Top Sports Organizers Choosing Chicago Southland Sports Facilities for Events

Leading sports organizers are increasingly realizing there are more Chicagoland sports facilities beyond the City limits. Chicago Southland consists of Chicago's 63 south and southwest suburbs which are just minutes from downtown Chicago. The Chicago Southland offers outstanding restaurants, shopping and recreational opportunities, and a huge array of lodging, meeting and Chicagoland convention facilities, all with FREE parking.

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.

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.

In addition to Chicago Southland’s location and accessibility, there are many attractions. These include SeatGeek Stadium, formerly Toyota Park, home of Chicago Fire Soccer and an outdoor concert venue, HITS Chicago-Balmoral Park, an equestrian jumping and hunting facility, the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre for the top names in popular music and Ozinga Field, home of Windy City ThunderBolts Baseball. Chicago Southland is also home to Accelerate Indoor Speedway & Events, Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn, the metropolitan area's largest concentration of recreational forest preserves and an array of sports facilities and golf courses.

Sports and tourism play a major role in bringing the 63 Chicago Southland communities together. The interaction of the two results in a better quality of life. The Visit Chicago Southland recognizes this and prides itself on working with sports events from beginning to end. The CSCVB works hard to engage the region in upcoming sporting events through various methods including posting participant/spectator information on social media; leveraging media coverage; promoting events in guides and newsletters; working with chambers of commerce on how welcoming events and sometimes even participating in events.

Events

The Chicago Southland has hosted many popular sporting events throughout the region already this season including the United States Hockey League/USHL Phase I, II and III Combines at the Arctic Ice Arena in Orland Park, the American Cornhole Organization (ACO) Midwest Major at the Southland Center (A Ho-Chuck Nation Enterprise) in Lynwood, and the 39^th Annual World Wiffle Ball Championships at Memorial Fields in Midlothian just to name a few. Some of the current and upcoming events include the 2018 NXL Chicago Open on September 13-15th at Chicago Gaelic Park, the Showplace Fall Classic is happening 9/12-19 at HITS Chicago-Balmoral Park, and the popular Spartan Race who will be holding their first Chicago area Spartan Stadium Series Sprint at Toyota Park on October 20^th.

When ask to describe what it was like working with Visit Chicago Southland, Jake Mason at USA Dodgeball said, "Working with the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau has been absolutely amazing. They helped us with everything we needed from our hotels to our shuttles to our after-party spot, which is most important."

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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