Soccer fields across the old pueblo will be busy this weekend with Tucson's largest youth soccer tournament.
More than 5,000 soccer players are set to participate in the 27th annual Tucson Association of Realtors Shootout.
This year the tournament will bring some changes. The tournament's headquarters have been moved from Fort Lowell Park to Kino Sports Complex. The organization id trying to prevent traffic congestion in the area, make parking more available for those who attend and of course have more fields for the games scheduled. "This is a great opportunity for kids to come and play on pristine fields and kind of get an environment of more of a pro-athlete type of feel," tournament director Maya Hendrickson said.
This year, the tournament is featuring 334 teams, more than half are coming from out of town. Including teams coming from Mexico and Texas. More than 575 games will be played in just two days. Those will be played at five parks all across town (Kino north and south, Golf Links Sports Complex, Townsend Middle School and Udall Park).
The shootout is expected to bring in $4 million to the local economy, with most of that money coming from hotel rooms.
The tournament inauguration is friday at 6 p.m. at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium. The tournament's first game kicks off saturday morning at 7:45.
