Contrary to popular belief, a new article in the NYTimes highlights a trend among youth sporting events--girls events tend to draw more crowds and bring in more revenue than boys events.

The article is comparing traveling teams and tournament sporting events, where a number of groups noted that girl's event were more likely to draw parents (and therefore revenue) then boys sports.

As the popularity of youth tournaments has intensified over the past decade, a peculiar trend has emerged: girls' sporting events tend to attract more relatives and generate more revenue for tourism than similar events for boys. And that is drawing increased attention from economic development officials.

...

Although Schumacher said he and others did not keep statistics on the economic impact of girls' sporting events, many of his 500 members nationwide have reported anecdotally that such events are often more lucrative than those for boys. He and others mentioned several possible reasons, including a tendency among parents to be more protective of daughters; a heightened interest in girls' sports; and the increased attendance of mothers at games.

I hope this will inspire more investment in girls sports.

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