Cities get a kick out of soccer tournaments.

• Author: Roush, Chris
• Position: SPORTS SECTION

Does your city need to fill hotel rooms, pack restaurants and attract shoppers? Hold a soccer tournament. Nearly every major city across North Carolina plays host to one, and some are adding millions of dollars to their economies.

The state has become a magnet for some of the biggest college tournaments, including the 2004 women's Final Four at SAS Soccer Park in Cary. That's due, at least in part, to the success of the UNC Chapel Hill women's soccer team, which has won 18 National Collegiate Athletic Association championships since 1981. Cary also played host to the Atlantic Coast Conference men's and women's tournaments in 2004, while the NCAA Division III men's and women's tournaments were held in Greensboro.

That's not to mention the dozens of youth soccer tournaments around the state that draw teams from across the Southeast. "It's in every single community and every single state," says Angela Pratt, sports-sales manager for the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. "And while business travel has decreased significantly, sports travel has remained the same or increased. The parents say, 'I'll be darned if I'm going to miss my kids' soccer tournament.' Parents will travel, and they will spend money."

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Her organization estimates the economic impact of tournaments organized by the Capital Area Soccer League at $6.1 million in 2002 and $7.4 million in 2003. Charlie Slagle, CEO of CASL and former men's soccer coach at Davidson College, says the 2004 figure could be as high as $8.9 million because more teams came to its tournaments.

Greensboro officials expected to reap at least $1 million from the Division III event. An August tournament brought 8,000 to High Point and had an economic impact of $1.9 million. And the Kepner Cup Soccer Tournament run by the Cabarrus Soccer Association kicks an estimated $1 million annually into the Cabarrus County economy.

Greensboro played host to the 2003 Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer Region III Championships at Bryan Park Soccer Complex. A U.S. Youth Soccer Association regional championship is the Holy Grail of youth soccer, says Marc Bush, president of the Greensboro Sports Commission. "From an economic standpoint, it's as big as an Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament." That's quite a claim. The 2003 ACC basketball tournament, also held in Greensboro, had an economic impact of $13.6 million. But Bush doesn't back down. "They spend money. The No. 1 youth event is...