Each summer (Surf Cup) and fall (College Cup), soccer players, family members, college coaches and others flood San Diego for the San Diego Surf Cup youth soccer tournaments, and the city of San Diego reaps the economic benefits.

San Diego Surf Cup, Inc. annually publishes an Economic Impact Report for the San Diego Surf Cup youth soccer tournaments, held at the spacious, pristine San Diego Polo Club in the summer and over Thanksgiving weekend. Both events are covered by company sponsorships for youth soccer and advertisements and represent the “Best of the Best” in youth soccer.

In 2010, the pair of tournaments—spanning nine days— topped a milestone in Economic Impact, with a measured impact of just over $22 million. The total attendance for the 2010 events was 124,937, while the tournament brought 16,454 total visitors to sunny San Diego and resulted in 19,882 hotel room-nights booked. More than 700 colleges were represented at both soccer tournaments.

As a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation, organized in the State of California for the purpose of promoting competitive youth athletics, San Diego Surf Cup, Inc. donated $210,024 to non-profit groups in 2010.

The total economic impact for San Diego Surf Cup XXX (July 24-26 and July 31, August 1-2, 2010) was $16,986,593, and San Diego Surf College Cup 2010 (November 26-28, 2010) was $5,142,570 – totaling $22,129,163.

All of the data in the Surf Cup Economic Impact report on the San Diego area was culled from forms and data collected directly from the teams involved and the hotels booked for the tournaments. Most impact reports use the number generators system to come up with the impact, so Surf Cup is unique in the way in which it is gathered. Air travel is not taken into consideration when compiling the report, as it is most often booked in the city from which teams are flying.

Surf Cup began tracking the impact in 1992, for the Surf Cup, and in 1997, for the College Cup, and Surf Cup President Mike Connerley has formed a bond with Steve Schell, of the San Diego Sports Commission, during that time.

“When it comes to impactful sporting events in San Diego, Surf Cup is in the top three, and when it comes to soccer it is the top economic producer, bar none,” says Schell, who joined the Sports Commission after being the head of sports for San Diego Con-Vis for a number of years. “Surf Cup is a Class A tournament with a rich history and it is a pleasure to work with the staff. It has a wonderful reputation and we have a mutual understanding about its impact on San Diego.”