Old Settlers, Kelly Reeves facilities host events

Sporting events in the "Sports Capital of Texas" are big business. Every year, millions of dollars flow into Round Rock from amateur and professional tournaments and games.

Most of those events are concentrated between May and August when families are typically free from school obligations and can travel to, stay in and eat in Round Rock, all of which translates to more sales tax dollars for the city.

"Everyone has seen that youth sports are a great economic development tool," Nancy Yawn, director of the Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, said.

Last year events recruited by the Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau resulted in estimated direct spending totaling nearly $5.5 million between May 7 and Aug. 20, according to Yawn.

Yawn estimates this summer will be just as lucrative for the city, with estimated direct spending in the neighborhood of $5.7 million. Almost every weekend features some kind of event, and the fields at Old Settlers Park are scheduled to be full every weekend in June and July.

"The fields are closed in August, or I would have them full," Yawn said, adding that the fields are closed for maintenance during that time.

Most of the activity is either baseball or softball, a fact Yawn attributes to "first-class" facilities at Old Settlers Park.

However, the city has also attracted a number of unique sporting events.

Round Rock has, for example, hosted the Independent Women's Football League championship and all-star weekend for three straight years, with the fourth coming this year at the end of July.

The professional women's football league features teams from Montreal to California and Pennsylvania, and Yawn said the IWFL can draw spectators from all over the world.

The biggest draw, though, is still baseball. The Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that the Super Series World Series—a tournament put on by Round Rock's own Blue Diamond Tournaments—will create nearly $2.35 million in direct spending over the course of the two week-long tournaments (one for even ages and one for odd ages).