Among team sports, basketball has continued to be a leader in participation. Data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s 2025 Participation Report shows 31.9 million U.S. participants ages six and up, which is a one-year jump of 7.5 percent and a whopping 28.2 percent increase since 2019, well ahead of other traditional team sports.
What this means is that as basketball continues to increase in popularity for players of all ages, facilities throughout the country continue to grow and improve.
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
The Champaign-Urbana area offers a great lineup of facilities for basketball events of all kinds. At the collegiate level, the University of Illinois boasts top-tier venues, including the State Farm Center, one of the premier college arenas in the Midwest, seating more than 16,000 fans, with full concessions, modern meeting spaces and excellent amenities.
For larger tournaments or multi-court needs, the Illini’s Activities & Recreation Center (ARC) features 10 basketball courts spread across three gymnasiums, with portable bleacher seating.
Beyond the university, several community centers offer high-quality courts and friendly atmospheres, including one court at the Martens Center and two at both the Leonhard Center and the Urbana Health & Wellness Center. Each offers portable seating and convenient amenities, perfect for youth or recreational tournaments.
The State Farm Center hosts the IHSA State Basketball Championships each March, which brings together 16 high-school teams and draws more than 30,000 spectators. The area also has welcomed the Illinois Middle School Basketball Championships, which brought 184 teams to play across multiple venues, including the ARC, Martens and Leonhard Centers, as well as several local school gyms.
The team at Experience Champaign-Urbana can provide marketing support, grant and donor incentives, promotional materials and help with local dining, lodging and attractions. “Our goal is to make your tournament run smoothly both on and off the court,” says Director of Marketing Cristy Gillespie.
“Basketball has deep roots in Champaign-Urbana, from our Big Ten home court at the University of Illinois to youth and community tournaments that bring players together from all over the state,” she adds. “We’re proud to be a place where the love of the game brings people together.”
Janesville, Wisconsin
The new Woodman’s Sports and Convention Center (WSCC) in Janesville, which opened this past September, is a flexible venue designed to accommodate tournaments of all sizes.
Located just five minutes from major interstates, this unique venue is connected to a shopping mall, Uptown Janesville, with plans to add a family activity center, restaurants, outdoor areas and a hotel. Additional restaurants and retail areas are within walking distance and 10 hotels are all within five miles.
“We prioritize providing amenities and experiences that benefit both players and spectators,” says Janesvillle Area CVB Marketing Director Alena Feldt.
WSCC offers six courts: four in the Kennedy Convention Space (each with about 80 bleacher seats and a scoreboard) and two in the Multipurpose Arena (with 250 elevated bleacher seats).
All courts are regulation size with Taraflex surfaces. Both spaces can utilize large video screens for bracketing, sponsorship signage or live streaming, and there is Wi-Fi, free parking and concessions. A partner facility, Limitless Performance, is 1.5 miles away and offers three additional wood-floor courts.
The Janesville Area CVB works with local hotels to negotiate discounted rates, can help arrange transportation for teams and can coordinate with local food and beverage providers. The CVB also can help with marketing materials, social media and promotional campaigns, tournament logistics and more.
Off the court, there are plenty of activities for athletes and families, including hiking and outdoor activities in the spring and summer, the Downtown Janesville Public Art Trail, shopping at unique vintage stores, boutiques and specialty shops and other attractions.
Kentucky Sports Factory
The Kentucky Sports Factory in Madisonville can host basketball tournaments and events for all ages.
“We have six varsity size courts,” says General Manager Drew Harrington. “Our goals go from eight to 10 feet. Bleachers line each court and we have a full kitchen with made-to-order offerings. Plus, multiple hotels are located less than a mile away.”
The venue has hosted basketball events with up to 84 teams on a weekend and the facility easily accommodates more than 3,000 fans per day. Dozens of basketball events are currently on the calendar, most with at least 72 teams.
“Our success is built on strong relationships with tournament organizers, coaches and players throughout the region,” notes Harrington. “We take pride in working hand-in-hand with Kentucky’s basketball community to deliver competitive events and enriching experiences that support athletes at every level.”
The popular venue fills quickly with weekend events, but open dates still remain for late summer and fall in 2026. The KSF staff can offer marketing help on its social media channels and event/info boards. The full kitchen staff and event staff are available to cook, clean and pick up.
Off the court, Mahr Park offers an arboretum, lake and the number-two-rated disc golf course in the state, and City Park has a golf course, mini golf and lakes. Plus, there are multiple hiking trails throughout the area.
Legends Event Center, Bryan, Texas
The Legends Event Center is a world-class, 120,000-square-foot facility in Bryan, Texas that welcomes athletes of all skill levels, and is quickly becoming the new hub for basketball in the state and beyond.
The facility offers eight basketball courts and also has space available for meetings, conferences and more. Off the court, Legends Event Center has a host of activities in its Gaming Arena, which offers a state-of-the-art arcade.
There’s a virtual reality station that can accommodate up to six players at once, and the Esports Lounge has 18 high-end esports computers and monitors and many popular games that cater to both single-player and multi-player sessions.
