More than 50 local businesses and individuals are in The Club, and you should be too! If you joined today you would have access to Arnold Palmer Invitational grounds passes, Astros Spring Training tickets, Predators tickets and much more!

As an example of one of the networking opportunities, we will be hosting a panel discussion titled the Business of Football on Thursday, February 9th. Panelists, including executives from EA SPORTS, the Orlando Predators and

XOS Digital, will discuss the increasing impact of the football industry on our economy. Moderated by Josh Mora, Sports Marketing & Media Program Director at Full Sail University, the Business of Football will be held at 8:30 am in the Gray Robinson offices in downtown Orlando. Entry is free for sports club members and $15 for non-members. Space is limited, so click HERE to RSVP today!

New Sports Club members for the month of December include Cross Fernandez & Riley, Rise and Wawa.

Click HERE for a complete list of benefits for The Sports Club or HERE to see all our current members. If you are interested in joining contact Matt Masterson at

407-648-4900 ext. 11 or through email by clicking HERE.

Another new year means another year of great sports events in Seminole County!

Closing out 2011 with a bang, the ECNL Winter Showcase was held the last week of December bringing in 150 girls soccer teams from across the country. In fact, every team came from outside of the state of Florida which maximizes the economic impact for Seminole County. In addition, over 300 college coaches attended to recruit from the pool of over 3,000 players, with many of the coaches raving about the field conditions at Sylvan Lake Park, Seminole Soccer Complex and Central Winds Park. The event was a huge success and there is hope they will return for 2012 and beyond! A big thank you goes out to everyone who rolled out the red carpet in welcoming all those that attended the event.

As we look ahead, first up in 2012 is Score at the Shore Soccer Showcase which is being held February 18-20 at Sylvan Lake Park and Seminole Soccer Complex. We expect approximately 100 teams will compete in multiple age groups for both boys and girls. TEAM SEMINOLE will be working hard to give this event partner the same great service that we recently provided to ECNL. There is no doubt that this will be achieved based on the great track record of TEAM SEMINOLE!

In other news, the Sports Commission is excited about developing a great relationship with Orlando City Soccer, the new partner of the Florida Soccer Alliance and Seminole Soccer Complex. We will be meeting with them to establish a mutually beneficial relationship so that we can work together to continue bringing top soccer events to the complex, as well as Sylvan Lake Park. We will be sure to update the progress that is made in future impact reports.

As always, please do not hesitate to call should you have any questions and we look forward to partnering with TEAM SEMINOLE to generate more great sports activity in Seminole County.

Year to Date (through November of 2011)

Hotel Room Nights: 6,078

Tax Recovery: $74,562.07

Economic Impact:  $7,920,887.75

Number of Participants: 4,429

Number of Spectators: 4,128

Number of Events: 8

The Central Florida Sports Commission is sending representation to two (2) national conventions this month.   The first is the US Lacrosse Convention which will be staged in Philadelphia from Jan 13 - 15^th.  Billed as "the unofficial start to the lacrosse season," this event gathers the very best the sport has to offer, and provides the sport's largest educational opportunity, with over 5,000 coaches, officials, program administrators and exhibitors in attendance each year.  This convention will provide the Sports Commission the opportunity to network with potential event organizers and coaches that might be interested in booking one of our various venues within Seminole County.

The same week, we will be sending staff to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in Kansas City.  Billed as "The World's Largest Annual Gathering of Soccer Coaches," each year the NSCAA Convention draws approximately 4,000 coaches from our 30,000-plus members, and more than 9,000 attendees over five days.  Like the US Lacrosse Convention, this convention will allow the Sports Commission to promote our area assets to interested parties that might want to book one of our multi-purpose venues in Seminole County for an event or team training.

Central Florida Scottish Highland Games

Central Winds Park

January 14-15, 2012

http://www.flascot.com/2012_games/index.htm

Lake Mary Little League Sign Ups

Lake Mary Sports Complex

January 7-21, 2012

http://www.eteamz.com/lakemaryll/

2nd Annual Environmental Health & Wellness Fair

Central Florida Zoo

January 21, 2012

http://www.visitseminole.com/events/event-detail.aspx?id=975

Score at the Shore

Sylvan Lake Park & Seminole Soccer Complex

February 18-20

http://www.scoreattheshore.net/winter_home.html

Longwood Babe Ruth Baseball and Fastpitch Softball

Candyland Park

March 3, 2012-May 31, 2012

http://longwood.baberuthonline.com/engine.asp?area=league&aid=248

ZOE 5k 2012 Run/Walk

First United Methodist Church of Oviedo

April 19, 2012

http://www.zoerace.com/