The tournament will be held May 30-31 at Sugar Creek Soccer Park in Bella Vista. The tournament, traditionally held in the Little Rock area, will be held in northwest Arkansas for the first time.

"We have visited Lightning events and monitored the progress over the last couple of years and we are delighted to have the opportunity to see this event take place in Bentonville," said Gayle Smith, Executive Director for Arkansas Youth Soccer Association.

The last two state cups have been held at Burns Park in North Little Rock, a venue that’s hosted both Region III finals and a National Championship.

"The impact for North Little Rock was phenomenal when they hosted the Region III finals as the city estimated $ 9 million for the Friday through Wednesday event," Smith said.

Sugar Creek Soccer Park has five full-size fields for a standard 11 vs. 11 soccer game and three fields built for 8 vs. 8 games.

Currently there are two tournaments per year held at Sugar Creek. The Clorox Cup is held in the fall and the Lightning Spring Classic in the spring.

"I can’t tell you how exciting it is to bring this event to our club for our families and players to be able to play in front of family and friends who seldom get a chance to watch the high level of play our teams have reached," NWA Lightning’s Director of Coaching and Operations Tadeu Dias said.

Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin said," We are very proud of the work and effort of the NWA Lightning Soccer Club to bring this prestigious event to our region and it will have a very positive impact on the economy and especially the hospitality of the NWA Community."