Utica's Nexus Center celebrated its grand opening in early December. The multi-million sports complex is projecting more than 320,000 visitors to annually visit the facility for hockey, soccer and lacrosse tournaments, something that the community anticipates to bring a positive economic impact on the county and all of its businesses and attractions.

Lee Arthur has been the general manager of the Delta Marriott Hotel for the past six months. He says toward the end of the year until February is typically a slower travel period, however, with the Nexus Center, the hotel is now being occupied with teams for various tournaments.

“It’s just been a huge boost to the hotel operation. We love seeing all the parents and kids running around through the hotel lobby using the restaurant and bar," said Arthur.

And with more business than usual, Arthur says more planning is involved.

“You know we have to prep our strategies a little bit more, we have more hours for house keeping, plan ahead to have enough people on," said Arthur.

The 162-bedroom hotel offers a restaurant and bar area along with a large scale pool, making it a great attraction for families, according to Arthur.

Oneida County Tourism works with hotel managers like Arthur to coordinate different events and showcase what they haver to offer.

“It’s a good relationship, working together, just trying to get more people to come visit Oneida County," said Arthur of the partnership.

Kelly Blazosky, president of Oneida County Tourism says the Nexus Center opens Oneida County up to the sports tourism market that they have not been able to compete in, in the past.

“Additional sales at restaurants, transportation, hotel and lodging venues, all of the services that go into running Nexus. The trickle-down effect is really impactful," said Blazosky.

Blazosky and her team will work closely with Nexus to help with marketing and bringing awareness to the new facility.

“We will be attending shows that cater to the sports tourism market and connecting event planners with communities so that they can learn about the venues, they can learn about the infrastructure within the community to host and how to properly attend to their events needs,” said Blazosky.

Sports will bring people to the county, but Blazosky says it’s what the community has to offer that will keep them coming back.