By Annika Morschauser
Contributing Writer
GREEN BAY – A recently-released study that ranks cities listed Green Bay in the top 10 in two categories for sports fan vacations.
Fractl, a company that works with organic search rankings and brand engagement, and Price4Limo said that Green Bay was ranked eighth for best city for sports fan with a No. 1 ranking in the best sports bars category.
The ranking was conducted by using Yelp reviews that were 3.5 stars or more along, surveying 1,005 sports fans.
Their top five ranked cities overall are Miami, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Boston and New York City with total scores of 45, 41, 37, 37 and 36 out of 100.
Although Green Bay was ranked eighth overall with a score of 32, Green Bay ranked 13 in best stadiums and arenas; No. 1 in sports bars; eight in sportswear stores; five in sporting goods stores; 17 in sports facilities and 35 in hotels.
The Vice President of Digital Marketing and Communications at Discover Green Bay Nick Meisner said that the city has distinctive elements that make it special.
“The various places that make us in the top 10 of that list are very unique and special to Green Bay, and I think it really showcases what a great destination and how much fun you can have when you visit our community,” Meisner said.
Although Meisner is proud of all the work that has gone into advertising Green Bay, there is always room for improvements as he said, “I think what the entire community is doing to promote the area and bring up our perception around the country is something that we’re working on each and every single day… I also think there is a lot we can do to improve the visitor experience in the future as we continue towards some big momentous occasions in our community like hosting the NFL draft, opening the visitor center and welcoming more and more events in our community,” Meisner said.
The different categories show that Green Bay’s best category was sports bars and their worst was hotel accommodations.
This could be an area of improvement for Green Bay as a survey revealed that 43% chose accommodations as No. 5 in “Most Important Factors When Planning a Sports Vacation”.
Meisner said that this lower ranking in hotels was surprising to him, “I think we have great properties and our hotel infrastructure is growing and the properties that we do have are really doing a great job in providing the amenities that are important to our consumers. So that is surprising, and I think it’s a little bit undervaluing the product that we have here in Green Bay because our hotels are really great.”
In the sports bars category, Green Bay was first and Milwaukee was second.
Milwaukee was ranked No. 4 in “Top 5 Traveling Sports Fan Bases,” meaning Bucks fans go to an average of three games, traveling 140.4 miles.