Like butter and ice cream, Cleveland’s sports tourism industry benefits from churn.
While there were no mega events like the NBA All-Star Game and the NFL Draft on the spring calendar, the city has gotten a boost in the last few weeks from midsize events like the downtown Cleveland Marathon, as well as the USA Wrestling trials and Division III outdoor track and field championships at Spire Institute and Academy.
“We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve been on a heck of a roll in terms of hosting a lot of those mega events,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission (GCSC) and Destination Cleveland. “But there’s that old adage that you can’t build your building for Easter Sunday. Well, a hotel can’t survive on one mega event once in a while.”
This year’s track championships generated an estimated $2 million in economic impact, the GCSC said, drawing more than 850 student-athletes from across the country as well as hundreds of coaches, family…