Ten sporting events held in Council Bluffs delivered impressive results during fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024). The amateur events attracted 109,196 athletes, spectators, and officials and generated 8,590 hotel room night stays at CB properties. The economic impact from the hotel stays represented $877,640.30 in business. Both the number of hotel stays and economic impact were 18.9 percent higher than anticipated.
The ten events were solicited and hosted in a collaborative effort between the Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau and Omaha Sports Commission. The two organizations worked with the event organizers as well as Council Bluffs venues and hotels to hold the sporting events. The latter included the Adidas 3SSB Championships – Girls, Yonex US Open Badminton Championships, Halloween Havoc Soccer Tournament, National Homeschool Volleyball Tournament, Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic, King & Queen of the MAC, Phil Cahoy Sr Cornhusker Classic, NJCAA Wrestling National Championships, Heartland USA Wrestling National Duals, and Triple Crown SlumpBuster. It’s worth noting the US Open Badminton Championships drew competitors from around the world.
A key component to landing the events was the sponsorship of venue expenses, which is a standard expectation of local, regional, and national event organizers as communities compete to host them. Nearly $148,000 covered the associated venue expenses for the ten events through funding from the Council Bluffs CVB and grants obtained through the Iowa West Foundation and State of Iowa Regional Sports Authority District (RSAD) program. A $40,000 Iowa West Foundation grant was instrumental in providing the necessary match to secure $70,000 in RSAD funding. Council Bluffs was one of only ten recipients of an RSAD grant. What’s more, all of the venue expense funding stayed within the community and was paid to the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex, Iowa West Field House, and Mid-America Center.
