The Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance Greater Raleigh Reigns Among America’s Premier Sports Destinations With an extensive track record of hosting successful sporting events, along with a combination of strong partner- ships with more than 20 local organizations and a wealth of world-class facilities, Greater Raleigh has emerged as one of the nation’s leading destina- tions for sports events. In fact, that the National Association of Sports Commis- sions named the Greater grsa Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) PNC Arena is one of the region’s largest covering Raleigh, Cary and Sur- venues, hosting everything from NCAA rounding Wake County, the Sports Tourism Orga- to NHL hockey. nization of the Year in 2015. And, the GRSA looks to continue that trend Unrivaled Venues are the with a host of big sporting events scheduled for Catalyst for Continued Success the area this year (See box below for a partial Greater Raleigh houses some of the finest schedule) sports facilities in the nation, and many are plan- ning for or already undergoing upgrades. Below is a short update on our facilties. • The Cary Tennis Park: One of the largest in the Southeast, is going through a major expansion, which includes the installation of high-quality covered courts and other improvements throughout the park. • Walnut Creek Softball Complex: Is upgrading its facility, with a complete renovation to all nine fields and improved ADA access to all areas of the venue. • National Training Complex: USA continues to build its event grsa schedule, with dozens of popular tourna- The fourth annual Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Raleigh Marathon & 1/2 Marathon brings ments returning to Cary. USA Baseball’s runners from across the U.S. for a weekend primary season runs from March to September. of fun, music, fitness and running at the • PNC Arena: Has seating for almost 20,000 beginning of April. and 66 luxury suites, and has hosted NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the A Sampling of 2017 Sporting Stanley Cup Final, the NHL All-Star Weekend and the NHL Entry Draft. Events in Greater Raleigh • WakeMed Soccer Park: Is the home of two • City of Oaks Challenge (volleyball) professional teams, FC (NASL) and • ACC Wrestling Championship North (NWSL). Operated by the • MAPL Raleigh (volleyball) Town of Cary, WakeMed Soccer Park features a • USA Table Tennis National Team Trials • Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Raleigh Marathon 10,000-seat stadium, seven additional fields and & 1/2 Marathon an outstanding cross-country course with 5K, 6K • All-Star Game and 8K courses. • Deep South Classic • Other venues include: Five-County Stadium • National Club Baseball Association for baseball in Zebulon; Carter-Finley Stadium for Raleigh’s Competitive Edge Division I World Series football at N.C. State University; the Raleigh Con- • National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meet vention Center, home to the Deep South Classic, George Williams inspires greatness, • Ironman 70.3 Raleigh City of Oaks volleyball and multiple indoor sports coaching 39 Olympic track and field • AAU Karate National Championships events. It is a multi-purpose state-of-the-art facility athletes and 38 NCAA Championship • Great American Cross Country Festival with more than 500,000 square feet under cover teams. Locals like Coach Williams help • SAS Championship (PGA Champions including a 150,000-square-foot exhibit hall; Tri- make Raleigh, N.C., a top destination Tour) angle Aquatic Center, a popular spot to host • USTA Tennis on Campus Fall Invitational for sports championships and events. • John Wall Holiday Invitational regional and national swimming championships, Find out how the Greater Raleigh Sports • USA Baseball Events: National High including USA Swimming events and the annual Alliance can help simplify planning and School Invitational, Tournament of National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meet. stretch budgets further, giving your Stars, National Team Identification The list continues to grow as the community event an added edge. Series invests in both upgrades and expansions of exist- • CASL visitRaleigh.com National Soccer ing facilities as well as plans for new venues on Put your roots down in Raleigh. Series • 12 North Carolina High School Athletic the horizon. Learn more at Association State Championships “We are fortunate here in Greater Raleigh to raleighsports.org have a slew of world-class facilities. Other factors @raleighncsports that strengthen our bids include our superb host partners and our abundance of hotel rooms. We’re convenient and have a great climate. But most of all, we have tremendous community sup- port and we provide all our visitors with a • raleighsports.org (website) dynamic experience. All these factors combine to • @raleighncsports (Twitter and make Greater Raleigh a premier sports event des- A division of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau Instagram) tination,” said Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance. n march 27-april 2, 2017 special advertising section ❘ street & smith’s sportsbusiness journal 25