Host Your Sports Event in Wilmington, N.C.

From Olympic-caliber softball and pro-am volleyball tournaments to IRONMAN North Carolina and tennis tournaments, Wilmington and Island Beaches has hosted many diverse events filled with good times and record-breaking participation. Our welcoming year-round weather, breathtaking beaches and bustling riverfront are fan favorites.

Top reasons to host your sports event in Wilmington

1. Many groups max out their registration
2. Multiple indoor and outdoor athletic facilities include the Wilmington Convention Center, Wilmington Ice House, Wilmington Basketball Center and Althea Gibson Tennis Center
3. Unlimited pre- and post-vacation opportunities in a setting that combines the city’s historic charm, riverfront shops, cafes and entertainment with three island beaches
4. One of the top destinations in the country for a “Weekend Runcation” (Runner’s World), among the “Best Places to Live for Triathletes” (Triathlete Magazine), NC’s most naturally gifted watersports hub (Men’s Journal) and one of the top “Stateside SUP Hubs” (Outside Magazine)
5. Home to unique sports events like the Carolina Cup paddle races, Carolina Sand Blast Soccer Tournament and USA Wrestling Beach Nationals, plus IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina
6. Voted as one of “The South’s Best Cities” by readers of Southern Living magazine and one of TripAdvisor’s “Top Destinations on the Rise”

Ranging from multiple indoor and outdoor athletic facilities like Miracle Field at Olsen Park (which is accessible for wheelchair athletes), to the largest convention center on the North Carolina coast, there are plenty of options for hosting sporting events in Wilmington. The area’s top sports facilities include:

1. Cape Fear Regional Soccer Complex – Complex with seven soccer fields
2. Althea Gibson Tennis Complex at Empie Park – 24 tennis courts with lights and a 1,500-square-foot clubhouse with a lounge, meeting room and snack counter; recently added 61 new parking spaces, landscaping, sidewalks that connect to the newly completed Gary Shell Cross-City Trail and connectivity between Wrightsville Avenue and Park Avenue via a second access from Caswell Street, making this the largest tennis facility east of I-95 in North Carolina
3. Legion Sports Complex – Includes Jurgenson-Gabriel Field, Legion Back Field, Buck Hardee (Baseball) Field, Robert Shipp Pool, and four lighted tennis courts; seats about 6,000 including 40 handicapped seating; approximately four acres paved parking and full equipped concessions available in the grandstand
4. Olsen Park – Five softball/baseball fields with lights, restrooms, concession stands and a picnic shelter
5. Ogden Park – Three lighted baseball fields, one youth football stadium with lights, one lighted softball field, three soccer/football fields with lights, nine lighted tennis courts, 10,000-square-foot concrete skatepark, shelters, a paved trail around the pond and an off-road trail through the woods
6. Hugh MacRae Park – Three soccer fields, three softball fields, four baseball fields, four tennis courts, an equestrian center, several playgrounds and restrooms, and six shelters
7. Wilmington Ice House – 30,000-square-foot NHL regulation size rink