Erie, Pa: The Erie Sports Commission was voted the No. 1 All-Star Destination Partner in SportsEvents Media Group’s 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards. The national poll is voted on by members of the sports tourism industry each year.
“We take pride in telling our organizers, ‘When you work with us, our team becomes an extension of your own,’ so it’s exciting to be recognized as the top destination partner nationally,” Erie Sports Commission Executive Director Mark Jeanneret said. “To come in first in the voting shows how strongly people in our industry feel that Erie is a premier destination for sports events of all kinds and sizes, no matter what time of year.”
This national award comes on the heels of a year in 2022 in which the organization generated more than $20 million in estimated economic impact throughout Erie County for the first time, and set an organizational record by hosting and supporting 74 events.
Erie was nominated for four additional awards in 2023.
Ben Huggler, the Erie Sports Commission’s Director of Event Services, was nominated for Emerging Sports Events Industry Leader, while the 2022 Strongman Corporation National Championships received a nomination for Best Live or Virtual Sporting Event. The national championship was held at Erie’s Bayfront Convention Center in October.
The Erie Sports Center was nominated for All-Star Multi-Purpose Sports Venue or Complex. The facility encompasses 10 outdoor grass fields, a turf field inside a four-season dome, four hardwood courts and a family fun park.
Local event director Jason Fowler, operator of the Lake Effect Hockey series of events, was also nominated for Best Live or Virtual Sports Event Planner. Lake Effect Hockey hosted eight tournaments in Erie in 2022, including the 2022 Sarah Backstrom Memorial Tournament, one of the longest-running girls hockey tournaments in the U.S. and Canada.
The 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards were announced in the February edition of SportsEvents Magazine, which can be viewed online here. SportsEvents is a leading print, digital and online amateur sports monthly publisher in the United States.
More information on hosting an event with the nation’s top All-Star Destination Partner can be found by visiting eriesportscommission.com/plan-an-event.
