Visit Mississauga’s Sport Event Hosting Incentive Program, provides eligible sport organizations with financial and/or in-kind services to promote events across the City.

Its purpose is to support sporting events that have the potential to bring direct or indirect economic benefits to the City of Mississauga; attract and support existing tournaments and events in the City; and promote the advancement of the City of Mississauga as a sports event host destination.

Hold your next sports event in Mississauga and your organization will have direct support from our team from bid creation to event completion!

Eligibility:

i. Event must either be sanctioned by a recognized sport governing body or in the case of an emerging sport that has not
yet achieved official status, the sport must be one that has official rules/regulations that will be adhered to for the event.

ii. The sporting event must be hosted in a venue located in the City of Mississauga.

iii. Event must take place within two (2) years of application submission

Not Eligible:

i. Professional events

ii. Events with less than 200 total hotel room nights

iii. Returning events that have received funding from Visit Mississauga for more than three years*

*some exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis

Allocation Considerations:

• funding availability is dependent on Visit Mississauga’s annual event hosting budget
• not all groups meeting the requirements will receive funding
• your event should not be reliant of grant funding in order to successfully operate
• approval of a grant in any one year does not mean the organization will receive it again in future years – applications must be made each year for returning events

The following must be submitted for the application to be considered for approval:

• The objectives of the event.
• A high level timeline and action plan for the event.
• The event’s organizational structure including names and roles for each position.
• A high level draft event budget listing revenues and expenses.
• A description of how funding will be used and a description of how any additional funds will be used in the event of a revenue surplus.
• A description of the arts and/or cultural components of the event.  For example, opening/closing ceremonies,
  medal/trophy presentation, graphics/web design, entertainment, exhibitions, etc.
• A description of how the event will contribute to the legacy of the City of Mississauga.
• Estimated number of hotel room nights brought to the City.

In order to properly allocate funding, applications are to be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

• Event History 20% (previous event evaluations up to and including 2019 & reference checks for new applicants)
• Economic Impact & Effectiveness 40% (Organizational Effectiveness, Marketing & Promotion, Budget)
• Event Operations 30% (Visitor Experience, Facility & Site Use)
• Community Impact 10% (Event Vision, Tourism, Legacy, Programming & Production)
• Grant applications will be reviewed by staff & Board of Directors Events Committee for completeness and eligibility.  Each application will be evaluated by the Board on an equal basis.  
• All applicants will be notified of their application status within 30 days following the application deadline.  Awarded organizations will be notified in writing of the final grant amount via an “Award Letter.”
• Grants may be used for expenses related to the event including but not limited to: sponsorship, marketing, communications, transportation, and accommodations. 
• Grants cannot be used for funding internal operations, including but not limited to: staff costs, payroll, operations etc and should not be required in order to successfully operate the event.

To understand which funding level your organization qualifies for, contact Visit Mississauga directly.

All events will be asked to:

• Include the Visit Mississauga logo (with partners) on any print materials and on the event website at minimum at the same level as other funders of the event.
• Supply a minimum of three (3) high resolution pictures that can be used for promotional purposes by Visit Mississauga in reporting on the event or promoting future events of the same sport.
• Provide the event website address and social media information including any hashtags being used for the specific event.
• Grant recipients are required to demonstrate the benefits of their program and hotel actualization numbers by submitting a Post Event Report.

A template will be provided by Visit Mississauga that will require the following information be completed:

• the number of participants and spectators
• hotel room night actualization
• the amount of grant funds used and
• the detailed allocation of the funds used
• a description of legacy achieved (financial, sport, community and/or cultural)

Completed reports are due no later than 30 days after the final day of the event.  Failure to submit the required information may result in denial of the award and any pre-paid funds must be returned to Visit Mississauga within 60 days.  If appropriate, post event feedback will also be provided by Visit Mississauga

• Payment of 50% of the awarded total may be disbursed in advance of the event at the request of the event organizer upon signing of venue contract. The remaining 50% will be provided upon completion and submission of the Post Event Report.  Should the Post Event Report hotel actualization room numbers not meet the amount required for the awarded funding bracket, the remaining payment amount will be adjusted to reflect the proper total.
• Should the event be cancelled or postponed, the event organizer is required to return any pre-paid funds to the Visit Mississauga office within 30 days of notifying us of the cancellation. Funds cannot be held by the organizer as a credit for future events.

We don’t want your organization to miss out on this opportunity therefore Visit Mississauga is keeping the application intake period open all year. We look forward to receiving your application!

Should you have any questions about your eligibility or the application process, please contact Sport Tourism Coordinator, Katelyn May at Katelyn.May@dev.visitmississauga.ca