Sports facilities awarded tourism capital investment funding

Four Sussex County sports complexes are receiving state funds to upgrade or expand operations. 

The Delaware Tourism Office announced funding awards to seven Delaware sports facilities through the Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund in early February.

The office received 27 applications requesting just over $50 million for the $10 million in available funding. Applications were reviewed by a panel, including the co-chairs of the Joint Capital Improvement Committee, Sen. Jack Walsh, D-Pike Creek, and Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Bellefonte; and representatives of the Delaware Tourism Office, the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kent County Tourism and Southern Delaware Tourism. During its first two rounds, DTO awarded $21.3 million to nine sports tourism facilities across the state.

“I was very impressed with the quality of this year’s applications and their plans to elevate Delaware’s status as a top sports tourism destination,” said Walsh. “Data has already shown the impact of sports tourism on the state’s economy to be over $400 million. This industry not only brings in dollars, but also supports jobs, which in turn supports local families. This is an example of being responsible with taxpayer dollars.”  

“We are already seeing the impact of this fund’s investments from prior years on the growth of sports tourism statewide,” said Heffernan. “Funding these organizations’ plans will help us attract even more regional and national tournaments, [and] will also be a benefit to Delawareans who will make use of them as well.”  

“We’re proud to build on the success of previous rounds of this initiative by selecting projects that have a clear plan to increase visitor traffic to Delaware,” said Jessica Welch, director of the Delaware Tourism Office. “The review panel also worked diligently to ensure we were supporting projects in all three counties, and those that would improve our sports tourism offerings across a wide range of sporting activities.”

Welch also said this is the highest number of projects the review panel has funded since the program’s start.  

In Sussex County, Dave Marshall Tennis & Pickleball outside Lewes was awarded $1 million to expand its facility from 12 to 18 courts. The expansion would make the complex eligible to attract national tournaments.

Game On Sports Complex near Millsboro received $2.3 million to support the second phase of its expansion. Plans include adding full turf and hard-court spaces to host multi-day soccer, field hockey, basketball and pickleball events, further positioning the complex as a family-friendly center. 

Georgetown Speedway was awarded $400,000 to assist with a comprehensive facility modernization project. Planned improvements include grandstand and suite expansion, upgraded lighting, expanded seating capacity, improved accessibility and enhancements to the overall guest experience.

River Soccer Club in Frankford received $390,000 to improve and expand its parking facilities. The project will add an additional parking lot and increase parking capacity from 500 to 990 spaces, allowing the club to better accommodate larger tournaments and growing attendance.

“We see the value in the grant program and what Delaware is doing,” said River Soccer Club Executive Director Duncan Smith. “I am not familiar with too many states that are providing this resource for this industry, and we are just very appreciative that we were selected.”

Delaware has increasingly become a destination for national sporting events, including the USA Lacrosse Youth Nationals, Zap World Championships of Skimboarding, the annual Senior League Softball World Series, the 2025 PBA Season Opener, and the state’s first PGA Tour event, the 2022 BMW Championship.

Sports tourism is also a major economic driver in the state. In 2023, 1.1 million sports travelers attended a sports tournament, race or other event, either as a participant or spectator, in Delaware. The travelers spent $231.4 million while at the sports venue and at off-site establishments, including local restaurants, hotels, retailers and recreation/entertainment venues.