Sasha Ratliff charges after the basketball, her ponytail bouncing high.
From the bleachers at Estero Recreation Center, her family cheers. Later, they’ll talk about where to go for dinner after the last tournament game of the day.
The 7-year-old from Atlanta is the kind of visitor Lee County tourism promoters earnestly pursue this time of year: A young, amateur athlete playing on a team – with family members tagging along. Many of these athletes and their families fly in to Southwest Florida International. They sleep at local hotels, eat at area restaurants, maybe shop at the malls, and visit a local attraction.
Sasha played on the Atlanta Pistol’s team last week in the Amateur Athletic Union President’s Cup for girls age 8 and younger that ended Thursday. It was a small tournament this year, drawing just four teams and an unknown number of family members.
A larger prize, however, is just ahead: the Perfect Game USA Baseball Championship Series. It’s a program designed to showcase top ballplayers ages 14 through 18.
Between today and July 26, three different age brackets will arrive, compete for a week and then depart. Altogether, more than 10,500 visitors are expected over the three weeks. Most of them will stay in paid lodgings.
“It makes our July,” said Joan Jenkins, sales director for Crowne Plaza in south Fort Myers.
Athletic entourages big and small pumped an estimated $63.8 million into the local economy last year, according to the county Sports Authority.
“For inland properties, amateur sports are huge,” said Jack Copeland, general manager for SpringHill Suites by Marriott in south Fort Myers.
Sasha’s family stayed at Embassy Suites. “This was over $3,000 just for this trip: airfares, hotel, rental car and food,” said Kristina Ratliff, Sasha’s mother.
“The area is very nice. I’m from Miami; this is less-congested and a nice change of scenery,” said Sasha’s aunt, Felicia Joseph. The family group, which totaled 10, drove out to Fort Myers Beach for part of a day, and also dined at Firepit City Grill in Gulf Coast Town Center.
Team sports tourism helps local hotels and other businesses survive long, hot and humid months when other visitors typically are scarce.
If anything, this sector is even more coveted during the economic downturn and the region’s hotel-building boom: More than 2,600 new rooms opened in Lee County alone over the past three years.
Hotel-building appears to have abated.
However, the glut of rooms still presents a problem: The county Visitor & Convention Bureau estimates guests using paid lodgings must increase in number by 5 percent this year just to maintain the county’s average 2009 occupancy rate.
It’s another hurdle to clear for the Lee County Sports Authority, an agency funded through bed tax dollars, which courts amateur sporting events to fill local hotel rooms.
Said Executive Director Jeff Mielke: “We’re projecting 16,500 total (hotel) room nights for July. That’s about even with last year.”