TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The 36th annual Fort Lowell Shootout kicked off on Friday, Jan. 16.<\/p>\n
Tucson\u2019s premier soccer tournament brought in around 412 teams who made their way to Tucson from across the country, including the southwestern United States and Mexico.<\/p>\n
For people like Brian Lambert, the emcee of the opening ceremony, the energy the youth bring represents something special.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is home to everyone, and when you come here, you start as friends, but you leave as family, and we really want to send that message that it\u2019s one big soccer family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The international presence with the teams from Mexico is something officials with the Kino Sports Complex say they take pride in integrating throughout the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great for our market. We\u2019re very close to the border, and we love hosting all of these international communities that come into this for any of our events. We love hosting everyone here,\u201d said Jeff Gomez, the deputy director of the Kino Sports Complex. <\/p>\n
A valuable experience, especially for teams with close proximity to the border, like those who reside in Tucson.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gets experience for the little ones, experience for the older ones. You get to see more than just your town. You get to experience outside (of it), international,\u201d said Jesus Lopez, who has two kids on Club Tijuana.<\/p>\n
But Flores admits the road for these international teams doesn\u2019t come without its challenges in getting to the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are (challenges) just in terms of folks getting back and forth, there\u2019s not a lot we can do, right?\u201d Flores said.<\/p>\n
However, despite the increased attention at the border this year, Flores said they worked with all organizations to make sure everyone had the chance to get to Kino.<\/p>\n
\u201cKudos to those teams and those organizations, because really that lies on them to figure out, okay, let\u2019s make sure that we don\u2019t have problems. I personally have not heard of anything extra special this year that\u2019s been more difficult,\u201d Flores said. <\/p>\n
As kids continue to get to experience teams from all over North America in this one-of-a-kind weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels nice to like see a lot of people here, and our competition,\u201d RSL Arizona Player Kennedy Sanchez said.<\/p>\n
The energy the kids bring is something organizers say makes it all worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a melting pot, it\u2019s positive, it\u2019s so exciting. It\u2019s a little bit chaotic, but it\u2019s so much fun, and it\u2019s not like anything else you\u2019re going to see at pretty much any soccer tournament anywhere,\u201d Flores said. <\/p>\n
The shootout is expected to bring in over $4 million in economic impact this year, not including donations the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona is collecting throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n