From Sports Destination Management:
Ripken Baseball®, the leader in youth sports events, announced it has been named 2022 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism by Sports Destination Management. As a result of a record-breaking 2022 summer season, The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen received the honor from the leading publication in sports tourism.
The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen is where it all started for Ripken Baseball nearly 20 years ago. Following the addition of two new state-of-the-art MLB replica fields in April 2022, Aberdeen experienced the biggest year in the complex’s history. Ripken Baseball brought over $47 million in economic impact to Maryland’s Harford County during the summer baseball season. In partnership with Visit Harford, The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen provided a Big-League experience for over 20,000 participants and welcomed more than 90,000 visitors through 38 tournaments.
“This recognition is a credit to our incredible staff and local partners in Aberdeen,” said Mike Kenney, Executive Vice President of Ripken Baseball. “From our Ripken Select Tournaments to our Ripken Experiences nationwide, the 2022 season was record-breaking across all our properties. We are looking forward to building on this success in 2023.”
Located in the hometown of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Bill Ripken, The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen is a destination that features replicas of some of the most notable MLB ballparks of the modern era. Whether a youth player is robbing a home run against the ivy of Wrigley Field or hitting a moonshot over the Green Monster of Fenway Park, every memory at The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen is unforgettable.
“The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen hit it out of the park in 2022 with two new fields and bringing in visitors to the county to play baseball,” said Matthew Scales, Executive Director of Visit Harford, the official destination marketing organization for Harford County. “Visit Harford values our partnership with The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen and we look forward to what the future brings.
Ripken Baseball also won an Economic Impact Award from Sports Destination Management for its Ripken Select Tournaments in Panama City Beach, Fla., which took place from June 5-10, 2022. Sports Destination Management recognized award winners in a special feature published in the November/December 2022 issue.
all good…
I know what ‘economic impact’ should mean, but if I do the math and see 110,000 people associated with the ballparks… that works out to less than $500 per person. At 2022 prices I’m just curious about the details. I’m glad they are helping the local economy, I am; but are they really? What can I compare this to to see if it is ‘really good’ or ‘wow, that’s all’? I just feel like between hotels, food, and anything local (they must be able to tell, right?), it ought to be more. Or not? Appreciate some help here.