Elite Tournaments’ Role in the Growth of Soccer in Maryland
By: Margaret Perry for MDBizMedia
The Championship game for each age bracket will be played on Monday
Maryland-based Elite Tournaments will be running a youth soccer tournament in Columbia this weekend, which is expected to bring in close to $4 million in revenue for Howard County.
The Mt. Airy based company, which recently announced a partnership with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), hosts and manages sports tournaments both in Maryland and across the nation.
This summer and into next fall, Elite Tournaments will host 10 soccer tournaments throughout the state of Maryland for a variety of age groups ranging from U-9 to U-19. The first of these tournaments will be held in Columbia over Memorial Day Weekend. The games will be held at six different locations including fields in Howard County, Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County, and at UMBC in Baltimore.
With 462 teams and their families attending the tournament, 10,000-18,000 people are expected. Some soccer teams will be arriving for the event from all along the East coast spanning from Massachusetts to South Carolina while others teams will be coming from as far west as Ohio. As a result, area hotels are completely booked for the weekend.
Each of the teams will play three scheduled games over the course of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday then those advancing to the championship games will play again on Monday. Because of the down time between games, many Columbia restaurant owners are preparing for large crowds throughout the weekend as teams and families come in to eat.
With this influx of visitors to the area, Elite Tournaments president Michael Libber predicts that the Columbia Invitational
This year marks the 36th anniversary of the tournament.
Soccer Tournament will bring in around $4 million to Maryland businesses this weekend. That’s double the profits recorded from the event in 2005.
Elite Tournament’s ability to stimulate local economies will continue to grow as a result of their recent partnership with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). As a result, Elite Tournaments will host showcase tournaments that college coaches will attend for recruiting.
“Since announcing the partnership, the phones haven’t stopped ringing. Right now we have 26 cities across the country trying to convince us to host an event at their location.” One of these locations is the brand new The Premiere Sports Campus, where they will be hosting five events beginning in December.
Before then, however, Elite Tournaments will be hosting the Baltimore College Showcase, which will be held in Maryland this November over Thanksgiving weekend.
The newly renamed Elite Tournaments Field will now have lights thanks to Libber's donation.
This past week, it was announced that the UMBC Soccer Complex was renamed Elite Tournaments Field after a generous donation from Michael Libber. “It’s a pride and an honor to give back to the program…and help put them on the map” explains Libber who both played and coached at UMBC. He hopes that his donation “brings a better atmosphere for soccer in the community and at UMBC as their soccer program gets stronger and stronger each year.” The money Libber gave to UMBC was donated specifically for lights for the field providing a bright future for soccer in Maryland.
