It should surprise no one to learn that San Diego’s annual Comic-Con fills the most hotel rooms every year. But do you know what events fill the second most rooms? Here’s a hint: It has to do with sports.

No, it’s not Chargers football or Padres baseball. It is youth soccer tournaments and other sporting events run by Surf Cup Sports. They bring tens of thousands of young athletes, their families, referees, college recruiters and more to this region every year.

The San Diego City Council has a chance to support this economic boost and positive youth achievement. Next week, the council will vote on a lease extension to allow Surf Cup Sports to continue to manage and use the San Diego Polo Fields, tucked away east of the intersection of Via de la Valle and Interstate 5, next to Del Mar. Surf Cup began to manage the fields in 2012 and has since invested more than $2 million in maintenance and renovation. We recommend the council sign on the dotted line without hesitation.

Local business and tourism owners and operators love to see so many visitors eating in San Diego’s restaurants, shopping in our stores and experiencing everything wonderful that residents get to enjoy every day — throughout the year, in season or out.


A study by the San Diego State University Center for Hospitality and Tourism Research estimated that 35,000 people attended just three of Surf Cup’s events in 2014, with 80 percent coming from out of town. They spent 23,000 nights in hotels and generated $14 million in economic activity. Again, that was just three events.

The next big event is the soccerlocco 2016 Surf Cup, which will take place at the end of July. Workers are busy transforming the Polo Fields and additional fields in Oceanside into more than 50 soccer fields for this youth tournament. More than 800 teams and 20,000 athletes aged 8 to 17 from throughout the nation, will participate.

Competitive youth sporting events empower young people and teach them many valuable lessons. Girls and boys learn to be humble in victory, gracious in defeat and proud to be part of a team. They see themselves in a new capacity — as confident leaders and athletes. That, in turn, helps develop self-esteem that will serve them well throughout life.

These young athletes also get a chance to showcase their skills in front of college coaches. More than 2,000 coaches attend Surf Cup Sports events throughout the year, ready to award scholarships worth millions.


San Diego is a soccer city. Thousands of people play in parks and yards, recreational leagues and our semi pro-teams such as the Albion SC Pros and the North County Battalion. When soccer is on television, San Diego watches. This market ranks near the top for soccer viewership in the United States.

All of that has caught the eyes of Major League Soccer, which is eyeing San Diego for a possible expansion team. Surf Cup Sports is an important part of that local soccer ecosystem. It’s also a homegrown success story.

It started in 1980 as an all-star club for top San Diego youth soccer players. Over time, it grew into a national powerhouse in the youth soccer community, combining a successful club with world-class event management.

Today soccer remains a top draw, but Surf Cup Sports also hosts lacrosse tournaments, the National Gay Flag Football League Championship and the current season of San Diego Polo.


Surf Cup Sports is a generous corporate citizen as well, contributing more than $4 million to local nonprofit community organizations since 1994. It sponsors and subsidizes hundreds of youth teams, many of them for boys and girls who could not otherwise afford to participate in top-level competition where college recruiters see them and fulfill their dream of scholarship.

That sort of success deserves San Diego’s support. Our City Council should continue its successful partnership with an organization that is doing so much good for our region’s youth and for our local tourism economy. Future generations of young local athletes will benefit by awarding the Polo Fields lease to Surf Cup Sports.

× Comic-Con 2016: Day One

Terzi is the president & CEO at the San Diego Tourism Authority. McDowell is executive director of the San Diego Sports Alliance, successor to the San Diego Sports Commission.