Use Sport Events to Create Amazing Travel Experiences
As a big sports fan, I’ve been fortunate to be able to add sport events to many of my travel experiences. For me these events allow me to dive a little deeper into the culture of an area, and add another layer on top of any trip to make my visit even more memorable.
Sports tourism is on the rise within the travel industry, already accounting for over $7 billion annually! It’s defined as travel that includes either watching or participating in sport events.
If you’re like me, you’ve got more than a few sports-related experiences on your bucket list!
I’ve broken down the types of sport events you can add to your travel into 3 main categories:
1. Sport-Specific Day-Trips
2. Adding Sport Events to Your Travel Plans
3. Planning Travel Around Sport Events
Sport-Specific Day-Trips
In my opinion this is the simplest form of sports tourism.
All that’s required is gathering a few friends, or joining a bus-tour that takes you to a sport event you want to see. Staying overnight is purely optional, though often recommended.
Growing up in Southern Ontario, we’d often take trips over to Buffalo to watch the Sabres and Bills, or to Toronto to watch the Maple Leafs and Blue Jays. On a few occasions we even scored tickets to watch the Canada Cup (did i just date myself?), or join a bus trip to Hamilton for a CFL (Canadian Football League) game.
On one occasion, I joined a group of university friends to head to a Sabres game in Buffalo. When we got there I saw my dad had done the same thing with some of his work buddies. The crazy part was that neither of us knew the other was going …. and we ended up sitting in the same row at the game!
Sport-specific day-trips don’t require a lot of planning, but provide a big return on the enjoyment they provide …. especially if your team wins!
Adding Sport Events to Your Travel Plans
Sports are a common thread that encircles the world. No matter where you travel there are plenty of opportunities to take part in local or global sports customs.
Whenever I’m planning a vacation I make a point to see if there are any sport events that can be added to my itinerary. I’ve had a lot of success recently travelling to the United States to aid in a couple of my bucket list goals of seeing a game in every MLB and NHL arena:
1. During a shopping trip in Pittsburgh, PA, we scored a deal for Penguins NHL tickets online. What made this game even more special was that it was the final season for The Igloo (Civic Arena), and I had grown up a big Penguins fan!
2. While in town for a work conference in Cleveland, Ohio, a friend and I grabbed tickets to the Browns NFL game the day before the event got underway.
3. As part of a west-coast trip from Los Angeles to San Diego with my wife, we made a point of attending a Padres MLB game at their beautiful stadium.
Planning Travel Around Sport Events
The third way to use sport events to create amazing travel experiences is the most obvious … find an sport event you want to attend or participate in, then create a trip around it!
From skiing to surfing to cycling and more, there’s definitely no shortage of sports we can participate in around the world. One of the first such trips I took was a boys week where we flew out to Western Canada to ski the Rocky Mountains. Being from Ontario, the experience was nothing short of spectacular!
My other examples are very similar to the above section where we added sport events to our existing travel plans. The difference here is that instead of picking whatever event was happening during our trip, here we find a specific game, player to watch, or potential historical moment in sports, then plan a trip around that experience.
So far I’ve managed to create 3 such trips:
1. St Louis, MO – In December, 2007 I took a trip to St Louis to watch a Rams NFL game. The reason? Because I was a big Brett Favre fan and he was likely to break the all-time record for passing yardage. I called my sister, who was conveniently living in St Louis with her husband, and we all bought tickets and attended the historic game.
An interesting side-note to the story is that the NFL game was an afternoon game, so we indulged out internal sports-fan and also went to the evening Blues NHL game that day!
2. New York City, NY – In August, 2008 we planned a baseball trip to New York City. This was the final season for both Shea and Yankee Stadiums, home to the Mets and Yankees, respectively. We simply couldn’t pass up the chance to experience a game at each of these storied buildings.
The most interesting thing about these games was how different the crowds and over atmosphere were from one stadium to the next. The most glaring being that respect for the game was one of the top priorities at Yankee Stadium, and there was no tolerance of anything seen to be gimmicky, or taking away from the action on the field.
3. Las Vegas, NV – As frequent visitors, it doesn’t take much to get us to plan a trip to Las Vegas. When I received a notice that I could see one of my favourite hockey players (Joe Sakic) play at the famous MGM Grand Arena, there was no stopping us!
