Raleigh Continues Rapid Sports Tourism Growth

The scene at the Raleigh/Durham International Airport on June 17 told the story. Even at 6 a.m., the security lines were hundreds deep and TSA Precheck was about four times longer than usual.

People were sunburned and tired from an incredible weekend at the U.S. Open in Pinehurst, North Carolina, which sits about 80 minutes south of Raleigh. Although Visit Raleigh wasn’t technically the host for the event, it sure felt like the Triangle region was a big winner.

“It’s a huge opportunity for the region,” said Loren Gold, executive vice president of the Greater Raleigh CVB. “Certainly when we look at things that we do, we look through a Raleigh/Wake County-first lens, but then we look at how meaningful it is to the entire state of North Carolina. With Pinehurst being the home of U.S. golf, this is a huge regional event. There is demand that we see in Raleigh — they also see it in Greensboro, Fayetteville, Charlotte.”

Raleigh served as the entryway to Pinehurst No. 2, one of the most prestigious golf courses in the world. It was the first time in a decade that the hallowed grounds hosted the U.S. Open. Gold says the USGA works heavily through Pinehurst Resort and the Pinehurst CVB. Raleigh then receives secondary communication from the event organizers as they try to get an indication leading up to the event of where the Raleigh hotels are sitting in availability.

“We probably look at about 20,000 additional room nights that flow into Raleigh,” Gold said. “So there’s a lot of gateway coming through Raleigh and Charlotte because this is an international event.

“The secondary exposure that we get because folks are staying in the Raleigh marketplace and are coming through our airport — that’s just good stuff all around from a destination standpoint,” Gold said. “Watching the USGA put on the event, it makes us proud for Pinehurst and for Phil Werz and his team at the CVB who do a lot of work.”

Aside from the relenting heat and humidity (which the locals kept saying “wasn’t that bad”) there was nothing to complain about at the 2024 U.S. Open. The event was a perfect drive down the fairway, although neither champion Bryson DeChambeau nor runner-up Rory McIlroy seemed to do much during the final holes on June 16.

When DeChambeau hit one of the greatest bunker shots in golf history on 18 and followed it with a par putt to clinch the championship, he wasn’t the only one who could feel a sense of victory. Raleigh, Pinehurst and everywhere in between was a big winner as well.

“Even some of the smaller satellite towns, like Sanford and Asheboro, were used by the USGA as housing,” Gold said. “So it’s an all-call to pull this event off and we’ll see what the numbers swell to as far as attendance on the backside of the event.”

Raleigh Sports Scene Continues to Grow

Between 2022 and 2023, Raleigh grew by nearly 2 percent and crossed the half-million mark for population. The sports offerings and large sporting events that the area attracts also continue to expand as part of a Destination Strategic Plan released in 2018, focusing on a 10-year overall tourism master plan for Raleigh and Wake County.

As for the influx of people moving into the area, Gold says there’s data which shows some of those transplants visited the city for an event, then decided to make the move.

“We’re not hosting the Super Bowl, but it’s OK because we’re hosting a lot of other great sporting events,” Gold said. “We have great weather and overall a very temperate climate and a very good quality of life. So it’s a very desirable place to move to, start a family, relocate a family.”

In addition to building new facilities and renovating existing ones, Raleigh has focused on bringing in events as multiyear agreements and not a one-and-done.

“We put a heavy focus on what the event hosts want in a facility and then work together to meet mutual end goals,” Gold said. “I think that just builds long-term sustainability.”

Through in large part sports events, the long-term goal for Visit Raleigh is 22 million visitors to Wake County each year; it was just under 18 million visitors in 2022.

“We hosted PPA pickleball earlier in the spring and they’re looking at a long-term agreement,” Gold said. “NCAA Division II baseball has a long-term agreement and hopefully the same for The Soccer Tournament in Cary. We get the U.S. Open again in 2029, so it’s only a five-year wait this time instead of 10.”

A Hurricane of Sports Tourism

While Pinehurst provided secondary economic impact for the Triangle, the region is doing an expansive amount of direct sports tourism as well.

PNC Arena — the home of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and 2024 Final Four participant North Carolina State men’s basketball — has a capacity of about 19,000 and is filled to the brim for most Canes games, the only professional sports franchise in the Raleigh area. The venue is on pace for 1.6 million visitors in 2024.

“For the Canes, we are the loudest house in the NHL,” said Tom Embrey, vice president and general manager of PNC Arena. “From the tailgating atmosphere to their overall buy-in to the team, these fans are incredible.”

