LakePoint Sports, the premier travel and youth sports destination in the country, saw tremendous growth and momentum this year, making 2021 a record-setting year, despite the macro-economic challenges faced across the nation. Through the launch of new initiatives in 2021, focused on the guest experience and the organization’s influence in the industry, LakePoint was able to safely welcome nearly one million guests to its beautiful 1,300-acre campus, generating almost $100 million in economic impact for the state of Georgia, and ink deals with over 20 new corporate brands.
With a laser-point focus on the guest experience, LakePoint launched its Champions Weekend initiative, of which all six weekends were sold-out. Thanks to title sponsor support from Insurance Offices of America (IOA), RoofClaim.com, KT Tape, Chevrolet, and Publix, guests could experience everything from contests, giveaways, special appearances, and live music to food and beverage promotions and other onsite entertainment. These included radio remote broadcasts from 680 the Fan, the best sports talk radio show in the southeast.
“Our mission is to create life-long memories, one experience, one game, one guest at a time,” said David Pate, director of marketing at LakePoint Sports. “With the support of our title sponsors, we were able to create those memories and elevate the guest experience through all the different promotions and activities surrounding each Champions Weekend.”
LakePoint also launched RYZE Hoops at the beginning of 2021, designed to focus on the athlete’s experience by bringing together the southeast’s top travel basketball players. Over 8,600 athletes across 570 teams competed during RYZE Hoops events, seeing hundreds of scholarships awarded.
“The LakePoint Champions Center is our flagship venue because it allows us to bring in over 100 of the best travel basketball teams in the county for each event,” said Dan McDonald, director of basketball operations at RYZE Hoops. “The state-of-the-art live streaming capabilities also allow the elite players in our events to get noticed by college coaches even during the non-contact periods. We are excited about the growth opportunities with LakePoint in 2022.”
As the flagship venue for Prep Baseball Report (PBR), the LakePoint Baseball Village played host to nearly 200,000 of the nation’s top travel baseball players as they competed against top-tier competition throughout 2021. The PBR 14U-18U National Championships, the National Program Invitational, and the Future Games are the preeminent events in the country. The Future Games alone saw representation from over 300 colleges and dozens of pro scouts, resulting in hundreds of scholarships awarded.
“Our strong partnership with LakePoint Sports continued to grow in 2021 as we found new ways to elevate the elite travel baseball experience on the LakePoint campus, highlighted by our signature Future Games event,” said Sean Duncan, president of Prep Baseball Report. “We look forward to the opportunities 2022 holds and how we will continue to grow together.”
With the launch of new content focused on the offline experience, such as post-game interviews, play-by-play streams, and expert analysis, LakePoint digital media has experienced exponential growth since 2019. This includes a record-high 35,000 hours of gameplay streamed, through LakePoint Live, powered by PlaySight, and a 1,000 percent increase in impressions, resulting in 79 million total over a two-year span. In addition, engagements increased to three million — a 935 percent increase since 2019 — while video views saw a 5,300 percent increase with 9.4 recorded.
LakePoint showed its influence in the industry by hosting the inaugural National Youth Sports Summit in the 170,000-square-foot Champions Center, located in the heart of campus. The invite-only Summit brought together industry leaders who gave their insights into the $25 billion youth sports industry, with growth expected to reach over $60 billion by 2026 (WinterGreen Research, 2021). Panelists focused on Travel Baseball, Travel Basketball, Name, Image and Likeness, Sports Technology, Digital Media, as well as Data and Insights.
In addition, LakePoint added over 20 new corporate partners this year, growing its roster to over 50 local, regional, national and global brand sponsors as it launched customized branded content, events, promotions, product launches, and more.
“We are always looking for partners to add value to the guest experience here at LakePoint Sports,” said Greg Barckhoff, executive vice president of marketing and partnerships. “So, we are excited to add these new brands that are helping to elevate the experience for our athletes, families, and coaches who compete on campus.”
In spite of the challenges LakePoint team members experienced amidst the pandemic and labor shortages, their hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed. Sports Business Journal recognized LakePoint as a 2021 Sports Facility of the Year Finalist alongside other notable facilities such as AT&T Stadium, Dickies Arena, ESPN Wide World of Sports, and Globe Life Field. In addition, LakePoint earned a spot on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 2021 Top Workplace list. The organization was also appointed to the Georgia Tourism Foundation by Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp.
The momentum and growth will continue into 2022 with the strong partnership and growth of Prep Baseball Report, expansion of RYZE Hoops, new programs, new technology relationships, branded promotions, partnerships, and more.
“We are grateful for the significant progress that was made at LakePoint in 2021,” stated President and CEO Mark M. O’Brien. “Our full-time and hourly team members, sponsors, and partners make it all possible, and we couldn’t be more excited for the future.”
