Youth sports events bring thousands of athletes, and tourism dollars, to Sacramento region

Thousands of young athletes are coming to the Greater Sacramento region this weekend to show off their skills in several different tournaments. It's a growing trend in the Sacramento suburbs, with communities competing for sports tourism dollars.

Roughly 1,500 kids and their families are attending the Bill Rose Classic, a four-day swimming competition at the Elk Grove Aquatics Center. A youth baseball tournament is also going on, bringing a big boost to the local economy.

Elk Grove tourism officials say hotels like the Holiday Inn Express are nearly sold out this weekend.

Anne Rogers' family drove from Sparks, Nevada, for the swim meet and is spending three days there.

"Where we live, we don't have outdoor pools like this, so it's really fun for them to get to come here," Rogers said.

A youth basketball tournament in Roseville is also scoring big for South Placer businesses.

"They love going to the mall to go shopping, and they love going to restaurants," said Kim Summers, CEO of Placer Valley Tourism. "All of that put together becomes a winning package."

More than 2,000 high school athletes are participating in this showcase for NCAA coaches and recruiters.

"Most of these events are repeats," Summers said. "They are coming back."

Places like Elk Grove don't have a convention center or an arena, so tourism officials say these types of youth sporting events are a good way to show off the city and bring new families to town.

"People have a great experience at the pool, and then they go out into the community and they've got so many things to check out," said Troy Nissen, meet director of the Bill Rose Classic.

Next week, Elk Grove is hosting a four-day junior golf tournament, and Placer Valley Tourism says they now have events going on 50 weeks out of the year.