U.S. Soccer Signs Multi Year Agreement to Hold Premier Events in San Diego
U.S. Soccer lauds San Diego’s Surf Cup Sports Park and Oceanside’s SoCal Sports Complex as “world-class venues;” Tens of thousands of soccer enthusiasts will attend each year generating annual economic impact over $50 Million.
U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy (USSDA), the nation’s most prestigious soccer academy for competitive youth soccer players, announced today it will host its signature summer event in San Diego for the next five years – a huge win for San Diego, its tourism industry and its legion of passionate soccer fans.
The USSDA represents the highest level of youth soccer competition and routinely features players who go on to earn spots on the men’s and women’s national teams and play professionally.
The Development Academy exists to develop players and provide a pathway to shepherd them through the National Team system. The Summer Showcase and Playoffs takes place at the end of the Development Academy season and is the jewel of elite youth soccer talent.
The economic impact of the USSDA Summer Showcase will be enormous, with tens of thousands of out-of-staters coming to San Diego to watch the nation’s top youth prospects. Visitors will include everyone from players and fans to pro scouts and elite-level coaches hoping to discover the next Landon Donovan or Shannon MacMillan.
This is the first time the Summer Showcase has signed a multi-year agreement with any host city.
The 2018 Summer Showcase, to be held from June 18 – July 4, will include more than 400 elite teams in various age groups playing in tournament-style competitions.
Roughly 10,000 players are expected to attend. In addition, the academy includes development and training events for players, coaches and referees.
Today’s announcement is just the latest evidence that the sport’s national leadership views San Diego as a hotbed of soccer enthusiasm and a region with enormous potential to grow the game.
“We chose San Diego for a simple reason: we want a world-class environment for our players,” said Jared Micklos, the academy’s director.
“Everything about San Diego fits our criteria, from the amazing soccer venue, the temperate climate, to the sheer number of soccer-obsessed fans in the region,” says Micklos.
Team Work
The agreement is the result of extraordinary teamwork involving Mayor Kevin Faulconer, the San Diego Tourism Authority, the San Diego Sports Alliance and Surf Cup Sports, which hosts events at both San Diego facilities. All worked together to bring the Summer Showcase to town.
Quote from Mayor Faulconer
San Diego leaders understood the importance of landing such a prestigious event, given the enormous local popularity of the sport and the sizable impact of the academy on the local economy. More than 32,000 out-of-state visitors are expected to attend the 11th annual Summer Showcase in 2018, booking an estimated 23,322 hotel room nights.
“We couldn’t be more proud to host the U.S. Development Academy Summer Showcase,” said Mike Connerley, Surf Cup Sports’ President and co-owner of the So Cal Sports Complex. “We’ve always been committed to promoting world-class soccer talent. The selection of our facilities as the location for the USSDA’s signature events is truly a testament to everyone at Surf Cup Sports who has worked so hard to make this venue what it is today.”
“From a tourism standpoint, this is a huge deal,” said Joe Terzi, president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority. “This academy will be great for the local economy. And as we all know, anyone who visits San Diego always wants to come back, so we expect this academy will have a big multiplier effect on future tourism in the region.”
The list of U.S. Soccer Development Academy alums is distinguished, and includes Juan Agudelo of the New York Red Bulls; Paul Arriola of Arsenal FC/LA Galaxy; Steve Birnbaum of Pateadoras; Bill Hamid of D.C. United; Ethan Horvath of Real Colorado; Matt Miazga of the New York Red Bulls; Jordan Morris of the Seattle Sounders; Christian Pulisic of PA Classics; Caleb Stanko of Vardar; Brandon Vincent of Real So Cal and DeAndre Yedlin of the Seattle Sounders.
Surf Cup Sports Venues
Surf Cup Sports, which signed a 28-year lease with San Diego in 2016 to manage the 114-acre facility in Del Mar and also manages the 104-acre facility in Oceanside, hosts more than 35 youth soccer tournaments and other sporting events each year between the two venues — and, has been recognized as one of the nation’s elite event operators.
The two natural grass venues are maintained by Surf Cup Sports with the same care and diligence as professional soccer arenas worldwide.
Surf Cup Sports’ events, including two of the most prestigious open soccer tournaments in the nation, Surf Cup in the summer and Surf College Cup in the winter, draw nearly half a million visitors to the region each year and generate roughly 150,000 booked hotel rooms annually, making Surf Cup Sports competitive with Comic-Con as the number one producer of hotel room nights in the San Diego region on an annual basis.
Surf Cup – which kicks off today – draws thousands of soccer loving players, families and coaches to San Diego and books approximately 18,000 hotel rooms over the two weekend youth soccer event.