Sports Tourism
On his last day on the job, the longtime leader joined me on Rick’s Blog Live to talk legacy, partnerships and the future of sports in Escambia County.
The short version: Palmer helped take the organization from a golf-centered association to a regional force in sports tourism by building on his predecessor’s foundation. He says his proudest achievement is changing local attitudes about what sports can do for Pensacola, and the strong relationships he built with the county’s tourism partners.
From golf club to sports engine. When I moved here in the 1980s, the Pensacola Sports Association was largely a golf organization. Shirley Cronley changed that as executive director. She launched the Double Bridge Run and pushed into soccer, water skiing and other events. Palmer then took it further, reconnecting with high school sports and landing major events.
The results are visible today:
- An SEC women’s soccer championship played here, with teams asking to come back for exhibition games because they love the field
- A long-running relationship with the Sun Belt Conference, which started a basketball tournament here during COVID and is staying
- Upgrades to county-owned fields, driven in part by the incentive the SEC gave the Board of County Commissioners
“The tourism industry is the only one that continues to show growth.”
Why sports tourism keeps winning. Palmer said nearly every community in the country is trying to tap into the market. It was the first sector to show signs of recovery after COVID, because people were willing to play outside when they would not fill a convention center.
- Big fields, strong demand. Palmer pointed to the John R. Jones project, which will put 22 new turf fields on an existing site. He said organizers are already asking whether they can book the complex for three weeks next July.
The relationships. Asked about his proudest moment, Palmer did not name a single event. He said the thing he values most is working relationships with Visit Pensacola, the Tourist Development Council and the Board of County Commissioners. He said agencies in other communities fight over dollars, and Pensacola used to do the same until the commissioners pushed everyone to focus.
- Landing the Sun Belt basketball tournament took all of them: the conference, the Bay Center, the county, the city and Pensacola Sports. Palmer had chased the conference for years, making repeated trips to New Orleans.
“I’m stepping aside, but I’m not going away.”
