TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Sports tourism is big business, especially in Florida.
Tampa is hosting its second NCAA Women’s Final Four this weekend. A third is coming in 2019. The two basketball tournaments highlight a remarkable run: Tampa will host an NCAA championship for five straight years.
The Tampa Bay Times reports (https://bit.ly/1ClmcUE) Sports tourism - whether it’s hosting Super Bowls or Final Fours or youth tournaments - is big business. Amateur sports drove 20 percent of the 760,400 room nights booked in Hillsborough County last year - and that doesn’t include the pro teams.
An NCAA report estimated that the 2008 Women’s Final Four generated a $19.1 million economic impact for the Tampa area and sold 16,300 hotel room nights.
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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), https://www.tampabay.com.
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