Sports Tournaments for Mobile Vendors

Sports tournaments are usually great events for mobile food vendors. Whether it’s soccer, baseball, softball or another sport, attendance is usually high for these two or three day events. I have more experience with soccer tournaments than any of the others, so I’ll focus more on them. However, the same basic principles and tips should apply to any sports tournaments.



Soccer is a huge sport worldwide and is growing in popularity in the United States every year. Pretty much every suburban area has a local soccer club. There are always soccer tournaments being held throughout the spring, summer and into the early fall. Most of the local tournaments are great events for several reasons. High attendance and low registration fees are two very important things to consider. Generally, the sponsoring soccer club will either charge a flat fee or a percentage of your gross sales in order for you to be a vendor at their event. With tournaments, I always liked the percentage fee best. If the gross sales are good, then the club does well too. Sometimes a flat fee is good for the first year when working with an event. Once you know what kind of crowd and sales can be expected, then switching over to a percentage fee isn’t a bad way to go.

Another great thing about sports tournaments is that once people are there…they don’t want to leave! Parking is generally a top concern for attendees. This in turn benefits you tremendously because people are willing to stay all day and purchase from vendors at the fields.



Participating in local sports tournaments is also beneficial to you because of the exposure you gain. I can’t tell you how many other events I was offered while being at a soccer tournament. One year, I added 3 more tournaments to my schedule! You will gain a following too. When people start seeing you at more tournaments, they will become repeat customers and look for you at every tournament.

Exposure, especially in your local area is critical to generating more opportunities for your concessions business. Local sports tournaments are also a way to give back to the community, gaining exposure while making a few bucks at the same time.

Again, you can check with your local Chamber of Commerce for information about sports tournaments in your area. You can also use the Internet to find contact information for local sports clubs by doing a Google search. You can also access contact information for soccer tournaments at http://www.soccertournament.us/. Currently, they have over 1300 soccer tournaments listed for the United States and Canada. Generally you can contact the tournament director via email or a phone call to find out who to contact about being a vendor at their tournament.

I will post more links for other sports tournaments as I find them. Thanks!