They will be here for the USA Junior Olympic Girls Volleyball Championships, accompanied by an entourage of 45,000 family and friends. Their presence is projected to produce a $43 million spike for Utah's economy - $10 million more than the Outdoor Retailer trade show, which brings about 34,000 visitors to Salt Lake City each year.
"Hosting this event gives volleyball exposure, but clearly the state and local businesses benefit significantly from us bringing it to town," said Kim Norman, executive director of the Intermountain Volleyball Association, which is organizing the tournament Tuesday through July 6 at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Teams have booked hotel rooms from Provo to Ogden. Restaurants around those hotels and in downtown Salt Lake City are preparing for brisk business. Rental vehicles, particularly 15-seat vans big enough to hold a whole team, are in high demand.
"We are just swamped with requests for van rentals right now," said Dailene Christensen at Western States Auto in South Salt Lake.
This marks the third time in five years that a national volleyball tournament has been held in Utah. Somewhat smaller events in 2001 and 2002 were staged at SouthTowne Exposition Center in Sandy, together attracting nearly 900 teams, 12,500 players and 75,000 fans, and generating an estimated economic impact of nearly $60 million.
"It was good for us," said Glenn Cobb, Sandy City Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive. "It's something the city, our chamber and local businesses would welcome back."
Communities across the country are increasingly courting youth sports tournaments, recognizing that they represent another branch of the tourism industry alongside conventions, tour groups and business and leisure travel.
"Sports is a $500 million-a-year industry and it's growing," said Jeff Robbins, executive director of the Utah Sports Commission, a nonprofit organization created by the Legislature to bring national and international sporting events to the state. He worked behind the scenes to help Norman persuade USA Volleyball officials to return the tournament to Utah.
"If there's a downturn in the economy, business travel declines, leisure travel goes down," he added. "Youth sporting events are more recession-proof because parents are not inclined to cut back on making investments in their kids."
Robbins' projection that the tournament will generate $43 million for the economy is based on a conservative estimate that each participant will spend $81.67 per day while in Utah. He figured teenagers will have smaller spending allowances than most tourists, who spend closer to $95 a day in Salt Lake City.
Still, every bit of incoming money helps. At the two earlier tournaments in Sandy, Cobb noted, "it was quite an impact to have that many girls close to one of the larger malls [SouthTowne] in Utah. There was a lot of shopping going on."
Added Melva Sine, Utah Restaurant Association director: "Kids are different than other types of tourists. They don't stay in their rooms. They'll be out seeing and doing whatever they can, spending as much money as mom and dad gave them.
"Restaurants are built to take care of consumers in the marketplace. Any kind of business that comes in overnight and stays a few days is an enhancement for our industry," she said.
This particular tournament also appeals to hoteliers because of its timing.
"Typically over the Fourth, no one is traveling in large groups and no one books conventions or business meetings," said Dennis Porter, director of sales and marketing for the Red Lion Hotel, which set aside one-fourth of its 392 rooms nightly for the volleyball crowd. "It's really a prime piece of business for us."
mikeg@sltrib.com
