Each year, SportsEvents magazine celebrates excellence and innovation in the amateur sports event industry through our annual Readers’ Choice Awards. These awards honor the planners, venues, destinations, and events that set the standard for outstanding organization, creativity, and community impact. From state-of-the-art facilities to visionary planners, these All-Stars embody what it takes to make every sporting event a success. On the following pages, you’ll find the winners across our 10 categories.
Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who participated, whether by submitting nominations or voting for your favorites.
VENUES
All-Star Indoor Venue
Honors an indoor facility that provides exceptional resources, organization, and experiences for amateur sporting events, tournaments, and participants.
1. Cedar Point Sports Center
Sandusky, Ohio
Cedar Point Sports Center has earned the top spot by building on the momentum of a highly successful 2024 and continuing to raise the bar in 2025 through measurable growth across key performance indicators. While nationally recognized as a premier youth sports tourism destination, the venue also remains deeply committed to serving its local community through expansive programming. In 2025, Cedar Point Sports Center hosted 10 summer camps, six of which sold out, welcoming more than 515 participants. During the 2024–2025 school year, the facility offered 23 youth programs spanning volleyball, basketball, Pre-K classes, homeschool physical education, climbing, and archery tag, engaging more than 1,000 participants. Beyond athletics, Cedar Point Sports Center demonstrated remarkable versatility by hosting non-sporting events such as craft shows, business symposiums, a gaming expo, and a food tasting competition, further solidifying its reputation as a dynamic, community-centered venue.
2. Virginia Beach Sports Center
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Virginia Beach Sports Center is recognized for its elite facility design and consistent delivery of national-caliber events. Spanning 285,000 square feet, the venue features 12 basketball courts, 24 volleyball courts, and a rare 200-meter hydraulic banked track. The venue is a top-tier destination for NCAA-level and high school competitions. The facility offers seating for more than 5,000 spectators and multiple multipurpose rooms, allowing for flexible event configurations.
The Sports Center regularly hosts high-profile events, including national wrestling championships and indoor track and field competitions, and maintains strong bookings throughout track season. Developed through a decade-long sports tourism strategy with the City of Virginia Beach, the venue drives year-round economic impact by attracting visitors during traditionally slower seasons. It’s also located mere steps from the Convention Center and Boardwalk, making it a coastal experience.
3. Rocky Mount Event Center
Rocky Mount, N.C.
The Rocky Mount Event Center operates on excellence and athlete-focused experience. In the most recent fiscal year, the venue generated $25.8 million in economic impact, supporting local hotels, restaurants, and small businesses while strengthening the regional sports tourism economy. At the core of the facility is a 75,000-square-foot field house featuring 16 volleyball courts that can be converted into eight basketball courts, making it one of the most versatile indoor venues on the East Coast. This flexibility allows RMEC to host volleyball tournaments, basketball championships, and cheer and dance competitions that attract thousands of athletes and families annually. The venue was also voted as one of the nation’s top three volleyball facilities in SportsEvents‘ Ultimate Volleyball Facilities competition. Family-friendly amenities, including a Player’s Lounge and a Game Day Adventure and Arcade, enhance the guest experience. The facility’s dedicated staff is known for exceptional hospitality, which further distinguishes RMEC as a premier indoor sports destination.
All-Star Outdoor Venue
Recognizes an outstanding outdoor facility that consistently delivers top-tier amenities, service, and playability for athletes and event organizers alike
1. Patriot Park North
Fairfax, Va.
Situated in Fairfax County, Virginia—just minutes from Washington, DC—Patriot Park North is a premier baseball and softball destination designed to host high-level competition. It features six fully turfed and lighted diamonds, including four adjustable 90-foot fields and two adjustable 60-foot fields, allowing for maximum flexibility across age groups and divisions.
The facility boasts an impressive lineup of top-tier amenities, including on-site concessions, temporary fencing, portable pitching mounds, and spacious warm-up areas. Both teams and fans enjoy covered and wrapped dugouts, electronic scoreboards on each field, and a press box complete with a 360-degree observation deck. Rounding out the experience is a unique baseball- and softball-themed playground, making Patriot Park North a great venue for players, coaches, and families.
2. Rocky Top Sports World
Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Rocky Top Sports World is one of the Southeast’s premier sports destinations, offering a world-class venue set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains. Spanning 80 acres, the campus features seven state-of-the-art synthetic turf fields lined for soccer, football, and lacrosse, with flexible configurations that can accommodate up to 14 youth fields.