In September, 2008 we used this NHL pre-season game as the jumping off point to see yet another side of Las Vegas, and we were far from being disappointed.
My Sport Events Bucket List
These were just a few examples of how you can use sport events to create or enhance your travel plans to make any trip even more amazing … assuming you’re a sports fan, of course!
Personally, I have a section of my bucket list dedicated to sport which includes:
– Watch Manchester United play at Old Trafford, England
– See a football match at Maracanã Stadium, Brazil
– Play golf at St. Andrews, Scotland
– Watch track & field at the Olympic Games
Do you try to make sport part of your travel? I’d love to know what you’ve experienced, or what’s on your sport bucket list in the comments below!
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Be sure to comment below and let me know what sport events you love that i should add to my list!
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Resources
Here is a list of the resources mentioned in this post:
Bruce’s Bucket List – Here’s where I keep track of what’s on my list, and what I’ve already completed. It includes a dedicated sports section at the bottom of the page.
Start Travelling NOW! – Find out how I’m helping people dust off their bucket lists and start achieving them faster and cheaper than they ever thought possible!
This is a great way for sports and travel fans to get the best of both worlds! Sometimes a set thing like sports event is what it takes to jump into travel plans we’ve always wanted to do but never got around to setting up. If you have a big sport event out of town you want to make, it’s a great way to fit in some other activities to make the most of your trip. Great idea!
Yo’re so right! That’s something i love to do, and hope to inspire other to as well
Very educational. Combining sports and travel allows you to maximize your time spent traveling. Thank you for sharing this.
You’re very welcome Adewale! Sport and travel are a great mix
I’ve done this a couple of times…
Once when traveling to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Minnesota and to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI…
There’s so much to explore in addition to attending an event
Dr. Lisa
Lambeau is definitely on my list! You’ll have to come to Toronto to check out our Hockey Hall of Fame too 🙂
I’m not a big sports fan so I generally don’t travel based around anything sports related but I do love soccer and have a dream to go see Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal play on their home turf. I have gone to a match in Canada and Australia but still have yet to do my big goal of watching my favorite teams in England. some day! Unfortunately my choice of sport is pretty pricey to go and see!
I hear you Broke! I have a number of soccer matches on my list to see as well!
I’m a Missouri girl who gets to St. Louis from time to time, though I’ve never seen a Rams game. I have often wished I could go see figure skating live. This article kind of got me thinking that maybe a could plan a trip around something like that. Thanks!
Yes, definitely do that! Figure skating is another sport that’s a lot of fun to see live 🙂
That’s a nice idea! I especially like including iconic sports locations in city visits. Even for non-sports enthusiast the architecture and history of stadiums can be fascinating.
Happy continued travels!
C
You’re so right Carola! I love checking out sports stadiums even if i’m not seeing a game
I recently had the pleasure to attend a surfing competition in Portugal and must say that it’s a great idea. There was so much stuff to do apart from the usual sightseeing, surfing, eating & drinking. Could watch the competitions and there were concerts and other events going on:)
That sounds amazing! I find that beach sports do a great job in creating an entire event around their competitions
This is a great idea as I’m a big sports fan. We’re thinking of seeing the All Blacks play in Buenos Aires. Definitely worth a trip.
That sounds amazing … I may need to join you on that trip!
We’re huge college football fans, so at least 2-3 times a year we’ll make a road trip to see our team play. We also take our mountain bike to festivals around the south.
I love that! There’s nothing better than being able to follow your team around and experience them in different atmospheres
Hi Bruce! The Olympics are definitely on my bucket list! Perhaps I will make a trip to Tokyo in 20122. I specifically love watching gymnastics! Thanks for this helpful post – definitely a great resource for sports lovers
We may need to go to Tokyo together! Gymnastics are definitely something i’d love to see too
You have an interesting bucket list of sports events you wish to see. Lets hope Man Utd win the Europa League this year, then you could watch them in a Champions League game next year. Playing golf at St Andrews would be very special, even better if you played really well that day! For me I’d love to see a Grand Prix.
Yes, Champions League would be amazing! Grand Prix is an amazing sport I’ve got on my list as well 🙂
Great idea ofocurse. I like your bucket list of sports to watch as well. For me, I saw an expedition for Mount Everest and it was an amazing experience. I am going to plan one of my travels with sports in mind in future too. Thanks for Sharing.
