First Sports Tourism Success in Fairfax County: Patriot Park North

From the Office of Supervisor Pat Herrity

Fairfax VA – This morning, the Fairfax County, sports, and community leaders cut the ribbon on
Patriot Park North as a part of Southwestern Youth Association’s (SYA) Opening Day. Those
who attended the momentous occasion included Supervisor Pat Herrity of the Springfield
District – where the park is located, Mike Carney of the Washington Nationals, and many local
leaders.
As Chairman of the Sports Tourism Task Force, Supervisor Herrity championed the
development of Fairfax County’s first sports tourism project. The project is the result of years of
collaboration between SYA, The Sports Tourism Task Force, FCPA, Visit Fairfax, the Athletic
Counsel, the NOVA Travel Baseball League and other organizations.
The new baseball facility features four turf 90-foot baseball diamonds and two 60-foot diamonds
as well as related amenities ranging from playgrounds and concession stands to
scoring/observation towers and web cast cameras.
In 2017, the Board created the Sports Tourism Task Force with the goal of putting Fairfax
County on the map as a destination for sports competitions, competing for a share of the now
nearly 40-billion-dollar, recession-proof sports tourism industry. The goal of the task force is to
build high quality sports facilities for our residents, bring in tourism revenue to diversify our
revenues, reduce the tax burden on homeowners, and pay for the facilities as well as provide
quality tournaments for our residents to participate in without having to travel.
Between now and November, Patriot Park North already has 26 committed events, each
anticipated to net between $162,000 to more than $1 million within that six-month timeframe. In
addition, the projected direct economic impact during this period is estimated at over $11 million.
Supervisor Herrity commented as follows:
 
“The opening of this facility is a milestone not just for the Springfield District, but for the
county. It is one example of the many ways we can partner with great community
organizations like SYA, in order to provide top-of-the-line sports facilities for residents
and at the same time diversify our revenue and reduce the burden on taxpayers with
sports tourism revenues.” He further commented, “This is the first of what I hope will be
many state-of-the-art athletic facilities we will be opening for our residents.”