TAMPA, FL.—Tampa Bay continues its streak of hosting major sporting events this weekend.

This time the U.S.A. Gymnastics Championship is center stage at Amelie Arena. 

Gymnasts from all over the country are in Tampa, helping to drive up tourism. The Tampa Bay Sports Commission says the influx of business is needed, especially now that the school year is underway.

“We are fortunate to be able to welcome these events that are really high level,” said Tampa Bay Sports Commission Executive Director Rob Higgins. “When we host an event, we look for it to check three boxes; economic impact, social impact, and marketing visibility. This week’s 2022 gymnastic championships checks all of those boxes in a really big way. We expect over 6,000 visitor room nights to be generated from the event and it’s during a time when we can really use the tourism with it being in August with the return of school. We’re excited about the event and the impact that it will have.“

Over the last few years, Tampa has been winning when in comes to being chosen to host major competitions.

Most recently, the City hosted the NCAA Basketball Women’s Final Four in April 2019, the Super Bowl in February 2021, Wrestle Mania in April 2021, and the SEC Men’s Basketball tournament in March 2022 . 

With the gymnastics championship happening in Tampa, plenty of eyes will be on the city since this is the first time in decades that it has hosted the competition in Florida. 

Higgins says they plan to continue building on these relationships for repeat business and to benefit tourism in our area. 

“Right after the heels of this we’ll be starting to focus on the NCAA Men’s Focus Four, which we’ll host in April,” said Higgins. “That will be our third time hosting that event. We hosted in 2012 and in 2016.”

“And that’s really what things are about in terms of our standard for success that if an event comes back. So, we want to make sure these are long-term relationships. We’re bringing the events back as frequently as we can. That’s certainly something that we’re excited to continue to do for our community,” said Higgins.

There are several other events surrounding it, including the 2022 USA Gymnastics hall of fame class induction ceremony.

The Gymnastics National Congress and Trade show will also happen at the same time at the Tampa Convention Center. 

The competition concludes with the naming of the USA Gymnastics National teams.

“Our community is transformed,” Higgins added. “There are so many different amenities that people can experience, so there are going to get a chance to experience some of the best gymnasts in the world competing here this weekend and when they [visitors] are outside of the competition, they can experience all that the community has to offer. I think that the top thing that we have to offer is our people.