The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Montgomery County Tourism Office has been working on a plan for sports tourism growth in the area over the past few months. They partnered with a sports tourism team led by Jon Schmieder, CEO of Huddle Up Group, to develop strategies to attract more visitors through sports events.
Schmieder stated that the focus would be on youth soccer and other travel sports to tap into the highly competitive market. He mentioned that 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 the 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.