Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- The Utah Hockey Club and 2034 Winter Olympics are expected to boost youth sports and sports tourism.
- Youth sporting events are behind over 330,000 hotel room nights in 2024, one-third of Salt Lake County's group and convention bookings.
- New youth hockey programs and events increase tourism, benefiting Salt Lake County's economy.
SANDY — The past few months have been a "whirlwind" for Chris Armstrong.
Armstrong was named president of hockey operations of the Utah Hockey Club over the summer, overseeing the team's normal offseason functions — signing free agents and drafting new talent — while dealing with the logistical challenges tied to moving a professional sports team to a new market.
However, all that work paid off when he reflected on what it was like to be at the Delta Center on Oct. 8. He watched a rowdy crowd cheer loudly with every goal and major play during a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, taking notice of the pride that spectators had seeing "Utah" written across the front of an NHL sweater.
"(It) is something that I will never forget," Armstrong told attendees at Sports Salt Lake's annual Sports Tourism Summit on Tuesday.
That energy is beginning to show up in downtown visitation data. Kaitlin Eskelson, president and CEO of Visit Salt Lake, said the county is still analyzing hard numbers, but they expect to see a downtown spending bump.
The Utah Hockey Club adds 41 new nights to the previously guaranteed 41 nights where the Utah Jazz draw people downtown during what is typically the slowest period for business. Concerts and other events often fill the Delta Center whenever the teams are both away from home. That's on top of events taking place at Abravanel Hall, Eccles Theater and other facilities downtown.
"We're seeing just more consistency in the downtown environment," she said, adding that 80% of all spending now comes after 6 p.m. "I think we're still trying to understand how many NHL attendees are local vs. out-of-state — the additive dollars."
The introduction of the Utah Hockey Club and Utah's winning bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics have generated the majority of Utah's state of sports buzz this year, but local sports tourism experts believe the excitement can also trickle down to ancillary industries including youth sports, a lesser-noticed but fast-growing economy with an impact in Salt Lake's economy.
Sports' forgotten market
Youth sports are having a moment both in Utah and across the world.
The global market is currently valued at $37 billion, and it is expected to reach $69 billion by the end of the decade, doubling in size over the next six years, said Clay Pertain, chief sports officer and director of Sports Salt Lake, a segment of Visit Salt Lake.
He explained that parents are willing to do "whatever it takes" to help their children reach their sports dreams. One-fifth of parents that TD Ameritrade surveyed in 2019 said they believed their child would receive a college scholarship through athletics, while another 30% were hopeful about the prospect, even though some estimates list the final number at less than 2%.
A survey co-led by Utah State University in 2022 found that Americans spent an average of $883 every year on registration, fees and other costs tied to youth sports, including travel.
Meanwhile, hosting events has been huge for Salt Lake County's $5.8 billion visitor economy. Sports Salt Lake booked dozens of youth and amateur sports events this year, which are projected to generate 330,000 hotel room nights, about one-third of the county's group and convention bookings.
The county's projections don't count individual purchases from people coming for college or professional sporting events, but those who come in generally shop and dine in the city between competitions.
Building on youth sports
Having the Utah Hockey Club and hosting a second Winter Olympics is already adding to Utah's budding youth sports scene. Smith Entertainment Group unveiled a new statewide youth hockey program similar to the Junior Jazz earlier this month, which is expected to engage with over 5,000 participants this season.
Some of its participants may pursue additional sports leagues, which could lead to more tournaments in the county.
"(It) has sparked a growing buzz within our community, in particularly within youth hockey organizations and national tournament holders that are eager to explore the Salt Lake market," Pertain said, adding that other markets experienced a spike in youth and amateur hockey interest after the NHL arrived.
Representatives of youth hockey tournaments attended Tuesday's summit to potentially meet key players and scope out venues. A portion of Tuesday's event focused on trends in sports facilities, as well as updates to the many new sports facilities under construction in Salt Lake County right now.
The same goes for a few other sports after every Olympics, often referred to as the "Olympic bump."
Sports tourism leaders say that pro and other high-level athletes often inspire the next generation of athletes in their field. They attend youth sporting events that could end up in Salt Lake County, boosting the region's economy beyond pro sports. It's a cycle that tourism experts hope continues as all levels of sport continue to thrive in Utah.
"This idea of youth and amateur sports, especially as it relates to (visitor) spending, is not going away," Eskelson said. "It's only going to grow. ... Utahns love sport."
