TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The soccer goals stand tall in lines across the Kino South Fields on Thursday afternoon. It's calm but by Friday evening, thousands of people will come to the fields for the 35th Annual Fort Lowell Shootout.This year, over 400 youth soccer teams from across the country will come play in the tournament, bringing in about 30,000 people to the Kino South Fields this weekend, according to Mathew Flores, the communications director and one of the coaches for RSL-AZ Southern Arizona.
“There’s games on every single field across the complex,” he said. “We have teams from Colorado, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, across Arizona and Northern Mexico.”
Flores played in the first Fort Lowell Shootout and he has seen the tournament grow over the last three decades.
“It’s honestly one of the best nights of the year as a player and now on the other side as a coach,” he said. “Maybe 150 teams for that first year and then we’ve grown to over 400."
But the tournament doesn't just impact the players, but it brings investment into the local economy.
“It’s about four million dollars of economic impact that comes through the local economy through hotels and restaurants,” he said.
The tournament kicks off at 6 p.m. on Friday evening with the opening ceremony, Parade of Teams and the Bob Foley Soccer Olympics. Flores encourages people to come an hour early to find parking and a spot at the games. Saturday and Sunday will be packed with soccer games.
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
