The DICK’S Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions is returning to Wesley Chapel for the 2016 and 2017 tournaments.
The National Development Program (NDP) Lacrosse announced Wednesday that the pre-collegiate club lacrosse national championship will return to its long-time home of Pasco County’s Wesley Chapel District Park and adjacent high school for the 9th and 10th straight years.
“Pasco County’s Board of County Commissioners, its Tourist Development Council and the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association have provided tremendous support to the event for nearly a decade,” said NDP Vice President of Business Operations Josh Gross. “I’m excited that the event will return to Pasco County.”
The tournament has been held in Wesley Chapel, about 30 minutes north of Tampa, since 2008.
Teams from the U.S. and Canada earn bids at qualifying tournaments to compete for the national championship across five divisions. The tournament is held December 29, 30 and 31 every year, with an economic impact of about $3 million in Pasco County.
“This has been our anchor sporting event for many years,” said Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey of the Pasco Board of County Commissioners and the Tourist Development Council. “We are glad to have them back again for the next two years.”
The tournament consistently features the continent’s top high school and youth players. Past participants have gone on to compete in the collegiate championships, and many are now stars in the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse. More than one dozen tournament alumni competed in the 2014 World Lacrosse Championships.
For more information on Pasco County Tourism, visit www.visitpasco.net.
