Cincinnati Eyes Reemergence into Sports Tourism

Like a Joe Burrow two-minute drill in the fourth quarter, a last-second equalizer from FC Cincinnati or a game-tying Elly De la Cruz homer in the bottom of the ninth, Cincinnati is staging a comeback.

Cincy, as the natives affectionately call it, is scrappy. It’s old school. It’s a throwback.

The problem is in the past decade it’s become too much of a throwback. But now, with the creation of the Cincinnati Regional Sports Commission, a beautifully renovated tennis facility and an upcoming refurbished convention center, the city is on its way to a major comeback.

“We know how powerful sports can be for a city. They bring visitors, create energy and showcase our community to the world,” said Julie Calvert, CEO of Visit Cincy. “The sports commission gives us the focus and the tools to go after more events and make the most of them. It is about building momentum now and setting ourselves up for even bigger wins in the future.”

To share its vision of the large comeback, Visit Cincy hosted journalists from around the country to see firsthand what’s going on in the city, and SportsTravel was on the scene.

Sports Leading the Way Back

Three years ago, Visit Cincy began plotting how it could monetize its sports facilities better and catch up to other destinations when it came to sports tourism.

Ben Huffman was watching intently from the suburbs of Cincinnati. When Cincy Sports became a reality this year and the organization began the search for the person to run the new entity, Huffman — who spent 19 years with the nearby Warren County CVB — knew it was something he wanted.

“Over 10 years ago, I reached out to a variety of people and voiced my interest in a position like this,” Huffman said. “I knew if this was done correctly and funded correctly, it would be a dream job for me.”

Huffman began that dream job of executive director in late June when Cincy Sports officially came online.

“I think what really excited me through the process is the Visit Cincy Board having the understanding of what sports tourism is — from the high-profile NFL Draft-level events to the youth sports tournaments that drive hotel rooms and impact as well,” Huffman said.

“They’ve given me a lot of support, but also leeway because I’ve been in the field for 20 years and know the industry and I know what can be successful here. So we’re building what we believe will be a really strong sports commission.”

Geographically, Cincinnati is located in a competitive area when it comes to attracting major sports tournaments and events. Indianapolis and Columbus are northwest and northeast, respectively, and Louisville and Lexington aren’t too far south.

Huffman admits the city hasn’t recruited sporting events to the level that it should over the past 20 years. Now, Cincy needs to let people know they’re open for business.

“Because we haven’t been a visited destination for a lot of these events, I think it can be a huge positive. A lot of these events want to go to new and exciting locations, and many events haven’t been here for a long time,” Huffman said. “We’re also a wonderful family destination that hasn’t been the hub for sports tourism, but now we can be. So I look at it as a positive.”

Huffman says the playbook is wide open and the city will look to host every sporting event possible — from the bid it recently put in with the Bengals to host the NFL Draft to the Rugby World Cup in 2031 to youth sports tournaments.

“We’re going to attack those big events. However, the youth sports market is so big and such a great opportunity for us that we’re going to find the venues and the places to host those next,” Huffman said. “We have every division of college sports in Cincinnati — Division I, II and III, as well as junior college. So we can host all of the college conference championships, regional and national championships as well.”

Cincinnati Open Unveils Incredible New Facility

One major sporting event Cincinnati doesn’t have to chase is the Cincinnati Open, perhaps the most prestigious professional tennis tournament in the world outside of the four Grand Slams.

The 2025 edition is ongoing in Mason, Ohio — 30 minutes north of Cincinnati — as the tournament moves from a single-week event to a two-week happening for the first time in its 126-year history.

“This tournament is part of our identity,” Calvert said. “Our community has fully embraced the tournament for years and it is incredible to see the world’s best players competing at the Cincinnati Open. With the major upgrades to the facility, the experience is first class from every angle whether you are on the court, in the stands, or watching from halfway around the world.”

Another thing to know about the people of southern Ohio: They are fighters. When Charlotte made a strong run to poach the Cincinnati Open (previously called the Western and Southern Open) in the summer of 2023, residents battled back.

“Everyone in our county, led by County Commissioner Dave Young, said, ‘We’re not going down without a fight,’” Huffman recalled. “The state, city and county all ponied up money to save the tournament. But at the same time, it was an infrastructure bill that allows this space to do a lot more than it did before.”

