The Oregon Soccer Club generates more than $1.5 million in annual spending in the Oregon economy, according to a report by the Fiscal and Economic Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The economic study estimates that the club’s Oregon Soccer Fall Fury tournament and its weekends of regular league play throughout the fall and spring result in $971,342 in direct spending at hotels, convenience stores, restaurants and other businesses. The estimated total of spending rises to $1.59 million when factoring in indirect and direct spending by the businesses and employees, the report states.
Oregon Soccer Club Board President Eric Anderson said the club is thrilled with the report’s findings on soccer’s financial impact.
“We always thought we were having a financial impact on the local economy, but we never knew to what extent,” Anderson said. “We were excited to engage with the FERC to find out. We’ve long been proud of what we do helping kids play soccer — staying physically active and learning life skills that extend well beyond the fields — but this report makes us feel even better, knowing that we’re also helping businesses in our community.”
The study was done by FERC members through surveys at soccer fields in the Oregon area in fall 2021: Oct. 2-3 during the Oregon Soccer Fall Fury tournament and Oct. 9-10 during a regular weekend of Madison Area Youth Soccer Association and Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association league games.
Grayden Gruchow was one of the UW-Whitewater student researchers who helped compile data for the study.
“We weren’t aware he would be involved when we started working with the FERC, but when we found out, we thought it was great to have an Oregon native working on the study,” Anderson said.
Among the findings from the economic report:
81% of respondents were not from the Village of Oregon
45% of respondents listed Oregon as their favorite venue for a soccer tournament
The Oregon Soccer Fall Fury weekend alone generated nearly $250,000 in direct spending in the local economy
This year’s 32nd annual Oregon Soccer Fall Fury Tournament is scheduled for Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. The locations for the tournament are still being determined. A construction project at Jaycee Park in Oregon is forcing the relocation of the tournament this year. The annual event attracted 124 teams from Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota last year.
Anderson said the club has had discussions with another community about being the base of the Fall Fury Tournament this year.
“At this point, we anticipate that many Fall Fury matches will continue to be played in Oregon and Brooklyn,” he said.
In the past seven Fall Fury Tournaments besides no event in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament has averaged 125 teams a year, Anderson said.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to have a field of around that size once again — we’re looking at all of our options to help make that possible,” Anderson said.