BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Tourism leaders in Bryan and College Station say this summer\u2019s estimated $69 million economic impact came down to a combination of factors \u2014 top-tier venues, a strong partnership with Texas A&M, and a state grant program that helped bring some of the biggest events to town.<\/p>\n
At Monday\u2019s Intergovernmental Committee meeting, officials with Visit College Station and Destination Bryan detailed how those pieces worked together, as part of a broader summer that included 26 tourism events, more than 42,000 hotel room nights and nearly 365,000 visitors.<\/p>\n
Venues and a Texas A&M partnership come first<\/p>\n
Jeremiah Cook, Assistant Director of Tourism for the City of College Station, said the region\u2019s ability to land major events starts with its facilities \u2014 and Texas A&M\u2019s willingness to open them up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really huge, and can\u2019t overstate Texas A&M\u2019s role in this \u2014 that they helped bring those events here. It is their facilities that they were opening up for them. They initiated a lot of those conversations,\u201d Cook said. \u201cA city our size does not have that caliber of venues, if anything else other than Texas A&M… That caliber of venues and the ability to be able to get here and the offering that we have here is what drives those kinds of events to College Station.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Bryan, John Friebele, Executive Director of Destination Bryan, said the same holds true for events choosing the Legends Event Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese Adidas sponsored or Puma sponsored events, they have the choice to go anywhere in the country, and they\u2019re choosing to come to Bryan College Station because the experience that our facility and our community provides \u2014 it makes it easy to want to be here,\u201d Friebele said.<\/p>\n
Where the Texas Event Trust Fund fits in<\/p>\n
Alongside those venues and partnerships, officials point to the Texas Event Trust Fund as one additional tool helping close the deal on some events. The state grant program reimburses cities for costs tied to hosting qualifying events, funded through incremental tax revenue the state expects to collect because of the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great tool for us to be able to utilize,\u201d Friebele said.<\/p>\n
To qualify, an event must be selected by what\u2019s called a site selection organization, competing against bids from other communities around the country, and generally show a pattern of rotating between regions outside Texas.<\/p>\n
Five events in Bryan and College Station qualified for Texas Event Trust Fund reimbursement in 2026, bringing in a combined $1,000,372 in state dollars:<\/p>\n
NXTPro \/ PUMA National Championships (July 16-19, Legends Event Center, Bryan) \u2014 $363,907Adidas 3SSB \u2013 Boys (July 8-12, Legends Event Center, Bryan) \u2014 $214,784Athletes Unlimited Softball League Championship (July 23-26, Davis Diamond, Texas A&M) \u2014 $145,862USATF Lone Star Grand Prix (June 6, E.B. Cushing Memorial Stadium, Texas A&M) \u2014 $139,039Adidas 3SSB \u2013 Girls LIVE (April 17-19, Legends Event Center, Bryan) \u2014 $136,780<\/p>\n
Combined, the five events drew nearly 19,800 attendees.<\/p>\n
Why it matters locally<\/p>\n
Officials said the timing matters as much as the tools. Cook said tourism dollars help fill a gap left when Texas A&M\u2019s roughly 70,000 students leave town for the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main thing about tourism is that it keeps people at work here in our community. And so, we love visitors coming in and spending money and enjoying it,\u201d Cook said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, it\u2019s our neighbors that get to go to work. It\u2019s our neighbors that get to keep that job at a hotel or in one of our restaurants or retail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cook and Friebele said revenue this summer didn\u2019t quite match 2024 \u2014 a year boosted by a George Strait concert and a record-setting Brazil-Mexico soccer match, the largest MexTour crowd in Texas history. But Cook said visitation numbers told a different story this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that hotels did not get to that 2024 number, but we did see some visitation numbers that could have eclipsed that,\u201d Cook said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about hotels. It\u2019s about the people that are coming in for a day trip. They\u2019re still spending money in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next<\/p>\n
Friebele said Bryan alone is already preparing six potential Texas Event Trust Fund applications for 2027, with College Station expected to pursue similar opportunities.<\/p>\n
He also mentioned that Adidas is looking to bring two new events to town in 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really does cross city lines, and what\u2019s good for one ends up being good for the other,\u201d Friebele said.<\/p>\n
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