• Sports tourism peaks in July and early August every year due to all the youth sports travel teams that compete in the Region, South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Phil Taillon said.

• Youth sports have become a big business. The Youth Sports Business Report estimates the industry generates $40 billion in annual family spending and brings in twice the revenue of the National Football League.

• The recent National Softball Association brought 140 teams to compete in their tournament in Crown Point, Dyer, Schererville and LaPorte. More than 1,000 hotel rooms were booked.

• An analytics group did a study and found that week had more than a $10 million impact on Lake County.

•The tourism industry ranks as Indiana’s 13th largest employer with 155,791 jobs, accord

See Full Page