Soccer visitors expected to spend $500K this weekend

Thousands are expected to visit the Queen City this weekend for the 2016 Sport Shake Lake Country Soccer Fall Classic and spend $500,000 locally, according to the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Oct. 15-16 tournament will bring 158 teams and their family members from a six-state area who could spend money at Springfield hotels, restaurants, attractions and retailers. About 3,400 people are estimated to be in town for the event.

The 55-acre Lake Country Soccer complex, 2334 E. Pythian Drive, has 20 outdoor fields and 2,800 registered youth players. This weekend’s tournament is the first sponsored by Sport Shake, a milk-based energy drink, according to a news release.

CVB spokeswoman Susan Wade said the agency uses a software program from Destination Marketing Association International to estimate the economic impact an event will have on Springfield.

Taste test
Last weekend, the 10th annual Taste of SoMo event downtown attracted an estimated 8,000 people, said Downtown Springfield Association Executive Director Rusty Worley.

“The weather was exceptionally good and there were several events in downtown and across the community to attend that day,” Worley said via email of the Oct. 8 event on Park Central Square, noting the total was down slightly from last year.

Attendees of the festival - which also included OktoberFest Village - voted to award Best of the Fest awards to the following restaurants:
    •    Roll On Egg Rolls, best appetizer for its egg roll;
    •    Black Sheep Burgers and Shakes, best entree for its burger;
    •    Civil Kitchen, best dessert for its Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream Sandwich; and
    •    Skinner's Ribs & BBQ, best booth.