State moves to bolster sports tourism with $11.3 million in grants

An indoor track, a Frederica sports site, a pickleball complex and a tournament site have been  awarded $11.3 million from a state fund devoted to boosting sports tourism.

Established last year, the Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund’s allocations are announced by the Delaware Tourism Office, providing grants in support of sports facilities like arenas, courts, fields, aquatics facilities, track and field and more.

The winners were: 

• Indoor Track Delaware: $6 million to construct a new indoor track facility, adjacent to the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, that will serve as a multi-sport complex and host a variety of events and competitions.
• DE Turf: $3 million to make improvements to the complex in Frederica in order to host larger regional and national tournaments. This will include tripling current stadium seating from 1,000 to 3,000 seats, constructing a new tournament facility, adding additional amenities and more.
• Midway Motion & Fitness: $2 million to construct a pickleball complex in Rehoboth Beach with 12 indoor courts and 4 outdoor courts, meeting the requirements for sanctioning of tournaments by the American Pickleball Association.
• STATS Tournaments: $300,000 to install stadium lights at two of its fields and build one additional baseball and softball field at their facility in Bear to accommodate the increasing team and tournament demands.

The Sports Planning Guide, an organization that documents the best destinations for sporting events, states that “the First State has witnessed an explosion in sports tourism, as visitors from across the country are flocking to this small coastal state to enjoy its diverse range of sports and outdoor activities. In essence, Delaware, the oldest state in the country and a state renowned for its rich history and stunning beaches, is also a sports tourism hotbed.”

According to Delaware’s 2021 travel numbers, tourism that year had a $4 billion impact on the state, and attracted 28.3 million visitors with 83 percent of those being repeat visitors. 

For the economic boost, the goal of the fund is to drive regional and national events to Delaware.

“Sports tourism is a significant economic driver in our state, attracting thousands of visitors to Delaware each year and generating millions of dollars in revenue,” said Jessica Welch, director of the Delaware Tourism Office. “This funding will go a long way in ensuring that our state can offer top-notch facilities to teams and event operators for years to come.”

The tourism office received 18 applications requesting more than $54 million.

Eligibility and award criteria can be found here, but one example is applicants are judged on potential economic impact on the state and local economy if the facility is provided funding.

Another is they have to be a facility within the state, specifically a high school, collegiate or recreational venue that generates positive incremental state tax benefits to Delaware, is used for public purposes and regularly hosts sports tourism events.

The panel that decides who gets the money has met the past two months. It includes co-chairs of the Joint Capital Improvement Committee (Sen. Jack Walsh, D-Wilmington and Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Bellefonte) and representatives of the Delaware Tourism Office, the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kent County Tourism and Southern Delaware Tourism. 

“This was a very competitive application process, and the panel worked diligently to consider the merits of each facility that applied,” Walsh said. “The applicants receiving funding play an important role in encouraging out-of-state visitors to attend sports events in Delaware, growing the economy, and introducing our gem of a state to new audiences.”