Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal • January 4, 2016 www.wbjournal.com And it means real money. The youth lacrosse tournament, which will be hosted on a collection of fields throughout Worcester, is expected to bring in more than $500,000 in eco- nomic prosperity to the region through restaurant and other travel-related pur- chases along with more than 1,500 hotel rooms, said Tom Fitzgerald the sports sales manager for Destination Worcester. "The youth market is booming," he said. "We actively bring in new events to get out of town business spending, and it also works to promote Central Massachusetts as a place to visit and a place to invest." The DCU Center has seen a huge growth in youth and amateur sports – with the hosting of dance and cheer events contributing a significant portion to the facility's bottom line, said Jim Mowen, assistant general manager and director of sales at the DCU Center. Each cheer competition can bring in more than 130 teams with up to 30 mem- bers. Once you count their families, that is a real impact for the city, Mowen said. "When you do the numbers that adds up pretty quick, and it's usually 1.5 spec- tators per participant," Mowen said. These type of youth events have been growing greatly in the last 20 years. This has to do with the increasingly orga- nized nature of youth sports, he said. These aren't pick-up games down at the park, but highly competitive gatherings FOCUS Real Estate Youth sports becoming big business for Central Mass BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor S ports complexes across Central Massachusetts are tapping into a youth sports market that has proven recession proof and continues to grow. Whether looking at this from an economic or commercial development standpoint, youth sports are more than just fun and games – and Worcester is set to get in on the action with a new hockey facility. With its central location, the greater Worcester area has been capitalizing on this surge in youth sports. Whether it is weekend-long cheer competitions at the DCU Center, the World Series of Youth Lacrosse, rowing, or the plethora of hockey games played at rinks throughout the area, this is a year-round endeavor for the area. The former assistant general manager for the Boston Red Sox opened the New England Baseball Complex in 2015 in Northborough with three full-size tur f fields. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y

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