SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Expect a busy weekend in Seminole County as the Elite Clubs National League Girls soccer event comes to town. Thousands of players and coaches will be at Sylvan Lake Park, the Seminole Soccer Complex and the Boombah Sports Complex Saturday through Monday for the event.
County officials said people should expect traffic through the weekend as teams from around the country travel to the area.
News 6 spoke to Danny Trosset, the director of Sports Tourism in Seminole County, ahead of the event.
“These are some of the top teams in the country. We’ll have college coaches out here, recruiting these girls,” Trosset said. “It’s one of the biggest events we do all year.”
Trosset said they plan to move all games on Saturday to the Boombah Sports Complex, because of the expected storms in the morning. The facility near the Orlando-Sanford International Airport has turf that will hopefully withstand the rain.
Games occur daily Saturday, Jan. 6, through Monday, Jan. 8, from 6:30 a.m. until dusk. People should expect traffic and delays. The Markham Woods Trailhead (8515 Markham Rd) will be used for overflow parking for near the soccer complex.
Seminole County says the girls and boys events bring over 23,000 players, coaches, and visitors to the area, occupying over 3,800 hotel rooms and generate a direct economic impact of more than $5.2 million.
“Sports tourism, you know, I like to say it’s a recession-proof business. People will always find times to go watch their kids play sports, and we’ve done a really good job in Seminole County investing into our sports facilities,” he said.
Commissioners in Seminole County have discussed building a multi-million-dollar indoor sports facility as well. At a works session in May, the board spoke about the 28-acre site that would be paid for by creating a tourism improvement district.
The proposed site is near Lake Mary Boulevard and Cameron Avenue. The county has shared renderings that show its potential to house multiple courts for basketball, volleyball, cheer, and other special events.
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