators in significant numbers.

The first grants will help the Fort Wayne Convention and Visitors Bureau and Fort Wayne Sports Corporation to bid against other cities to host the 2010 United States Sports Specialty Association's National Youth Basketball Championship, the Big Ten Invitational Pre-Season Soccer Tournament and the 2010 Indiana State High School Girls Basketball Championship.

Grant applications need to be received at least six months prior to the event.