Visit Chicago Southland Receives Two Honors from Sports Destination Management

The Chicago Southland has received two awards from Sports Destination Management, a leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market. Chicago Southland was awarded Favorite Destination for Community Engagement, as well as Favorite Destination for Accessibility.

In the Chicago Southland, sports play a major role in bringing people to the area. With facilities capable of accommodating upwards of 45 sports throughout its 63 communities, the Chicago Southland groups can regularly turn a sporting event into a lifetime of memories.

Location and accessibility are two main features causing leading sports organizers to consider the Southland region. The Chicago Southland is an ideal sporting event location with convenient proximity to downtown Chicago, access to several interstates and minutes from Midway and O’Hare International Airports, making getting to and from the event a breeze. Interstates 55,57,80,94, 294 and 355 serve the Chicago Southland so it is easily reachable no matter what direction visitors are coming from. In fact, the Chicago Southland is accessible from eight states in under a five-hour drive. Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare International Airports serve the metro area, offering 3,099 international and domestic daily flights.

The CSCVB makes it a top priority to engage the region in upcoming sporting events by posting participant and spectator information on social media, leveraging media coverage, promoting events in newsletters and on their website, working with chambers of commerce on welcoming events, and sometimes participating in the events.

For these reasons and many others, leading sports organizers are increasingly realizing there are more Chicagoland sports facilities beyond the City limits. Chicago Southland area venues have become the go-to choice for top organizations including National Xball League, Triple Crown Sports, Pastime Tournaments, Dragon Boat Festival, Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge, Spartan, and many others. Each year, there is an increasing amount of families building vacations around sporting events. Sports travel produces over 20 million visitors annually who spend more than $10.47 billion according to National Association of Sports Commissions. The Visit Chicago Southland is continuing to increase the amount of new sports business coming to the region through aggressive sales and marketing campaigns.

To read the full article and details about the individual winners of the Sports Destination Management 2018 Reader’s Choice Awards, click here: 2018 Reader’s Choice Awards 

About Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official destination management and marketing organization for Chicago’s 63 south and southwest suburbs. The Visit Chicago Southland markets the Chicago Southland region as a destination for meetings, conventions, group tour, sports events and leisure.

For teams and other organizations looking for ideal sports facilities in Chicago for their next event, game, or tournament, check out the Chicago Southland website at www.PlayChicagoSouthland.com

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