Visitor Invasion At Capital
The city is hosting events including a technology competition, an ice show, a volleball tournament and a major soccer festival. All that activity means big business, as Jefferson City's hotels and downtown streets are expected to fill with people.
All four of the weekend's events are youth related, but officials expect entire families to attend.
The Capitol Soccer fest is by far the largest of this weekend's events. Tournament organizers estimate the event will draw more than 3,000 people from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma.
"Every time you bring more people into our community, they're spending more money on food, more money on transportation, shopping and other activities," said Steve Picker of the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau. "So, sporting events are really a great match for our city."
Picker said that the events will have a big economic impact.
"You know, I don't have an estimate for this specific tournament, but normally we estimate that for each room that's taken up for a sporting event, it brings in about $126 of revenue to our community."
Don't even think about trying to grab a last minute hotel room.
"We've got about 1,100 [rooms], and our city is filled," he said. "We have been sending over the last week, sending people to other communities outside of Jefferson City, and those hotels are filling up as well."
This is the second big soccer tournament the city has hosted this month.
With 70 teams competing, tournament organizers knew there was only one place that could handle an event of this size. The Highway 63 Sports Complex can handle up to 30 games at any given time, making it the largest soccer complex in the state.