Major League Quidditch announced today that the City of League City will host the 2016 Major League Quidditch Championship Aug. 20 to 21 at Hometown Heroes Park.

The announcement comes after weeks of discussions with MLQ and city officials.

“Major League Quidditch is thrilled to be partnering with League City to host our marquee event,” said Ethan Sturm, MLQ Commission Co-Chair. “League City is everything we could have asked for in a host city, and we cannot wait to bring our staff, players and fans to Hometown Heroes Park in August to show them what the city has to offer."

The City submitted a bid in January 2016 in an effort to promote tourism and bring sporting opportunities to the area. City officials were notified that League City was one of three finalists being considered as a host site for the MLQ Championship in February 2016. Other finalists included San Diego, California, and Toledo, Ohio.

“The City of League City is excited to serve as the host for the 2016 Major League Quidditch Championship,” said Mark Rohr, City Manager. “As League City continues to grow, we are continuously exploring opportunities to improve tourism and draw visitors from throughout the country by attracting events such as this to the City.”

Selecting League City as the host site for the championship event was an extensive bid evaluation process made easy by City Staff’s support and responsiveness, according to MLQ officials.

“On behalf of the entire City Council and staff, I want to thank MLQ for selecting us as host for its marquee event, Hotel Occupancy Tax Board, and the City staff who worked hard to submit and secure the bid,” said Rohr.

The championship event is expected to positively impact many nearby restaurants, hotels and retailers throughout the weekend.

“This announcement is a big win for our community and will have a positive impact on our local economy,” Rohr continued. “We look forward to working with the league and showing MLQ officials, teams and visitors the unique charm League City has to offer.”

Texas is home to some of the sport’s most competitive teams and is often a tournament destination for the quidditch community.

“There are few cities in the world that embody the kind of exponential growth our sport has seen in the way League City does,” said Sturm.

The league consists of teams from throughout the United States and Canada. One of 16 teams participating in MLQ is League City based team, the League City Legends, whose team manager is also one of the City’s newest councilmembers.

“League City hosting the MLQ Championship is a dream come true,” said Councilmember Hank Dugie. “We’re excited for the opportunity to show some true Texas hospitality and to bring world class quidditch to our fans.”

Quidditch is a co-ed, full-contact sport featuring a unique set of rules that includes elements from rugby, basketball and dodgeball. During the championship event, teams will go head-to-head with the aim of scoring the most goals and being the first to catch the snitch.

MLQ’s official announcement is available at http://mlquidditch.com/mlq-championship-location-2016/. Additional details will be released in the near future at www.leaguecity.com or http://mlquidditch.com.

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City of League City, population of 100,053, is one of the fastest growing cities within the region and the largest city within Galveston County. The City is ideally situated between the Ports of Houston, Texas City, Galveston, Freeport and is a short drive from Houston Hobby International. Home to the third-largest concentration of pleasure boats, League City is a great destination for year-round visitors seeking a wide variety of entertainment, eateries and cultural and recreational activities.

Major League Quidditch, (MLQ), based out of Hoboken, N.J., is a national league that runs from June 1 to Aug. 30. Quidditch is a co-ed, full contact sport created in 2005 by students at Middlebury College in Vermont. The sport, based on the fictional sport from Harry Potter, is played by more than 400 college and community teams across six continents. MLQ is dedicated to presenting quidditch in an elegant, highly-consumable form that mirrors other sports’ top leagues. It features standardized schedules, high-level officiating, in-depth statistics and live or pre-recorded footage of all games. The central tenant of the league, setting it apart from others, is that we have placed a limit on participating teams. This ensures the teams are of a high quality and maximizes the amount of coverage that can be given to each team and each game. More information is available at http://mlquidditch.com.