The love affair with the team is as strong as anywhere in hockey. The team’s First Goal program has more than 600 kids registered and provides boys and girls aged 5­–10 with hockey equipment, instructional sessions and tickets to a Canes home game. The team also takes part in the Capital City Crew, which provides an opportunity for inner-city youth to play ice hockey.

“This facility is tremendously important to this region and I can say that upon my arrival here approximately two and a half years ago what helped me buy into the culture was the buy in for the arena from the local citizens,” said Embrey. “I’ve had so many conversations with people in the community about what PNC Arena means to them and obviously this means a lot to the local economy.”

One unique feature at PNC Arena is the food offerings mostly local businesses including BBQ Lab, Gonza Tacos Y Tequila, Two Roosters ice cream and R&D Brewing, a local brewery that has a Canes-themed beer named Storm Brew. The venue will undergo a $300 million renovation in the summer of 2025 and another billion-dollar project — which will take place in phases over the next 20 years — will also break ground in the next two years.

“Having those local businesses here at the arena is a great way for them to market their restaurants,” Embrey said. “It makes PNC Arena a destination for people to eat, instead of wanting to find somewhere else to eat before coming to an event.”

Cary-ing The Load

Just west of Raleigh is the city of Cary, which has become a sports hub in its own right with the USA Baseball headquarters, Triangle Aquatic Center and WakeMed Soccer Park all within a short drive of each other.

USA Baseball relocated to Cary from Tucson, Arizona, in 2003, with had plans to build a new headquarters in 2007. While a baseball complex with four fields built to Major League specifications, including two with synthetic turf, was built, the staff had to rent office space for the first 20 years in Cary and Durham before the NGB recently opened its new facility in April. In addition to new offices and storage space, the building has an indoor high-performance training area that includes a full infield and eight batting cages that drop out of the ceiling.

“It just really gives us that one-stop shop,” said USA Baseball Chief Executive Officer Paul Seiler. “We have everything to identify, select and train athletes to go represent the United States internationally and we do that annually. And if you look at the resume of alumni/players that have come through here — the Bryce Harpers and Clayton Kershaws — it’s very high level.”

The headquarters overlooks the main stadium field, which sees tournament action year-round. Local high schools have already reached out about using the indoor facility for practice.

“Our economic impact each year is in the millions and it’s across the full spectrum — teams and parents come in here, but also agents and the Major League clubs on the scouting side,” said Seiler. “In the 20 years that we’ve been here, Cary has become synonymous with USA Baseball, elite level athletes and our national training complex.”

The USA Baseball facility isn’t the only one preparing Team USA athletes. The Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary has two Olympic-sized pools — one indoor and one outdoor — that will be put to good use in a few weeks when USA Swimming hosts its Olympic team from July 3–11 as a last stop before Paris.

“USA Swimming choosing our venue is a huge nod to Cary and the entire Triangle area,” said Matt Cardenas, associate director of events at TAC. “It says that they see our community as one of the highlight places in the U.S. that a team of that caliber should visit and train at as they prepare for Paris.”

Cardenas is hoping youth swimmers who compete at the Speedo Triangle Classic and other events at the TAC will be inspired by seeing the best in the world up close.

“This is an incredible opportunity, not just for our swimmers at TAC, but for those who are on the fence about joining competitive swimming,” he said. “These Olympians will be the highest level of role models you’ll ever see in the swimming community and seeing that level of precision and athleticism up close is going to be exciting for everybody.”

Cary’s WakeMed Soccer Park also has a strong reputation. The eight-field, 150-acre facility hosts major events including the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship, the NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cups and The Soccer Tournament each June. The Soccer Tournament draws 48 men’s and eight women’s soccer teams to Cary each year, with the 7v7 format leading to a $1 million prize for both winning teams.

“When it comes to the grass on the field, we have some of the best playing surfaces in the world,” said David Crotts, WakeMed Park operations manager. “We don’t hide that and we’re very proud of what we have here. Our facilities, maintenance and grounds crews do an amazing job and I think that’s one of the reasons we have a great reputation.”

That reputation led to several well-known entities wanting to play in Cary, including Manchester City training at WakeMed for five days in July and the Pat McAfee Show airing live on ESPN from the TST event in early June.

“It’s super special to have all these teams from around the world and it’s amazing any time we get different groups in here and it puts our facility in the best spotlight,” Crotts said.