The Largest Annual Sporting Event in Wake County Kicks Off This Month | Sports Destination Management

The Largest Annual Sporting Event in Wake County Kicks Off This Month

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Nov 14, 2023

The visitRaleigh.com Showcase Series is the largest annual youth and amateur sporting event in Wake County. The event kicked off on November 4 and runs through December 3, 2023, with WRAL Soccer Park serving as the headquarter venue and utilizing multiple surrounding area fields.

 

North Carolina Football Club (NCFC) Youth’s annual visitRaleigh.com Showcase Series commences with the Girls Junior Showcase on Saturday, November 4. Several prominent youth and collegiate soccer events will take place simultaneously in the area including the ACC Women’s Soccer ChampionshipACC Men’s Soccer Championship and the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship (College Cup). Combined these events exemplify why Wake County will become the center of the soccer universe over the next month.

 

NCFC Youth is one of the country's largest and most notable soccer clubs and has been a longstanding contributor to area tourism. The club was recently honored with the prestigious John B. Ross Leadership Award at the 2023 GRCVB Annual Meeting in recognition of their remarkable contributions to both Wake County tourism and the local community. This recognition comes as the club approaches its 50th anniversary in 2024, marking nearly a half-century of dedicated service.

 

“We are looking forward to welcoming teams from across the country for our annual visitRaleigh.com Showcase Series. The generations of leadership at NCFC Youth have built up the event from a single weekend in 1982 to an event that now spans 4 weekends,” said Gary Buete, NCFC Youth CEO. “The growth and support of our hospitality community – from hotels, and restaurants, to entertainment around town – along with the investment into field development throughout our area has helped ensure that our tournament can sustain for years to come and that visitors have a great experience while they are here.”

 

As the largest youth sporting event held in the Triangle, NCFC Youth’s visitRaleigh.com Showcase Series is expected to attract more than 1,350 teams from across the country to play over four weekends of competition. Around 1,000 college coaches are expected to attend for recruiting purposes, bringing an estimated total of over 72,000 visitors to the Greater Raleigh area, equaling over 32,000 total room nights and an estimated $27.8 million in economic impact.

 

“The visitRaleigh.com Showcase Series is a massive economic impact event for this market,” said Scott Dupree, Executive Director of the GRSA. “In fact, it’s the largest annual sporting event anywhere in the Triangle, based on hotel room nights, and there really isn’t a close second. It’s a signature event with a sterling reputation nationally, and we are proud to partner with NCFC Youth in order to help make it happen.”

 

The complete lineup of events is as follows:

 

November 4-5, 2023

visitRaleigh.com Girls Junior Showcase

WRAL Soccer Park & multiple sites

Click for Website

 

November 11-12, 2023

visitRaleigh.com Boys Junior Showcase

WRAL Soccer Park & multiple sites

Click for Website

 

November 17-19, 2023

visitRaleigh.com Boys College Showcase

WRAL Soccer Park & multiple sites

Click for Website

 

December 1-3, 2023

visitRaleigh.com Girls College Showcase

WRAL Soccer Park & multiple sites

Click for Website

 

Visit this link to find more information about the visitRaleigh.com Showcase Series events.

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