LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — More than 10 organizations that promote sports tourism have teamed up to sell Nebraska to regional and national sporting event planners.

The Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau announced this past week its partnership with 10 other organizations to form Sports Nebraska.

The new group aims to bring more regional and national sporting events to the state, according to Derek Bombeck, president of Sports Nebraska.

“By combining efforts and expertise from across the state, Sports Nebraska feels it can create a cohesive package that will drive new sporting business into the state,” Bombeck said.

Events such as the USA Roller Sports National Championships bring thousands of people to Lincoln and millions of dollars of tourism spending. The National High School Finals Rodeo is expected to bring as many as 50,000 visitors to Lincoln each year when it comes to the Lancaster Event Center in 2020 and 2021. Officials expect the annual economic impact of the rodeo to be more than $16 million.

Getting more sporting events to come to Nebraska means more tourism dollars for the communities that host them, Bombeck said.

“We’re just trying to get more sports tourism dollars to Nebraska,” he said.

The group’s first event will be the National Association of Sports Commissions Annual Symposium in Minneapolis this month.

Other members of Sports Nebraska include the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Omaha Sports Commission, Sarpy County Tourism, Visit Fremont and Visit Grand Island.