Sports' final score goes beyond the athletic field

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Brad Eldridge is executive director of the Greater Springfield Area Sports Commission.|ret||ret||tab|

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The benefits of having sports involved in our day-to-day lives goes far beyond cheering for our favorite team. The world of sports has become so diverse, stretching from youth sports to high school, to the collegiate or Olympic level, and finally, to the pro sports level. |ret||ret||tab|

The variety of these levels is bound together by the tremendous benefits they offer: teamwork, physical activity, options to enhance our quality of life and the entertainment value of participating in or attending sports events. But most importantly, the very common thread that weaves itself through every level and type of sports is that sports are a business, with an economic impact that affects every one of us.|ret||ret||tab|

Sports and business are intertwined daily. Businesses try to emulate "teamwork" philosophies, "coaching" and motivational techniques, or performance awards and achievements that are patterned after "all-star" themes.|ret||ret||tab|

There is a very positive and powerful result that comes from the marriage of sports and business. Huge economic benefits and opportunities are created for businesses, the community, and even that part of our population that doesn't attend events or even has no interest in a sport. The economic impact from a sporting event is usually forgotten about, or many times, even taken for granted.|ret||ret||tab|

The variety and quantity of sports teams, programs and events in our area all play a vital role in the economic impact that we see and feel from sports. We all hear numbers in the millions of dollars from events like the Super Bowl or the World Series, but we can't even fathom that or feel its impact. |ret||ret||tab|

But let's look at something that we can feel or relate to, a small dose of reality that many of us have probably experienced. Do you remember when you or your child played that first year of organized sports? One of the first realizations most parents see is how it impacts their checkbooks. |ret||ret||tab|

Getting outfitted with the right shoes and equipment, the registration fee, and even the local travel costs to practice and games, all add up immediately. But let's not forget about the coach or parent who organizes the team. They usually try to find a sponsor to help raise money for the team expenses, or they often pay for these themselves. Money is needed for the jerseys, league fees and a multitude of other things. |ret||ret||tab|

This first step into sports creates the first step of economic impact that we usually take for granted. When our child needed those shoes, we went to our local sporting-goods store. When the coach needed jerseys, he went to a local screen printer. When the coach needed a banner showing the team's sponsors, he went to a local sign company. If the team didn't eat together after the game, probably most of the families stopped and ate somewhere.|ret||ret||tab|

In a very significant way, your youth team has an impact on our businesses, labor force and sales tax revenue. And your coach or parents' club is actually running a small business by keeping the team afloat. These are the positive beginnings of the economic impact that sports and business can generate.|ret||ret||tab|

Now, imagine multiplying the impact from your youth team to the hundreds of youth, high school and collegiate teams in the area. The sales revenue, employee wages and sales tax generated can be phenomenal. But, again, this economic impact is usually taken for granted because we don't always see those dollars directly in our own hands. But the businesses and their employees turn around and spend those dollars back in the community in many other areas. |ret||ret||tab|

Now if this doesn't seem real, think of what our community would be without sporting events or programs like this. Do you have any communities nearby that don't have some of our sports options?|ret||ret||tab|

Sports tournaments and special events have a direct impact on our businesses. The key factor is these are 100 percent new dollars being injected into a community. And, more importantly, 95 percent of these dollars stay local and are regenerated back through our communities. Whether it is $1 or $1 million, any new dollars that come into a community flow through several times over.|ret||ret||tab|

When an organization or a community pro-actively works to bring in new sporting events, or even improve existing ones, the economic impact will be felt through many layers of our business community and our labor force. The revenue trickles down through a community many ways. It will touch our businesses, work force, sales taxes and quality of life by having more entertainment events to choose from. Through sports programs and sporting events, the future stability and growth of businesses will be positive for an entire area and community.|ret||ret||tab|

The next time you're cheering for that win on the field, think about everyone who's winning off the field, too.|ret||ret||tab|

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