Legends Event Center Boosts Local Economy, Attracts Tourists

Legends Event Center, a premier sports venue in Bryan, has been making waves in the community since its opening in December 2022. The facility has not only provided a space for local sports teams to play and practice, but it has also been a major contributor to the local economy.

Since its opening, Legends Event Center has attracted more than 36,000 tourism event attendees and generated more than $10.8 million in total economic impact for the local economy from tourism oriented events, with more than $7.2 million of that coming from brand new events to the community. Those new events included the SIVA Winter Volleyball Championship, Vette City Volleyball Tournaments, and Adidas Boys & Girls 3SSB Live Invitational. With over 120,000 square feet of premier indoor sporting space, the center has been able to host large-scale events that draw in crowds from all over the nation such as volleyball, basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, and even cornhole.

These sporting attendees not only use Legends Event Center for their tournaments, but they stay in Bryan hotels, eat in Bryan restaurants, and shop in Bryan stores, therefore generating more local sales tax for the City of Bryan to use on local community improvements. Those dollars also support our locally-owned businesses and community members. Additionally, when attendees stay in Bryan hotels, the Municipal Hotel Occupancy Tax collected goes towards promotion of programs and events that are advertised and open to the general public, tourism and the convention and hotel industry, and the arts.

Most recently, Legends Event Center hosted a premier NCAA “live period” basketball recruiting tournament, the 2023 Adidas Boys & Girls 3SSB Live Invitational & Gold Live Invitational, from April 28-30 and May 19-21, respectively. This was a city-wide basketball invitational operated by Adidas Three Stripes Select Basketball, Adidas’s leading youth basketball platform. The event was an opportunity for select Adidas-sponsored teams to gain exposure in front of national college coaches and media outlets. Legends Event Center, along with Bryan ISD and College Station ISD facilities were used to host both the boys and girls tournaments. During the Girls Live Invitational, Texas A&M University facilities were also used to host the junior girls tournament.

^{View from inside the Legends Event Center during the Adidas event in April. (Photo courtesy of Destination Bryan)}

Combined, these two weekends of basketball tournaments brought nearly 400 teams, over 4,500 athletes, 4,500 hotel room nights and $4.5 million in total economic impact. That translates to over $105,000 generated in local taxes for the Bryan community. Many local businesses in the area saw a large increase in visitation during these two weekends.

“We have seen lots of traffic coming from Legends Event Center since its opening,” stated Paul Bautista, General Manager of Raising Cane’s on Briarcrest Drive in Bryan. “The week of the Adidas basketball tournament brought our Raising Cane’s in Bryan some record-breaking sales.”

Legends Event Center is part of the major redevelopment of Travis Bryan Midtown Park in Bryan. As a sports and entertainment center, Legends Event Center is set to promote public health and cultural awareness at the center of the 150-acre world-class master-planned park. This master plan will help improve the economic vitality of the area, as Legends Event Center is an exceptional venue for not only Bryan residents, but athletes and other visitors from around the entire country.

For more information about the Legends Event Center and upcoming events, visit bryanlegends.com.

Visit the Legends Event Center website

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