A new event venue in Elizabethtown is starting to take shape.

The city promises the $40 million investment will be an attraction for both tourists and locals.

When Joanna Baker learned the city would be building a 10,000-seat event venue steps away from her porch on Commerce Drive, she wasn’t thrilled.

“We’re trying to look at the pros. Like the mayor said, the road was going through no matter what. So if it wasn’t the amphitheater that went in here, it would be businesses, apartments, houses,” said Baker and her husband.

Officials broke ground on the upcoming sports complex in Jonesboro and unveiled its official name in front of a crowd of about 200 people Friday morning.

The complex will be officially called the Ridge Athletics Center, or RAC for short.

Friday evening marks the start of an important time of year not just for the Sand Mountain Park and Amphitheater, but the city of Albertville as a whole.

Concert season is underway at Sand Mountain Park and Amphitheater in Albertville.

This is the fifth year that the venue will be welcoming top artists to their stage like Lil Jon, We the Kingdom, and more.

The accounting is all done, and the “Gateway To The West” robotics tournament this year earned Ohio County Schools enough profit to send all five of its qualifying teams to the world championships in Dallas this spring.

Totals provided by JoJo Shay, innovation coordinator for Ohio County Schools, indicated the event took in $29,250 through team registration fees, and another $45,000 in sponsorships for a total of $74,250.

Sometimes, what an event owner needs is a fresh start: A new destination and, of course, a new partner to help out with everything.

On the next few pages, SDM has compiled the definitive go-to guide with some of the most knowledgeable partners in the sports tourism industry who can help you meet your goals this season and every season thereafter.

In Pinellas Park, construction is underway on Sprowls Horizon Sports Park, a youth sports complex intended to boost the region’s sports tourism industry.

The approximately $23 million sports complex is under construction at 4100 66th Ave. N., the former site of the city’s Youth Park sports complex. Named for former Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, the complex will have six youth baseball diamonds modeled after actual Florida Grapefruit League ballparks, a soccer field, an outdoor roller hockey rink, and a community plaza.

Ranking only behind Greater New York City, the Los Angeles metropolitan area—with a swaggering population of nearly 13 million—is home to more people than 45 U.S. states.

And a great swath of it, dubbed “The Inland Empire,” now ranks as the 12th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S., thanks to Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga, the largest cities of Greater Ontario. And the region is investing in its future big time.

The City of Henderson has announced March 29th as the grand opening date for their new 65-acre sports complex on Airport Road; this facility is expected to be an economic catalyst. This facility has four all-synthetic turf baseball fields and a multi-purpose field. The main focus is youth sports.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening at the Kentucky Sports Factory in Madisonville on Saturday marked a significant milestone for the community, highlighting the transformative potential of this state-of-the-art facility in providing top-tier sports amenities, events, and programs.

The Dodgers new Single-A minor league affiliate will debut in 2026 at the brand-new Ontario Sports Empire – a massive 200-acre property in the Inland Empire meant for pro & youth sports. Chris Hayre visited the active construction site for an update

The city of Cape Coral, Florida, has officially opened its rebranded racquet sports facility called The Courts, Cape Coral.

The venue, which had a grand opening on February 22, includes tennis, pickleball and more. The event featured an open house, live programming and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Sports Facilities Companies will manage and operate the facility.

The Woodman’s Sports and Convention Center, a 140,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility set to open in 2025, announced Tony Thiry as its newly appointed general manager. Thiry brings decades of experience in facility operations and sports management.

Thiry’s career highlights include his role as vice president of operations at Scheels Arena and Farmers Union Insurance Center in Fargo, North Dakota. Since stepping into the arena industry in 2017, he has led operational transformations, created cost-saving measures, and fostered partnerships to support local sports and youth development. He is also a certified ice rink manager and USA Hockey Level 4 coach.