Posted July 06, 2022 in Press Releases
Marquee event for Stonewall Sports to provide over 1.2 million in economic impact
CLEVELAND – Stonewall Sports 8th Annual National Tournament & Summit presented by KeyBank will welcome nearly 1,700 athletes to Cleveland on July 8-10. Attendees will participate in a diversity summit focused on the intersection of sports and advocacy along with seven sports competitions including kickball, dodgeball, sand volleyball, tennis, bowling, billiards and bocce as well as nightly socials.
This event will provide over 1.2 million in economic impact to Northeast Ohio.
“Each year the Stonewall Sports national board selects one of its chapters to host the tournament and summit,” said Andy Palermo, President of Stonewall Sports, Inc. “The Cleveland team showed great capacity to host the tournament in terms of facilities, support from city leaders, fundraising and diversity of participants. The national board is excited to welcome our largest tournament to date, and we’re incredibly grateful for the hard work of the tournament planning committee.”
Founded in 2010, Stonewall Sports is an LGBTQIA+ and Ally community-based, non-profit sports organization that strives to raise funds for local non-profit organizations. With leagues in 23 cities, the organization values each player for who they are and what they bring to the league’s community.
Operating from the belief that every person should have the ability to feel comfortable being oneself in organized sports, Stonewall believes organized communities have the ability and responsibly to support others in need.
Each summer, Stonewall hosts a tournament that goes beyond the field of sport to promote positive change. Athletes join for a weekend of sport competition, social events and conversation around key issues facing the community. Previous event attendance for this annual tournament and summit is around 1,200.
The 8th Annual Tournament will take place across eight different venues, including Cleveland State University, Mall C, Gordon Park, The Corner Alley, Cocktails Cleveland and Mulberry’s Cleveland, with the Summit occurring at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Agora, Hingetown Neighborhood of Ohio City and Twist Social Club will host the nightly socials.
“We have received overwhelming interest and support from our local partners and venues, who are just as excited as we are to welcome nearly 1,700 participants for the 2022 National Tournament and Summit,” said Monica Gustin, Director of Business Operations for Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and National Tournament Chair for Stonewall Sports. “Our hope is the event will have a long-lasting impact on not only the LGBTQ+ and Cleveland communities but continue to build upon the momentum Stonewall Sports has seen in the past few years.”
To celebrate this event being held in Cleveland, Terminal Tower, managed by K&D Group, will be activated on Saturday night of the event. The historic tower will be illuminated with rainbow colors to show support of the LGBQTIA+ and Ally event.
Stonewall Sports National Tournament and Summit is a 30-person volunteer run event supported by Cleveland and other Stonewall chapter cities.
In 2018, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission was approached by local Cleveland Stonewall representatives to assist in bidding on the 2020 National Tournament. The group was awarded the event for 2020, but pending the event landscape due to the pandemic, the event was rescheduled for 2022.
The general public can still get involved as a Friend of Stonewall. More information about involvement and the tournament is available at StonewallProud.org.
To learn more about Greater Cleveland Sports Commission or to keep up-to-date on new developments and activities follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
###
About Greater Cleveland Sports Commission: Since 2000, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission (GCSC) is responsible for attracting over 210 sporting events which provide more than $830 million in economic activity to Northeast Ohio. GCSC serves to measurably improve the economy of Greater Cleveland and enrich the community by attracting, creating, managing and enhancing significant sporting and competitive events.
For more information, visit clevelandsports.org.