Men, women and youth: Soccer craze brings $24 million to Wake County

Soccer tournaments for men, women and youth are bringing in big dollars to the Triangle. Experts say, over the next month alone, Wake County will generate $24 million from the sport.

Thousands of soccer fans and parents will visit the county this year. Of those, 70,000 represent the North Carolina Football Club Youth soccer league.

Parents call the craze "soccermania."

“This is a big group," said Scott Pierce, a grandparent from the NCFC youth league. "They have a lot of support. Every parent is here, and some grandparents.”

Nearly 1,500 youth teams will visit Wake County over a span of five weeks, all vying for the chance to be noticed by one of the 1,000 college coaches who will be in attendance.

“We are really excited, all of us parents who grew up playing soccer and never really saw it take off -- we can really see it taking off now," said Jason Kralik, a soccer parent from Hillsborough. "North Carolina Football Club, I think, is 15,000 players, and we have a professional team. There is a lot of excitement.”

With thousands of families staying in 70 hotels, Visit Raleigh says that Wake County has become the center of the soccer universe.

Between NCFC, the ACC Women’s and Men’s Soccer Championships and the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship, Wake County will generate $24.8 million.

Parents said they don’t mind being a part of the soccermania as long as their kids have fun. “I think it’s just getting a kid involved in team sports and getting them outside and off their devices," Kralik said. "They have a wonderful time doing it.”

The final soccer event will be the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship, which will be held Dec. 13 and 15.