Record Breaking Year in Economic Impact for Rocky Top Sports World
Rocky Top Sports World records $46.9 million in its 7th year of operation
GATLINBURG, TN – In its 7th year of operation, Rocky Top Sports World welcomed more than 135,700 athletes, spectators, families and friends to Gatlinburg. The award-winning complex contributed $46.9 million in economic impact during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. “Rocky Top Sports World has surpassed all the expectations since its campus opened in Gatlinburg in 2014. The leap into sports tourism has proven to be a vital factor in Gatlinburg’s economic growth over the past seven years,” Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner said.
The venue hosted more than 90 events on-site where 25 weekends involved both indoor and outdoor events taking place simultaneously. The venue more than doubled bookings on weekdays compared to last year, coming in at 21 total weekday events.
“The City of Gatlinburg is extremely pleased with the performance of Rocky Top Sports World since 2014,” Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle said. “The continued economic impact of the facility continues to fulfill the vision of what Gatlinburg and Sevier County thought Rocky Top Sports World would mean to our community. The City offers our thanks to the staff of Rocky Top Sports World for helping make the facility one of the nation’s most attractive venues for travel sports.” 
Notable year seven achievements for Rocky Top Sports World include being selected as the All-Star Multipurpose Sports Venue and the All-Star Indoor Sports Venue by SportsEvents Media Group. The 2021 awards mark the fifth year the venue has earned Readers’ Choice awards.
Rocky Top Sports World hosted the inaugural Gatlinburg All-American Bowl in December of 2020 where more than 120 athletes from eight states participated. The venue also played host to the Kohl’s Kicking National Elite Camp and National Scholarship Camp which brought athletes from 45 states to the area. Kohl’s Kicking is slated to return to Rocky Top Sports World in July of 2021, 2022 and 2023.
For the upcoming 2021-2022 year, Rocky Top Sports World will play host to new tournaments and events such as the venue’s first adult kickball event, Turf Wars put on by Play Mars Sports.
The venue will also hold successful return events such as four weekend occurrences of the Smoky Mountain Cup hosted by High School Cup, which will showcase the largest number of participating teams to date. Other notable returning events include fifteen bookings with National Soccer Events and FC Alliance, whose events contributed to nearly $10 million of the 2020-2021 economic impact total.
“We are thrilled to see the recent economic impact report from Rocky Top Sports World. The facility has played an intricate part in our area’s recovery and record economic growth. We are proud to have this world-class facility in Sevier County,” commented Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters.
About Rocky Top Sports World
Rocky Top Sports World is an 80-acre sports complex located in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains offering seven outdoor fields and an 86,000 square foot indoor venue equipped with six basketball courts. Rocky Top Sports World is a member of the SFM Network, the nation’s largest and fastest growing network of sports facilities and is operated by the industry-leader in outsourced operations, Sports Facilities Management.
For more information on our facility, visit www.rockytopsportsworld.com or call 865.325.0044.
