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Sports Events and Conferences
Events Secured in 2021
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SPORTS EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
Minnesota Sports and Events, a new regional commission developed by the Bloomington CVB, Meet Minneapolis, and Visit Saint Paul, launched in 2020 . The organization has bid on 35 world-class events for future years that will have a significant impact on the Bloomington, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul communities . Many of these opportunities engage all our hotel partners and several venues to be competitive in the overall bid cycle . We are welcoming back some high-profile live events in 2022, such as the NHL Winter Classic, the NCAA Women’s Final Four, and the MLS All-Star Game, all of which will have significant economic impact on the region .
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SPORTS EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
Sporting events continue to play a significant role for Bloomington, and our relationships and face-to-face meetings with event owners and rightsholders are a big advantage in securing this business . The return of the in-person Teams Conference and Expo this year gave us the opportunity to meet with over 30 sports planners who source business for the Midwest and will consider our destination for their event . In addition, we also attended Esports Travel Summit in partnership with Wisdom Gaming, who will be opening a new facility at Mall of America in the second quarter of 2022 . Wisdom Gaming specializes in esports production, tournaments, design, and strategic brand activation, which was of great interest to this market segment .
YOUTH SPORTS TOURNAMENTS RETURNING
In 2021 we began to see youth tournaments and events return to our market, which resulted in an increase in the number of teams, hotel room nights, and attendance . We are hopeful that this growth will continue to build in 2022 .
