McAllen, Texas – November 2, 2022- Sports Destination Management has recognized P.O.N.Y. International Softball World Series in McAllen this past summer as the 2022 Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism.

Protect Our Nation’s Youth (P.O.N.Y.) five-day softball tournament brought over 40 international teams in July from Mexico and the Czech Republic. More than 900 athletes participated which resulted in a $1.3 million economic impact to the city of McAllen.

Sports Destination Management is the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market. Those awarded in the 2022 Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism are responsible for contributing over $2.42 billion to the national economy over the past year.

Visit McAllen, the McAllen Boys & Girls Club, McAllen Parks & Recreation and McAllen city hotel partners worked together to bring this international tournament to the city.

Director of Tourism Alex Arevalo spoke about city partnerships to host events of this caliber.

“We are so lucky to live and work in a city like McAllen, where the efforts of our industry partners can be leveraged to facilitate wins like this for our community,” she said. “We truly value the relationships we have with partnering entities. It takes a great deal of teamwork to host events of this caliber. Our Sports Sales Manager Julian Gutierrez has done a fantastic job of making sure we provide quality experiences to tournament organizers, and in applying for this recognition, has allowed for us to continue to spread the word on how capable our city is of being home to these world class tournaments.”

McAllen Chamber President & CEO Josh Mejia spoke about the recognition as well.

“These accolades are always a reflection of a collective effort to raise the standard of how we do business in McAllen, Texas. A special thank you goes out to all the partners involved in making our city a destination for tourism.”

P.O.N.Y. International Softball World Series has agreed to host a follow-up tournament in McAllen featuring teams from the United States and Mexico with the possibility of hosting teams from as far as Australia, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic and even Japan.

All winners have been recognized in a special feature published in the Nov-Dec. 2022 issue of Sports Destination Management.  To review the entire list of winners, please visit: http://ow.ly/hjf950LrV23

For additional questions, please feel free to contact Vice President of Strategic Communications

Christine Cavazos at cavazos@mcallenchamber.com