Industry of Sport It is our belief that when you consider the economic impact of the “Industry of Sport”, it is impossible to separate recreational and competitive sport activities. Recreational sports in the community are enhanced by upgraded facilities. Furthermore, local citizens also benefit from these improvements. These enhanced facilities give an increased number of quality playing opportunities with the addition of local tournaments that offer competition and create a positive economic impact. This belief has been a driving force behind the efforts of the Sports Foundation to fulfill its mission which is: To assist in the identification, promotion, and staging of athletic events in the greater Baton Rouge area thereby having a positive economic impact on our community. Baton Rouge enjoys a strong reputation among state, regional, and national governing bodies as a Host City for athletic events, and you don’t successfully host these events without getting attention. Some examples of events hosted in Baton Rouge include: International Special Olympics, U.S. Olympic Festival; two Summer National Senior Games – The Senior Olympics; NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships; Women’s International Bowling Congress; USATF Jr. Olympic Championships; 1997 Host City Olympic Flame; USA Olympic Baseball Exhibition, multiple NCAA Regional Baseball Tournaments, and the ABC Bowling Championships. The vision of past Mayor-President Tom Ed McHugh helped to form the Sports Foundation and create a continual positive economic impact for our area. Our community is fortunate to have the strongest of support from our local administration including present East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden. We have identified over fifty amateur sports in our community with over one hundred fifty sport-coordinators. These are, quite commonly, local moms & dads who help to facilitate these activities. Furthermore, there are thousands of volunteers citywide that make these events happen. On the other end, the corporate community provides a strong sponsorship base by lending their reputation, energy, and resources to all of these efforts. Lastly, Baton Rouge is able to boast many quality venues provided by local high schools, BREC, Southern University, and Louisiana State University. As you can clearly see, success in this “Industry of Sport” requires the cooperation of many people and organizations. This “Team Baton Rouge” approach allows us to match our strengths and our facilities with the right events. Together we can make Baton Rouge the Amateur Sports Capital of the South.