Ames will be kicking off its 23rd year hosting the Summer Iowa Games starting Saturday.

The Iowa Games are an offshoot of the Iowa Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization that runs the Summer and Winter Iowa Games, as well as Live Healthy Iowa.

The games will continue with the main weekend of July 16 – 19 and come to a conclusion on the weekend of July 24.

The official opening ceremony will take place July 17 at Jack Trice Stadium with wrestling coach Kevin Jackson as the featured speaker.

Brian Honnold, associate director of event management, said the construction in and around Jack Trice will not get in the way of the festivities.

Ames will see a large number of visitors over the course of the games, with about 16,000 athletes making the trip, as well as family members and friends who could push the total to near 30,000 people. The ISU campus will see use in areas from the Maple-Willow-Larch recreation field to the cross country course.

While it is the host city, not all the events will take place in Ames.

The canoe/kayak race will take place at Gray’s Lake in Des Moines, electronic darts and the strongman contest will be in Fort Dodge, and any other events outside of Ames will be in surrounding communities, such as Huxley.

“With the sports expanding as much as they have, it would be difficult to fit everything in Ames,” said Cory Kennedy, Iowa Games event coordinator. “We started with 16 sports in 1987 but have since expanded to over 50.”

Ames is currently in the fourth year of a five-year contract with the Summer Iowa Games.

“We’ll be looking to renew the contract at the end of next year,” said Seann DeMaris, conference sales coordinator with the Ames Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “It’s a good deal for both sides.”

DeMaris said people who are interested in volunteering for the games can start at any time and can contact the Ames Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.