Maryland will host US Youth Soccer Region I Championships in 2013 and 2014

The Baltimore Business Journal is reporting that Harford County Maryland's Cedar Lane Regional Park has won the bid from US Youth Soccer Region I to host the regional championships in 2013 and 2014. The report says the seven-day tournament will bring in an estimated $24 million over the two years to the state in "economic impact", with approximately 15,000 hotel nights per year for 3,500 to 4,000 players.

While the news is certainly good for area soccer athletes and families - who will likely save quite a bit on airfare and other travel with Bel Air falling within reasonable driving distance, the estimates of $24 million in economic impact to the state seem dubious at best.

Using a generous estimate of 4,000 players per year, that $24 million dollar estimate would require that each of the 8,000 players over two years to be responsible for generating $3,000 in "impact". That's a lot of breakfast bagels and souvenirs "per player" represented. Certainly some of that measure is attributed to spending by friends, family, sponsors, and other supporting functions - but $3,000 per player for a single tournament directly to the hosting state seems a pretty difficult claim to support.

Few from our region will complain however, as the event is all about location, location, location for those who qualify. With the 2011 and 2012 events slated for Hershey, Pennsylvania after this summer's West Virginia event, area players and families lucky enough to advance to the Regional championships will have had six straight years of relatively little travel for the event compared to more recent excursions to Maine.

[+ read the Baltimore Business Journal report]