Huntsville is celebrating setting a new tourism record and a big boost to the local economy.
The Rocket City reports the end of 2024 marked major milestone for the sports tourism team in Huntsville: hosting 68 events that produced more than $50 million in economic impact.
“We have come a long way over the last few years, and 2024 showed what sports can do in Huntsville. Everyone on our sports tourism team put a lot of hard work to make such a massive impact to have this be a special year and set the table for us to reach even greater heights in the future,” said Joel Lamp, sports development manager for the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau in a press release.
In total, the city reports the events brought $51.3 million into the Huntsville economy from 21 events that funneled in at least $1 million each into the Rocket City's economy.
The Conference USA men’s and women’s basketball championships, hosted in Huntsville for the first time, led the way with $3.2 million in economic impact.
“This was an exciting year for sports in Huntsville and the impact it had on the community,” said Mark Russell, executive director of the Huntsville Sports Commission in the press release. “We were fortunate to host a number of memorable events that elevated Huntsville’s profile, while bringing in significant dollars to our hospitality community and look forward to more growth in the coming year.”
Over the course of the year, sports tourism produced more than 76,000 hotel room nights and generated more than $3.8 million in taxes for the city. Some of the highlights include:
- Hosting the USA Table Tennis National Championships – the first time a national governing body hosted its national championship in Huntsville. The Huntsville Sports Commission and the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau were each recognized as Champions of Economic Impact by Sports Destination Management magazine for their efforts with the event.
- Hosting the Conference USA men’s & women’s basketball championships, as well as welcoming Alabama back for the Rocket City Classic with four games televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
- Bringing the NJCAA Division II men’s & women’s soccer championships to the Spencer Sports Complex and Joe Davis Stadium, producing more than 2,000 room nights over the course of the week.
- Highlighting the continued growth at Ditto Landing with the Major League Fishing Toyota Series Championship.
- Running the NCAA Division II Cross Country South Regional for the first time – continuing Huntsville’s streak to four straight years with an NCAA postseason cross country race. A streak that will continue at a minimum through 2027 as Huntsville was selected to host the NCAA Division II regionals in 2026, Division I regionals in 2027, and Division II national championship in 2027.
- A record-setting Huntsville Marathon that sold out with 4,000 participants.
- Creating the Rocket City Spring Shootout that brought Alabama and Tennessee women’s soccer to the Rocket City for a spring game.
- Welcoming the Association of Chief Executives of Sport annual meeting, introducing the city to a number of C-suite leaders across the spectrum of sports.
