By Ali Yenchik
More than 115.2 million Americans have prediabetes, and 8 in 10 do not know it. Just over half of U.S. adults reported having a glucose test in the past three years. That huge gap helps explain why more sports and recreation venues are stepping into bigger roles: health expo hosts, providers of screenings and school physicals, and partners to healthcare organizations in a place families already trust and visit.
Across SFC’s network of venues, that shift is already taking shape. Some facilities are launching wellness marketplaces built around free and low-cost services. Others are deepening long-term healthcare partnerships that bring medical support directly into the venue experience. Together, they show what it looks like when a recreation center becomes the true heart of community wellness.
Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County Is Turning a Sports Venue Into a Wellness Destination
Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus exemplifies this trend through its Year 1 back-to-school-themed Kickstart Wellness Marketplace at The Ranch. In partnership with AdventHealth, the Pasco County, Florida, venue helped local families prepare for the school year with meaningful health and wellness support.
More than 150 AdventHealth clinical and non-clinical team members volunteered to provide free sports physicals, electrocardiograms, health screenings, and wellness resources to more than 420 students from kindergarten through high school.
This health-focused event welcomed 1,500+ attendees, demonstrating how sports venues can serve as year-round community assets that advance health, strengthen partnerships, and improve quality of life beyond competition.
Morristown Landing Recreation and Events Is Framing Wellness Around School Readiness
Morristown Landing took a similar community-first approach with its July 11 school-year readiness-focused Kickstart Wellness Marketplace. The one-day event combined preventive care with hands-on activities that make healthy living accessible and fun.
Highlights included free school and sports physicals, health screenings, a back-to-school zone, and support from local partners.
Members received early access beginning at 10 a.m., reinforcing Morristown Landing’s role as a year-round community hub where recreation, wellness, and education came together to serve Hamblen County families.
Rocky Top Sports World Shows What a Mature Healthcare Partnership Can Deliver
While some venues are building event-based wellness activations, Rocky Top Sports World demonstrates what a deeper healthcare relationship can look like. This partnership embeds LeConte Medical Center’s athletic trainers and paramedics as the dedicated providers of healthcare services at Rocky Top Sports World facilities and Rocky Top-hosted events.
That partnership is also visible in the guest experience, with training and medical services provided at the complex and a branded LeConte Medical Center Training Room on site – a strong example of how healthcare support can become part of a venue’s everyday value proposition.
A Shift the Industry Can't Ignore
SFC’s health expo roadmap is already expanding, with additional pilot venues launching wellness marketplaces and a broader rollout planned across the network — each paired with healthcare partners matched to their local market.
That expansion matters because the need is real. CDC guidance notes that lifestyle change programs can cut the risk of type 2 diabetes by 58% for people with prediabetes. When sports and recreation facilities create easy access points for screenings, physicals, education, and trusted providers, they help communities take action earlier… and live longer.
Sometimes that looks like a one-day wellness marketplace with school physicals and screenings. Sometimes it looks like an embedded medical-services relationship that supports athletes and events year-round. Across SFC’s venues, it already looks like both.
That’s a smart move for families, a smart move for healthcare partners, and a smart move for facilities that want to strengthen their community role while opening the door to new sponsorship, programming, and partnership opportunities.
Looking to build a health-focused partnership at your facility?
If your venue is exploring a health expo, wellness event, medical partnership, or broader community-impact strategy, contact The Sports Facilities Companies to see how the right approach can turn your facility into a stronger hub for both play and wellness.
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Rocky Mount Event Center Case Study