Ohio taxpayers approved $130 million for renovations of the Lindner Family Tennis Center, prompting event rights holder Beemok Capital to match that number and keep the event in Mason for another 25 years.

The day after the 2024 Cincinnati Open ended, the $260 million renovation project began. And almost exactly one year later, the venue opened to the public on August 5, 2025, a week after construction was completed.

“We went from 20 to 40 acres in 11 months and the response and the result has been incredible,” said Elizabeth Desrosiers, director of marketing and communications at the Cincinnati Open. “A lot of it was prompted by the ATP and WTA Tours because our player fields doubled from 56 singles players to 96. So we knew that was coming and the expansion of the site was initially in direct response to that growth of the tournament. We needed to create the player amenities and facilities to accommodate that growth.”

One of the main noticeable differences is that the complex traded a lot of asphalt and concrete for grass, plants and trees. Instead of a corporate structure, the grounds now look like a tennis tournament is taking place inside a local park.

“Lots of shade, lots of green space. Just a softer, more welcoming and inviting campus,” Desrosiers said. “While we expanded, we wanted to be very intentional about retaining that intimacy that’s really distinct to the Cincinnati Open.

“We’ve heard from some players that they feel like they’re on vacation, like they’re at a resort. We’ve heard from fans and some of the staff who come in from all around the world that this rivals some of the Grand Slams, maybe even supersedes some of the Grand Slam venues in terms of the experience we’re offering.”

Both Center Court and Grandstand Court received a new façade wrap. Champions Court, a new 2,000-seat sunken stadium, headlines the 10 new courts added to help facilitate the event’s growth to feature 96-player brackets. The new 56,000-square-foot player Clubhouse includes lounge and restaurant space for the tournament’s players and their support teams, wellness and recovery rooms for the players and locker rooms for coaches.

There are also all-new hospitality areas around the facility, with several integrated around Center Court and Grandstand Court, including the 1899 Club, the Garden Club and the Fifth Third Club.

“What makes me really proud is we’ve elevated that experience,” Desrosiers said. “We’ve taken this to a new level, but we’ve still retained that accessibility and that opportunity for anyone and everyone to come experience this, which is really important to us.”

New Convention Center Adds to Cincy Infrastructure

The Visit Cincy staff is honest about the downturn in conventions and large business meetings in the city over the past decade. After conducting research, it became clear the lack of an updated convention center and adjoining quality hotel were the culprits for lack of bookings.

Big changes are on the way. The city is pouring more than $800 million into the downtown area, led by a reimagined Duke Energy Convention Center connected to a new Marriott Headquarters Hotel and new Elm Street Plaza.

Construction on the ASM Global–managed convention center began over a year ago, with the facility being gutted and redone from the floor to the ceiling. It will be ready for a grand opening in January 2026 with the Marriott due to be online in 2028.

“The convention center really is the centerpiece of our reinvention story,” Calvert said. “To compete with the best, we have invested in it and transformed it into a space that feels modern, welcoming and connected to everything happening around it in the district. It is a big win for the city and for the visitors we want to bring here.”

The new convention center and downtown development accents the existing three professional sports structures around the city.

Paycor Stadium, nestled along the Ohio River, is packed for Bengals games during NFL season. A short stroll down Barry Larkin Way leads to Great American Ball Park, home of the Reds. And across the city sits TQL Stadium, home of MLS’ FC Cincinnati, which was named Best Venue of 2022 at the World Football Summit.

All three venues create a rabid homefield advantage for the Cincinnati teams and once the renovated downtown area is finished, the city will look completely different.

In that city, there are some spots that a visitor can’t miss. Ghost Baby is one of the most unique speakeasys in the world, located in an underground lagering tunnel that’s 150 years old. The Mercantile Immersive is a 360-degree, multi-sensory event space with floor-to-ceiling LED panels, 105 speakers, IMAX quality cinematic content and dynamic lighting. It will be open in a few months for events.

And of course, there’s the food. The trip was highlighted by Chef Jose Salazar’s restaurant Mita’s, which has the best empanadas and tres leches cake anywhere. Alcove by MadTree in the Over the Rhine neighborhood was another can’t-miss spot as is the Lytle Park Hotel, which was named the best hotel in Ohio in 2025 by U.S. News & World Report.

Cincinnati may have experienced a period where the city was a down, but it was never out. And now, it’s ready for its grand reintroduction into sports tourism.