Sponsors line up for entry into booming 'Suchao' soccer league
Popular amateur competition in Jiangsu turns into commercial powerhouse
According to monitoring by the Jiangsu Smart Cultural and Tourism Platform, during the fifth round of matches from June 28 to 29, the number of out-of-town tourists in Suzhou, Yancheng, Taizhou, Nantong, and Lianyungang increased by more than 24 percent compared with the previous weekend.
During that weekend, Nantong received nearly 1.27 million visitors, including 374,000 from outside the province, generating total tourism revenue of 690 million yuan, according to statistics from Nantong's cultural and tourism department.
The match between Suzhou and Yangzhou on June 29 resulted in weekend visits to Zhouzhuang Ancient Town increasing by more than 160 percent, officials said.
The game took place at the Kunshan Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Kunshan, a county-level city of Suzhou, with a maximum capacity of around 45,000 people. A total of 43,617 spectators were at the ground.
When the league was initially planned, organizers were concerned that even 2,000 seats might not be filled.
However, the number of spectators at each match now reaches the venues' full capacity.
