I know we like to complain about the traffic woes around our county, but if you noticed an uptick in the last week or so, it’s actually a very good thing, particularly for our restaurants, hotels and retailers. You may recall the announcement last summer that Alachua County had been awarded the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships (WMACi), the first time this event has ever been held in the United States. The time has gone by in the blink of an eye and this world-class event, with the qualifying events leading up to it, are here.

Established in 2004, the WMACi is held every odd-numbered year. In 2023, it was held in Torun, Poland, with 24 events offered, more than 4,100 athletes competing and 10,000 total visitors representing 89 nations enjoying the championships. World Masters Athletics is the international governing body for track and field, race walking, cross county, road running and throwing, with Masters defined as men and women age 35+, with most participants in the 50+ age divisions.

WMACi kicks off at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center, Celebration Pointe and West End on March 23rd and continues through March 30th. An added bonus, USA Track and Field, the national governing body for track and field in the United States, awarded the USATF Masters Indoor Championships to our county as well, all part of the effort in securing WMACi2025. The 4-day USATF competition was held this past weekend and featured more than 1,200 athletes, many of whom will return in just a few weeks to compete in WMACi25. So if driving around over the weekend reminded you of graduation weekend, that would be why.

The securing of the WMACi25 was a partnership between Viking Companies, Celebration Pointe, Alachua County, Visit Gainesville, Gainesville Sports Commission and RADDSports.  The event, which is funded through private contributions along with funding from Alachua County and the Florida Sports Foundation, is being organized by the Alachua County Local Organizing Committee, a non-profit created for the purposes of hosting this event.

Now I know no one likes to sit in traffic or wait for a table at our favorite restaurants, but sharing some of the incredible economic impact this series of events will have on our community should help ease that pain a bit. Our wonderful Gainesville Sports Commission (GSC), dedicated to ensuring Alachua County is a leader in the sports tourism industry, reports the sports tourism sector generated $52.2 billion in direct spending nationally in 2023, generating a total economic impact of $128 billion that supported 757,600 total jobs and $20.1 billion in total tax revenues.

We are intent on capturing our share of that revenue, and thanks to the hard work of GSC, along with their local partners, we are. Covering the fiscal year starting October of 2023 through September of 2024, 47 sports tourism events, representing 18 different sports including archery, track, cheer, basketball and pickleball, were held in our county. These events generated 47,060 local hotel room nights, with an economic impact of $7.8 million. And visitors from 46 states had the chance to see what makes our community so special. The total dollars brought into our community from these 100,000-plus visitors exceeded $16 million.

Minor inconveniences notwithstanding, we are thrilled at the opportunity to welcome the expected 9,000 visitors from 97 countries to Gainesville in March. The excitement and economic impact this event will bring to our region is the stuff of dreams for many communities around the country, and the reality for us.

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of business columns sponsored by Pavlov Media. This story was updated with additional information.