St. Joseph sees economic boost with rise in championship sporting events this year
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- From state football championships to Division I women's basketball, St. Joseph is solidifying its reputation this December as a hub for high-profile sporting events, a boost for the local economy.
Within the last two months alone, St. Joseph has played host to the MSHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships, MSHSAA Football State Championships, MIAA Volleyball Championship Tournament and an SEC vs Big 12 basketball showdown Dec. 7 between Ole Miss and Kansas State, to name a few.
With St. Joseph's Civic Arena and Missouri Western's Spratt Stadium seeing strong crowds with multi-day tournaments drawing dozens of teams, coaches, alumni and families here from across the state -- some schools with upwards of six buses worth of fans -- St. Joseph was the center of postseason sports.
"We knew these championship events would draw great crowds and bring lots of new visitors to St. Joseph and Buchanan County. Which in looking at the data, that certainly proved to be the case," said Brett Esely, executive director for the St. Joseph, MO Sports Commission. "Whereas the sports commission is proud to play our part in securing, developing and executing the championship experience, the true winners are our city and county especially at a time of year where tourism tends to slow down a bit from summertime traffic."
According to data from the St. Joseph Sports Commission, the MSHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships saw 300 athletes (20 teams consisting of 15 players each) along with 40 MSHSAA staff and officials. Over the course of the tournament, 8,418 spectators were in attendance, with roughly 50% of the participants staying at least one night in St. Joseph.
Total business sales over the course of the volleyball tournament (including sales leading up to and after the event) came out to $4,765,048Â over the span of four days.
The Sports Commission also gathered data from the MSHSAA Football State Championships, which saw 963 athletes (14 teams) and 60 MSHSAA staff and officials. The estimated number of spectators was 19,500 across all seven state championship games.
Roughly 30% of fans stayed at least one night in St. Joseph. Over the course of the three-day championship event, total business sales amounted to $7,707,350.
One hotel that saw a wave of visitors booking rooms for all of the events was the Stoney Creek Hotel.
"When you have events like the high school football championships, not only do the teams come to town, but also family members and anybody else supporting the team," Eaton said. "It increases revenue at the hotel because of the quick turnaround. People will make last minute reservations online and usually when teams win."
The economic boost of sporting events for St. Joseph is set to continue as the MSHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships will be held in St. Joseph for the next two years (2026-2027) as well as the MSHSAA Football State Championships from 2026 to 2028.
In the realm of college basketball, St. Joseph is also set to welcome a multi-day postseason tournament for the first time beginning in 2027.
The St. Joseph Sports Commission and officials with the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced in October the GLVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Tournaments will be moving to St. Joseph, Missouri, from 2027 to 2029, an event that will draw dozens of teams and thousands of spectators over a multi-day period.
