Pearland will be the host city for the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation for the 2018 and 2019 winter games, according to an Oct. 18 announcement. Pearland will be only the second city to host the TAAF winter games in its 12-year history. The winter games have been hosted in Frisco, Texas, near Dallas since its inception. "The citywide amateur athletic event will bring visitors to Pearland from across the state of Texas and will have a great economic impact on our community," said Megan Flowers, sales and event manager at the Pearland Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We are looking forward to growing the sports tourism in our destination city and partnering with great organizations to bring this event to life." The Pearland CVB partnered with the city's parks and recreation department to attract TAAF to the city. With up to 14,000 athletes and spectators expected to descend upon the area each year, Pearland expects to net a $1.5 million economic impact to the local economy. The city expects to host nine to 11 sporting events for the winter games, according to the CVB fact sheet. "What we're trying to do is become a city that wants to be able to highlight itself and become a destination city where people can come and see what we have to offer," said Charles Payton, athletics coordinator for Pearland Parks and Recreation. Every year, the TAAF hosts its summer and winter games for youth and adult amateur athletes. The winter games draws thousands of athletes and spectators every year for a variety of sporting events, including swimming, basketball, gymnastics, martial arts and pickleball. "The area has the athletes—meaning the Houston metropolitan area—because you got to have a base for the winter games. You have to have quality facilities and the expertise to run quality events...Pearland has outstanding facilities," said TAAF Executive Director Mark Lord, who did a site visit in Pearland during the selection process. The games will be hosted at a variety of sporting facilities around the city, including some at Pearland and Alvin ISDs. A condition of being a host city is that the facilities would be offered at no cost to TAAF. TAAF has 17 regions across Texas, and Pearland is one of 28 cities and communities that competes in Region 1 competitions. Region 1 consists of Gulf Coast communities outside of the greater Houston area, including Beaumont, Conroe, Freeport, Galveston and Sugar Land.