At the heart of the complex is a championship stadium with seating for more than 1,500 spectators, a press box, and fully lit playing surfaces, while bleacher seating and stadium lighting are available across most fields.
Rocky Top Sports World also includes team rooms, referee locker rooms, ample parking, and on-site dining at Champs Grill, along with picnic areas and nearby parks and campgrounds within walking distance. The venue also boasts impressive indoor facilities, featuring six basketball courts and 12 volleyball courts.
Located just four miles from downtown Gatlinburg and less than 10 minutes from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Rocky Top Sports World offers a true destination experience.
3. Howard J. Lamade Stadium
South Williamsport, Pa.
Howard J. Lamade Stadium stands as one of the most iconic outdoor venues in youth sports, best known as the centerpiece of the Little League Baseball World Series. Nestled into the side of Bald Eagle Mountain in the Nittany Mountain range, part of the Appalachian Mountains, the stadium offers a dramatic natural setting. With a capacity of approximately 45,000, including the terraced hills beyond the outfield fence, Lamade Stadium allows thousands of fans to watch games at no cost from the surrounding hillside.
From the hill above the stadium, where players catch their first glimpse of the field, the view is considered a defining moment of the World Series experience. Adjacent to Lamade Stadium is Little League Volunteer Stadium, completed in 2001 to accommodate the tournament’s expanded 16-team field. Both venues are located within the Little League International Complex, which also includes secure team housing and dining facilities, creating a unique, self-contained environment for athletes from around the world.
All-Star Multisport Complex
Celebrates a complex that successfully hosts a wide range of sports and events, demonstrating versatility, efficiency, and excellence in event management
1. Virginia Beach Sports Center
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Virginia Beach Sports Center captured the All-Star Multisport Complex title for a second consecutive year, continuing to set the standard for scale, versatility, and community impact. The 285,000-square-foot facility features 12 basketball courts that convert to 24 volleyball courts, a 200-meter hydraulically banked track, and 29,000 square feet of turf, allowing it to host a wide range of local, regional, and national events. Located less than a mile from the Oceanfront, the venue welcomes more than 80,000 athletes and hosts approximately 70 tournaments annually, drawing participants from all 50 states and 43 countries over the past year. The Sports Center serves as home to six local basketball, futsal, and volleyball clubs while maintaining strong partnerships with youth and adult organizations. Beyond athletics, it supports graduations, expos, concerts, and corporate events, generating significant economic impact year-round. Purposefully designed with input from sports planners and tourism leaders, the venue operates as both a premier competition site and a pillar of the Virginia Beach community.
2. Western Sports Park
Farmington, Utah
Western Sports Park earned this recognition by redefining what a modern multisport complex can be, not just through scale, but through intention. The 55-acre campus was purpose-built to serve athletes, officials, event organizers, and families with a seamless tournament experience. Featuring six full-sized soccer fields, including a 2,000-seat championship field; two arenas with more than 120,000 square feet of playable indoor space and bleacher seating; and flexible event buildings, the venue supports year-round, high-volume events across multiple sports. Designed with direct input from organizers and athletes, Western Sports Park features thoughtful details such as dedicated officials’ facilities, sensory rooms, a convenient on-site concession store, training spaces, and an intuitive campus layout that ensures events run smoothly from start to finish.
Located 20 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport and directly adjacent to Station Park’s hotels, dining, and entertainment, the campus makes it easy for teams and families to play beyond game day. Built with tourism-generated revenue to strengthen the local economy and support off-season travel, WSP has positioned Davis County as a top, family-friendly sports destination. The goal was simple: build it for the future and create a place people want to return to year after year.
3. Erie Sports Center
Erie, Pa.
The Erie Sports Center has established itself as one of the largest and most comprehensive multi-sport facilities in the region, offering year-round competition and training opportunities across a wide range of sports. Situated on 60 acres just off Interstate 90, the complex includes 10 rectangular fields for soccer, lacrosse, and football, along with four diamonds for baseball and softball. All outdoor fields are maintained for summer competition, providing a high-level experience for athletes and spectators.
The facility’s indoor dome is the largest multisport turf venue in the region, spanning 61,000 square feet and rising 70 feet high. It features a full-size FIFA-accredited turf field for soccer, lacrosse, and football, along with two additional fields for baseball and softball. The dome allows for weatherproof play throughout the year.
The Erie Sports Center also includes a 30,000-square-foot indoor arena with four wood courts, on-site concessions, and a licensed venue. With on-campus housing for up to 500 athletes, classrooms, meeting space, a commercial kitchen, and dining hall, the complex is well-suited for tournaments, camps, and large-scale events.
