A new survey by San Diego's Regional Economic Development Council, San Diego Sports Innovators and the San Diego Workforce Partnership found that about 1,200 local companies make up the sector.
Almost half of those companies were formed since 2008. Lisa Freedman works with San Diego Sports Innovators. She said the sports and active lifestyle industry does well here because there are so many outdoor activities in the region.
"Action sports that are surfing, skating, BMX and mountain biking, endurance sports and then golf," Freedman said. "Those of three of probably the larger segments of the industry, but we've got a lot of companies that support what I would call traditional stick-and-ball type sports," she said.
The report found the sector is growing and added 700 jobs in the last year. Those jobs includes sales, design and manufacturing positions. Most of the people hired are locals.
The study also estimated the active sports and lifestyle industry has an economic punch of $1.35 billion a year in San Diego.
