Are sports the big untapped frontier for northern Michigan’s tourism economy? Traverse City Tourism and Grand Traverse Resort and Spa think the answer is yes, and are taking steps to harness athletic events as key drivers for future traffic and revenue.

In November, Traverse City Tourism announced it had hired Mickey Graham as its first-ever director of sports and events. Graham comes to the role fresh off four years as general manager of the Traverse City Pit Spitters, where he also oversaw a variety of non-baseball events hosted at Turtle Creek Stadium.

Grand Traverse Resort and Spa has long hosted tennis tournaments at its health club, and for many years served as a venue for Special Olympics Michigan. Last year, the Resort took its focus one step further, purchasing portable sports flooring that allows the property to convert its tennis courts into temporary basketball courts. The Resort premiered the new feature last February for an Amateur Athletic Union basketball tournament that drew nearly 800 people across 34 youth basketball teams.

And other new investments are happening for indoor sports facilities in northern Michigan, including the new Traverse City Curling Club facility at the Cherryland Center and the promise of new indoor pickleball courts at a planned development in Acme Township.

And what of a potential giant indoor sports complex?

Read more about the economic potential of sports tourism in this month's Traverse City Business News. 

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