You’re very welcome Anna! A Mount Everest Expedition sounds pretty incredible to see
I had a chance to watch a game at the American Airlines Arena in Miami downtown
last 2015. However, I am not really a fan of basketball so I did not join my friends. If the sports event is Wimbledon, then I would be super excited. I like Serena Williams. I will not really include watching sports as part of my travel plans. I would prefer to watch local plays or live music.
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I with you for Wimbledon! Theatre and music are great activities to create trips around as well … and I’ve been known to do that too 🙂
My family does this when we travel together. It’s a pretty fun way to include a unique activity. Although I don’t do it when I travel on my own (typically I am doing the sport haha), it’s still a GREAT way to spice up a trip!
Haha, great point about often we’re the ones participating in the sport when we travel!
Really interesting concept which satisfies one’s appetite for both sports and travel! Great to see that you had fun experiencing both 🙂
Would love to experience the atmosphere during the Olympic Games as well, it must be crazy out there! I should have gone during the 1st Youth Olympic Games when it was just minutes away from my house; now I’ve gotta travel out of the country to watch the Games!
Thanks so much Nathan! I really find it adds another dimension to my travel … like seeing another side of each destination.
Very interesting way to plan your travels indeed! I love how you were able to merge watching sports with your travel plans even when on business trips! I’m not really a sport-loving kind of person, but I appreciate a good game nevertheless. Funny how you met your dad on one of the games you saw. I guess the love of watching sports is a family trait! 😉
That was definitely a funny experience that we still talk about! Even if sports isn’t your thing, I’m sure there’s something you can combine with travel to enrich every experience.
This a concept that I use every four years during the Football World Cup. This year marks my 4th WC tournament that I will attend and do so sprinkling games into a 2 week itinerary exploring the country I am in. Combining football with jungle trekking, swimming in the amazon and amazing beaches makes for one heck of a trip. Russia doesn’t have the same allure to it for me, but it’s the World Cup that inspires the travel. Hopefully I will enjoy it just as much. Happy Travels.
I love that idea Dominic! I’m sure this would take you to many places you otherwise might not bother with, and you just might fall in love with a new city
Wow, combining sports with travel is definitely a great way to indulge in both. I am sure sports lover will love to do it. Though I am not much of a sports person, but i would definitely like to do a sports specific day trip. BTW, hope you had a great time at Sabres game in Buffalo even with your Dad in the same row!!
Haha … yes we still had a great time! Thanks for your comment Amirita!
I’d say this is one of the best ways to network and find like minded people. I know of some who have found their best pals who met as strangers. My cousin plans his trip to around the football matches while he travels to the UK. As you have mentioned, it’s also a nice way to leanr more about that particular place and experience the local flavour.
Really great point Preethika! You’re bound to meet some great people who share common interests when you do things like this
Being the Mother of a former NCAA Athlete we love to see some sports while traveling. It can be a lot of fun, especially when it is a sport we do not have here in USA.
Very true Sherrie! It’s a great way to branch out and learn about new sports too
I am a big fan of travelling for sports! I travel a lot to watch football (soccer). I recently attended a Miami Dolphins match which was great!
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So awesome David! I’m sure it was a great experience!
This is a lovely idea . I follow Badminton regularly and the BWF ones happen quite regularly across Asia. Maybe I should plan to follow the entire season for one year and travel out. Thanks for the idea
Love that idea Ami! I’m sure you’d have an amazing time.
Great ideas around sports tourism. Although we didn’t travel, we planned lots of London activities around the London Olympics, and as my husband is a Manchester United fan we often combine watching the football with local exploration – I hope you get to finally visit as its an amazing stadium and has a great museum. I’d love to do a big proper trip though for a sporting event.
You’ve made me jealous Samantha! 🙂 Though i do share you love for exploring locally whenever I go to a Toronto hockey/baseball/soccer/basketball match
I’m not really sports fan of any kind hence I never considered including these activities during my travels. I wouldn’t mind going to watch local sport event. It will definitely be a different experience.
It really would add something different to your experience. But you can try this idea with any kind of event, not just sports 🙂