Ripken Baseball®, the leader in youth sports events, announced it has been named 2022 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism by Sports Destination Management. The 2022 Ripken Select Tournament at Publix Sports Park in Panama City Beach, Fla., received the honor from the leading publication in sports tourism.
As part of its continuous growth in youth sports, Ripken Baseball took its Ripken Select Tournaments to Panama City Beach, Fla., from June 5-10, 2022. In partnership with Visit Panama City Beach, Ripken Baseball provided a Big-League experience at the Publix Sports Park for 50 teams and more than 700 participants. The one-week economic impact totaled over $2.7 million.
Based on the popularity of the first-time event, the tournament will return to Panama City Beach in June 2023.
“This recognition is a credit to our incredible staff and local partners in Panama City Beach,” said Mike Kenney, Executive Vice President of Ripken Baseball. “From our Ripken Select Tournaments to our Ripken Experiences nationwide, the 2022 season was record-breaking across all our properties. We are looking forward to building on this success in 2023.”
Ripken Baseball also won an Economic Impact Award from Sports Destination Management for its 2022 season at The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen in Maryland. Sports Destination Management recognized award winners in a special feature published in the November/December 2022 issue. The entire article with full details on the winners can be found HERE.
“We are honored to partner with Ripken Baseball,” said Mike Higgins, General Manager of Publix Sports Park. “This event is not only a great baseball event, but a tremendous economic impact driver for our community. We are honored to be singled out along with Ripken Baseball for this honor.”
About Ripken Baseball
Ripken Baseball brings teammates, coaches, and families together through its Big-League Experiences, while teaching the values of the game, and how to play it the right way – the Ripken Way. Recently expanding the best experience in youth sports to satellite locations through Ripken Select Tournaments, Ripken Baseball continues to innovate the game through tournaments, camps, clinics, and spring training at their state-of-the-art baseball and softball facilities – The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen (Maryland), The Ripken Experience® Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), The Ripken Experience® Pigeon Forge (Tennessee), and The Ripken Experience® Elizabethtown (Kentucky).
About Sports Destination Management
Sports Destination Management is written for the largest audience of sports event managers and tournament directors in the sports tourism market and maintains a focus on the important issues surrounding event location decisions and event management. With content from experts and thought leaders, SDM provides in-depth coverage of sports event planning and execution through incisive and relevant articles as well as insightful, real-world case studies showcasing best practices and successful event production. In addition to the publication, SDM offers extensive digital resources through www.sportsdestinations.com and the e-newsletter SDM Blitz, both providing decision support tools for organizers to ensure successful events at all levels of play.
About Due North Media
A market leader for more than two decades, Due North Media, a division of Due North Consulting, Inc., is a niche business-to-business publisher providing media services to executives within specialized vertical markets impacting economic development including corporate site selection, business development, market-to-market events and sports tourism via publications, digital media, qualified list marketing and custom publishing. Founded in 2001, Due North Consulting, Inc. has helped niche marketers obtain their goals for a decade and a half. The principals of the company have over 40 years of business-to-business advertising and marketing experience. It has been their mission to serve readers, clients and employees with integrity, humility and a continuing quest for the achievement of excellence.
