Spartanburg to Benefit From FEI World Equestrian Games

The estimated $400 million economic impact of the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games is set to stretch across the Carolinas.

The games, set for Sept. 11-23 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, are expected to be the largest sporting event in the U.S. this year, and the fourth-largest in the world, behind the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the World Cup in Russia and the Tour de France.

“There’s going to be $400 million in economic revenue generated within an hour and a half radius,” said Kathryn McMahon, director of community engagement at TIEC, at the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s FYI Friday on March 23. “I can’t wait to get the shirt that says PyeongChang, Moscow, Paris and Mill Spring (N.C.).”

Luckily, most of Spartanburg County isn’t too far from Tryon.

Downtown Spartanburg is only about 45 minutes away, and just about 20 minutes away from TIEC is Landrum and the city’s scenic features, specialty and antique shops and several restaurants popular with locals and visitors alike.

Along with proximity to Lakes Bowen and Lanier, Landrum is home to well-known eateries like Southside Smokehouse and Grille and The Hare & Hound.

Southside Smokehouse is run by Sarah McClure, who was named one of four S.C. Chef Ambassadors earlier this year.

About 500,000 people are expected to come to Tryon during the eight-day event, McMahon said.

“That’s what they got in Normandy and that’s what they got in Lexington (Ky.),” she said.

Hotels throughout Spartanburg County have been contracted to house competitors, spectators and visitors coming to the area for the event.

The FEI World Equestrian Games were started in 1990 with the inaugural games held in Stockholm, Sweden. Since then the event has grown in size, now featuring a dozen events during eight days of competition.

Tryon’s games mark the second time the event has come to the U.S.

McMahon said the World Equestrian Games will likely be the largest event to come to Tryon, and its impact will be felt across the Carolinas.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere but in the center of everything,” she said.

2018 FEI World Equestrian Games by the numbers:

  • 50,000 – 60,000: spectators per day
  • 11: flights of horses to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
  • 7: tractor-trailers of horses per flight
  • 500,000: people expected to attend the games over its eight-day span
  • $400 million: economic impact

(Written by Zach Fox via Spartanburg Chamber.)