The number of indoor sports and events facilities is growing at a rapid rate in the United States, with indoor pickleball courts, soccer complexes, and climbing walls seeing a frenzy of activity.
The indoor sports facilities management industry is expected to be a $1.5 billion market in 2025, according to a report by IBISWorld, an international leader in industry market research, reports, and statistics, founded in 1971.
Murfreesboro, Tenn., is becoming a premier destination for sports tourism, with athletics playing a vital role in the local economy, according to Polly Huffman, marketing coordinator for Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. “While we don’t have large-scale indoor sports venues, we collaborate with event organizers to accommodate training and competitions within our available facilities,” Huffman says.
Climb Murfreesboro, an indoor climbing facility, recently hosted USA Climbing’s North American Cup Series (NACS) on April 12-13. While the gym has hosted several competitions, including USA Climbing qualifying events, this is the first time it has hosted the NACS.
“It is a little outside the realm of what we usually host. This tops out as far as elite athletes,” says Rachel Turl, general manager of Climb Murfreesboro.
The NACS includes six events held across the United States and Canada, open to athletes from both countries. It is also one of the pathway events to the Olympics.
Approximately 70 competitors were expected in the U17 and Adult divisions for the NACS event in Murfreesboro in April.
“It is very exciting. We were the second stop for the series,” Turl says. “We were one of two stops in the eastern United States, giving people in this part of the country an opportunity to compete.”
More often, the gym hosts youth qualifiers, divisionals, and regional competitions, including the USA Climbing Youth Regional Competition in May.
Most events tend to be qualifiers with 70-100 competitors, although Climb Murfreesboro hosted the youth nationals in 2019. “That’s what we usually do—the youth circuit,” Turl says.
Climb Murfreesboro makes an attractive venue for competitions due to its size and flexibility. “We have roughly 33,000 total square feet and a lot of different areas for climbing in different disciplines,” Turl says.
The front part of the facility has a large kids-oriented “fun zone,” with shorter routes geared toward families and beginners. A tall wall section offers lead and top-rope climbing, and there is a large, 360-degree bouldering area.
“There is quite a bit of every climbing discipline. It’s the best of both worlds,” Turl says. “We have a sprawling floor plan, which is great for competition.”
Competition was one of the factors taken into consideration when Climb Murfreesboro opened in 2018. “We wanted to make sure it was competition-hosting ready,” Turl says.
Also in Murfreesboro, the Tennessee Miller Coliseum at Middle Tennessee State University hosts several equine events, including the Tri Star Horse Show in May and the Southland Circuit and The American Roan Horse World Championship Show in June.
“We had approximately 300 head of horses and 1,200 entries for that,” says Patrick Kayser of Peak Equine, which produces several horse shows at the coliseum. Horse shows are not so much about spectators, but more about the competitors—the horses. “It is more about stalls and warm-up areas than seats in the stands,” Kayser says.
The Southern Equine Expo, held each February, draws approximately 6,500 spectators over the three-day event. The goal is to provide a valuable experience for a broad spectrum of horse enthusiasts from across the Southeast, with more than 100 clinics/demonstrations and lectures, and more than
90 vendors.
The coliseum was the site of the National Archery in the Schools 17th State Championship in March, which brought together more than 1,900 students representing 97 schools.
Murfreesboro also boasts the Adams Tennis Complex; the Siegel Soccer Indoor Training Facility, used primarily for training; the Smyrna Bowling Center, home to multiple bowling clubs and school teams; and Boro Pickleball, an indoor pickleball facility.
Macon, Ga.: ‘The Masters of Pickleball’
With 26 dedicated outdoor pickleball courts at Tattnall Square Park and an additional 61 outdoor pickleball courts across five other locations, Macon, Ga., lacked adequate indoor facilities, according to Marisa Rodgers, director of marketing for Visit Macon. “While already having the most courts available within the state of Georgia, Macon and Bibb County determined the demand was there to invest in a facility that does not have the limitations of inclement weather or the summer heat of Georgia, and could pull in national events and visitation to our ‘pickleball hub of the Southeast,’” Rodgers says.
Rhythm & Rally Sports & Events—billed as “the world’s largest indoor pickleball facility”— opened in Macon in January 2024. As Rodgers explains, the facility was renovated from a department store in a dying mall, converting a two-story building into 32 climate-controlled courts, lockers, showers, a pro-shop, and multiuse event space. “This endeavor was largely in part to the local and regional clubs already using the outdoor courts in Macon as a hub for tournament play, such as Macon Pickleball Association and Southern Pickleball,” she says.
