The Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau today announced a major partnership that will reposition CASL's four signature tournaments under the same brand, bringing 1,000 teams to Wake County and strengthening the area's reputation as the capital of U.S. youth soccer.
CASL's two fall Shootout events and two fall Showcase events now will be officially known as the CASL visitRaleigh.com National Soccer Series presented by the Chelsea Football Club, and will consist of the following four tournaments (with dates for 2008):
November 8-9, 2008: CASL visitRaleigh.com Girls Shootout Presented by Chelsea Football Club (Ages 11-14)
November 15-16, 2008: CASL visitRaleigh.com Boys Shootout Presented by Chelsea Football Club (Ages 11-14)
November 21-23: CASL visitRaleigh.com Boys Showcase Presented by Chelsea Football Club (Ages 15-19)
December 5-7, 2008: CASL visitRaleigh.com Girls Showcase Presented by Chelsea Football Club (Ages 15-19)
Combined, the four tournaments will bring approximately 1,000 teams from throughout the United States to the Raleigh area over a one-month period. Those teams will utilize an estimated 33,800 hotel room nights and generate more than $7.4 million in direct visitor spending. The four events will bring approximately 29,000 visitors to the area.
"The Greater Raleigh CVB is a long-time partner of CASL, and the formation of the National Soccer Series represents a creative new concept that is a "win-win" for everyone involved," said Charlie Slagle, CEO of CASL. “Thanks to the GRCVB and Chelsea F.C., our four largest and most successful tournaments will get even better - with a new look, a new brand, and an entirely new level of visitor services. The National Soccer Series will get more exposure and visibility than ever before, as we link the global brand of Chelsea F.C. with the national brands of CASL and visitRaleigh.com. This collective effort will ultimately lead to even more opportunities to bring top-tier soccer events to the Raleigh area."
Over the years, the GRCVB has partnered on numerous occasions with CASL, the single-largest generator of group room nights in Wake County. This latest three-year agreement, from 2008-2010, to co-brand the four fall tournaments, puts the Raleigh area in the national and international spotlight as a premier soccer destination.
On a national scale, the GRCVB will have the ability to directly communicate with the teams and approximately 16,000 different families on what they can experience while in the area. On an international level, the National Soccer Series will be presented by the Chelsea Football Club, based in London and one of the four largest and most famous football clubs in the world.
"This partnership is significant on multiple levels. It brings four large national tournaments under the same umbrella and helps cement Greater Raleigh as the nation's No. 1 destination for youth and collegiate soccer" said Scott Dupree, vice president for Sports Marketing at the GRCVB. “It strengthens the events themselves, not just financially, but through GRCVB's expanded visitor services and hosting support that will enhance the visitor experience. And it will allow GRCVB to effectively promote its new brand and its new web site, visitRaleigh.com, directly to 16,000 families from throughout the U.S. who will be traveling to Wake County each year."
"CASL is widely regarded as the premier soccer organization in America -- and one of the largest -- and we are certainly proud to partner with a league that is so vitally important to the Wake County hospitality industry" Dupree stated.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments