Two national soccer tournaments to draw thousands to Westfield

Grand Park is entering the busiest weekends of the summer. Two U.S. Club Soccer tournaments are expected to bring 270 teams and 5,000 players to Westfield during the next two weeks.

It’s the first time the 400-acre sports campus has hosted the events. The National Premier League Finals started Thursday and runs through Monday.

The tournament includes more than 3,000 players from 150 teams representing 28 states. Following that, the National Cup XIV Finals will be July 17-20. It’s expected to have more than 2,000 players from 120 teams representing 20 states.

That means about 9,100 spectators are expected to visit Grand Park during the next two weeks. Plus, 150 baseball teams will be at the park for several tournaments running now through Sunday.

Hamilton County Sports Authority is estimating the two soccer tournaments will result in $4.4 million in direct spending from visitors. More than 10,000 hotel rooms have been booked.

Currently, Westfield only has one hotel, a Holiday Inn Express with about 75 rooms. Every July weekend is booked, according to the hotel's website. Rooms throughout other Hamilton County hotels were still available for this weekend, according to an online search.

According to a report compiled by Phoenix-based Applied Economics, Grand Park had more than 900,000 visitors during its first year, which resulted in a nearly $70 million economic impact. This year, the park is expected to attract 1.26 million visitors and have an economic impact of $100 million.

Grand Park has 31 outdoor soccer fields, and a $25 million indoor soccer complex with three fields is under construction. It’s scheduled to open in June 2016.