In its first year, events at Rhythm & Rally generated an estimated $3 million economic impact. The largest event of the year, the USA Pickleball Atlantic South Regional, brought in slightly more than $750,000 in economic
impact. Another event, The Southern Pickleball Championships in early 2025, generated almost $900,000 in economic impact.
“The strongest position the facility in Macon provides is the controlled environment of the space for planning large-scale events and travel around the uncertainty of spring weather,” Rodgers says. “Macon has positioned itself as a go-to market throughout the year.” As such, Macon hopes to become “The Masters of pickleball.”
“Trademarked as the ‘Center of the Pickleverse,’ we hope to recruit national and international tournaments that do for pickleball what The Masters has done for golf,” Rodgers says.
Creative arts and hobbies in Paducah, Ky.
Indoor facilities not only provide venues for sports but also for hobbies.
Paducah, Ky., is a small town on the Ohio River with the amenities of a much larger city. “That is largely due to the creativity and dedication of our citizens,” says Liz Hammonds, director of marketing and communications for Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).
Paducah was designated a UNESCO Creative City in 2013, “thanks to our dedication to preserving our cultural heritage through quiltmaking, folk art, and historic preservation,” Hammond says. “There are many ways to experience artistry in Paducah, from locally owned galleries and shops on brick-lined streets to world-class Broadway performances at The Carson Center for the Performing Arts.”
The annual American Quilter’s Society (AQS) QuiltWeek, held each April at Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center, brings together quilting enthusiasts to experience world-class exhibits and workshops, as well as Paducah’s art scene. Each year, hundreds of contest quilts are displayed at the event, which also includes classes, lectures, and a Merchant Mall of vendors.
An estimated 33,000 visitors from across the country and other parts of the world attended QuiltWeek in 2024, according to event organizer Betsey Langford. This year marked the 39th show since the event started in 1985 with 5,000 people in attendance. Cash prizes are given each year for award-winning quilts.
“The biggest attraction of the show is the quilts,” says Langford. “This year we had more than 800 quilts—an overwhelming response to our 2025 AQS Call for Quilts, 2025 AQS Creativity Challenge, and a generous offering of special exhibits.”
Raleigh, N.C.’s expertise in esports
Esports is a fast-growing segment of the indoor event market. Raleigh, N.C., is emerging as a premier esports destination and international hub, hosting three major tournaments this year in partnership with Greater Raleigh Esports Local Organizing Committee (GRELOC).
“Hosting these major esports events allows us to continue showcasing Raleigh on a global stage to an audience of more than three billion gamers while strengthening our community’s connection to the largest segment of the entertainment industry,” says Loren Gold, executive vice president of Visit Raleigh and co-chair of GRELOC.
The region has more than a dozen developers and publishers, along with nationally recognized video game design programs at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and Wake Technical Community College. Greater Raleigh is also home to numerous video game and esports companies, including Epic Games, Lenova, and Red Hat.
“Raleigh has the vast technology expertise and local specialty vendors to make an esports event run smoothly,” Gold says. “Tournament organizers are not only going to look at square footage and variety of rooms when considering a venue to host a major esports event but also are going to seek assurance about bandwidth capacity and redundancy of networks.” The online audience, which could be millions worldwide, will lose interest quickly if streaming coverage is inconsistent or lagging, making it an essential element to any venue hosting esports, Gold says.
The first international esports event Raleigh hosted was the 2019 Six Major Raleigh
at Raleigh Convention Center. The event featured 16 of the best Rainbow Six teams from around the world competing for a prize pool of $500,000.
This year’s esports events in Raleigh include the ESL One Raleigh tourney held at the convention center in April, when the best Dota 2 players in the world competed for $1 million.
The Riot Games’ 2025 College League of Legends Championship and the College VALORANT Championship took place May 31-June 1 at NCSU’s Gaming and Esports Lab on Centennial Campus. The four-day BLAST Rocket League Championship Series Raleigh Major will take place at Lenovo Center on June 26-29, with 16 teams competing for a combined prize pool of $350,000. BLAST also produced the Fortnite Championship Series Invitational for Epic Games in Raleigh in November 2022. The esports industry and GRELOC receives support from a diverse group of local civic, sports, and business leaders.
“GRELOC has grown and stimulated the local economy and serves Greater Raleigh by helping it actively participate in the fastest-growing segment of the entertainment industry,” Gold says. “The state also activated an esports production grant for qualifying events that allows any game publisher or producer to submit their event expenses and receive a post-production grant back for up to 25 percent of the event’s total costs. This has been a game-changer for our city.”