The City of Bryan has a historic downtown area and many other activities for families, including the Aggieland Safari, a thriving arts scene, top-rated restaurants, eclectic boutiques and antique shops and other diversions. Bryan is located right in the heart of the “Texas Triangle,” less than a three-hour drive from Dallas to the north, Houston to the southeast and Austin to the southwest.
Missoula, Montana
The Dahlberg Arena/Adams Center on the University of Montana campus, home to the Griz and Lady Griz basketball teams, is Missoula’s largest basketball facility, offering three courts and seating for 7,000 fans. Overall, there are 15 courts available in Missoula.
Each March, Missoula hosts a state high school tournament, which can draw more than 3,500 spectators over three days. “The Class C State Basketball Tournament always has the highest attendance because all the small towns across the state can take advantage of the amenities of Montana’s second largest city,” says Destination Missoula’s Kara Bartlett.
Depending on the event, Destination Missoula can provide various servicing assistance, as well as financial support. A typical event is supported with complimentary visitor guides, marketing materials, site sourcing and more, including itineraries for those who want to explore Missoula and Western Montana.
Surrounded by five mountain ranges, with hiking and biking trails just steps away from the center of town, Missoula is known for year-round outdoor recreation. The Clark Fork River running through the center of town offers fishing, floating and swimming. Missoula also has impressive and vibrant music, arts, culture and culinary scenes.
“Destination Missoula is here to make your event extraordinary,” Bartlett says. “In our little mountain town, the fun never stops, even after the game is over.”
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
“Basketball has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the Myrtle Beach area,” says Jonathan Paris, Executive Director of Sports Tourism for Visit Myrtle Beach. “With youth tournaments, high school showcases and national events, we’re seeing more teams and families choose the Grand Strand every year because of the quality of our facilities, the affordability of our destination and the energy of our sports community.”
The primary venue for youth and amateur basketball is the John T. Rhodes Myrtle Beach Sports Center, a 100,000-square-foot multi-purpose indoor facility with eight basketball courts on an all-wood floor, with flexible seating for up to 2,500, and multiple meeting and team rooms.
Throughout the Grand Strand, additional venues support basketball activity, including the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center in North Myrtle Beach with two courts, as well as various high school and recreation center gyms that can host events of all sizes.
For collegiate-level events, Visit Myrtle Beach partners with Coastal Carolina University and the HTC Center, which offers 3,400 seats, six locker rooms, hospitality spaces and video board capabilities, providing a high-quality environment for NCAA competition.
The Myrtle Beach Convention Center is another major asset, annually hosting the renowned Beach Ball Classic. The venue installs a full wood basketball floor for events and can bring in seating for up to 5,000 spectators.
“Each year, we welcome several events from the National Travel Basketball Association (NTBA), including their Boys and Girls National Championships, which together attract more than 600 teams. Additional NTBA tournaments held throughout the season bring in another 350 teams,” says Paris. The area also hosts multiple Big Shots events, including NCAA-certified tournaments.
What makes Myrtle Beach an exceptional sports tourism destination is the same thing that makes it a top leisure market: there’s truly something for everyone, including 60 miles of sandy beaches along the warm Atlantic Ocean.
Sierra Vista, Arizona
In southeastern Arizona, the city of Sierra Vista is known for its stunning mountain scenery (it’s surrounded by the “Sky Islands,” which are three different mountain ranges), its attractive climate (winters are mild and summers are cooler than other areas of the state) and its abundant outdoor recreation, including hiking, biking and birding.
“We’re the hummingbird capital of Arizona,” says John Healy, the sports and aquatics supervisor for the city.
There is also activity indoors, too. For basketball, the town has arrangements with the local school district for access to four gyms. The main venue has seating for 2,400 spectators. An active city basketball program is run in-house and attracts more than 40 volunteers as coaches and to help with events.
In addition to the miles of hiking and biking trails, visitors can explore historic caverns, visit nearby historic towns such as Tombstone and Bisbee, and spend time at nearby wineries. There also is the Cove Aquatic Center, an indoor wave pool and the Sierra Vista Golf Center, with its state-of-the-art Range system.
The Land at Saraland, Alabama
Fully opened this past November, the City of Saraland’s Sports and Recreation Complex, known as The Land, is a premier venue that includes indoor and outdoor sports facilities and versatile event spaces. For basketball, the complex offers four full-court indoor courts, with rims that adjust from eight feet to 10 feet.
“We already have a lot of basketball activity here,” says General Manager Nic Santana. “In addition to hosting all our local recreation basketball during the week, we have a lot of tournament play scheduled on weekends.” The Land also includes a two-story gym, an indoor rock-climbing feature, an arcade, full concessions, a spin room and three conference rooms.
Santana says he and his staff are reaching out throughout the U.S. to bring events to The Land at Saraland, which is located 10 minutes north of Mobile and just a 20-minute ride from the airport. (Pensacola and its airport are 60 minutes away.) The community is known for its parks, community focus and family-friendly atmosphere that is popular with youth sports. SDM
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