The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and Northstar Meetings Group, a division of Northstar Travel Group, have announced a multiyear extension of the agreement that makes the TEAMS Conference & Expo the exclusive home to the USOPC’s annual Olympic and Paralympic SportsLink program.

The USOPC’s SportsLink, which has been held in conjunction with TEAMS since 2018, is an opportunity for the organizations that make up the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movements to interact with destinations, venues and other event suppliers interested in hosting and supporting sports-related events. As part of the agreement, TEAMS will also provide networking and business-development opportunities for members of the Olympic and Paralympic family to engage with potential host cities, venues and industry suppliers across the sports-events industry.

“We could not be prouder to continue our longstanding relationship with the USOPC to co-locate Olympic and Paralympic SportsLink with the TEAMS Conference,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president and managing director of the Sports Division of Northstar Meetings Group and the publisher of SportsTravel. “Our renewed agreement comes at a crucial time for the Olympic and Paralympic movement in the United States as the country prepares to host the 2028 Games in Los Angeles and the 2034 Games in Salt Lake City. Through this partnership, we are thrilled to help the USOPC and its national governing bodies further engage the sports-event industry through networking and business development in support of those efforts.”

“SportsLink offers an opportunity for our national governing bodies to engage with a key constituency of destinations and venues that host the events that support the development of Team USA,” said Rocky Harris, USOPC chief of sport performance and athlete services. “We are excited to continue our relationship with Northstar to provide this opportunity as part of the TEAMS Conference & Expo in years to come.”

SportsLink sessions are open to all attendees of the TEAMS Conference & Expo. TEAMS ’25 will be staged October 13–16, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

TEAMS (Travel, Events and Management In Sports), is the world’s leading conference and expo for the sports-event industry. Presented by SportsTravel and launched in 1998, TEAMS draws more than 1,300 participants including CEOs, executive directors and event managers from sports organizations as well as representatives from sports commissions and convention bureaus, corporate sponsors, event suppliers and other hospitality industry opinion leaders.

Upcoming TEAMS Conference & Expos:

TEAMS ’25: October 13–16, 2025, Columbus
TEAMS ’26: October 26–29, 2026, Birmingham
TEAMS ’27: October 18–21, 2027, Milwaukee
TEAMS ’28: November 13–16, 2028, Pittsburgh
TEAMS ’29: Fall 2029, Atlantic City
TEAMS ’30: October 14–17, 2030, Knoxville
TEAMS ’31: October 20–23, 2031, Des Moines

]]> 72318https://media.sportstravelmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10015414/TEAMS-Conference-crop-logo.jpg https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/innovations-in-event-management-for-youth-sports/ Mon, 28 Oct 2024 19:50:05 +0000 https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/?p=67914

The Sports Events & Tourism Association, the only trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, has announced the expansion of its industry partnership with Northstar Meetings Group, the leading multi-platform brand for dedicated meeting and business planners and sports event organizers, to serve as presenting sponsor of Sports ETA’s State of the Industry Report and other research efforts.

Under terms of the agreement, Northstar — the publisher of SportsTravel and organizers of the TEAMS Conference & Expo, TEAMS Europe and the EsportsTravel Summit — will continue its support of Sports ETA’s State of the Industry Report presented by Northstar Meetings Group, the most comprehensive analysis of the impact sports events have on the economy. In addition, Northstar will serve as the presenting sponsor of other Sports ETA research over the terms of the agreement.

“Sports ETA and Northstar Meetings Group have enjoyed a long-time relationship, and we look forward to a continued partnership to serve our members,” said John David, president and chief executive officer of Sports ETA. “Our industry-leading research, including the State of the Industry Report, provides the national benchmark for the sports events tourism industry.”

“We recognize the value of putting data into the hands of Sports ETA members and we are thrilled to help make that happen through our support of the State of the Industry and other research projects that the association will lead,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president of the Sports Division of Northstar Meetings Group and the executive editor and publisher of SportsTravel. “As content providers and advocates for the power of sports, we know there is no better way we can support the industry than by putting essential information in the hands of industry decision makers through this research.”

The 2023 State of the Industry Report was released in 2024 and concluded that U.S. sports-related travelers, event organizers and venues totaled $52.2 billion in direct spending in 2023, an increase of over 7 percent from the previous year. Those travelers generated $128 billion in direct, indirect and induced business sales.

The study presented the most comprehensive and representative data quantifying the value of sports-related travel in the United States. Conducted by Tourism Economics with support from Longwoods International, the report built on two previous surveys that covered data through 2021. The report also included survey results from members of Sports ETA. It’s noted that in 63 percent of destinations surveyed, sports-related travel is the top generator of hotel room nights in their communities.

Northstar Meetings Group has announced plans for the inaugural SportsTravel Leadership Forum, the premier gathering for leading sports event organizers and the destinations that host their events.

Co-located with Northstar’s annual end-of-year meetings industry Leadership Forum, a perennial must-attend event for meetings industry leaders, the 2025 SportsTravel Leadership Forum will debut at the iconic Hotel del Coronado, Coronado, California, December 7–9, 2025, and bring together leading sports event organizers and service providers from across the industry for dialogue and networking to plan for the future of sports events and how group travel suppliers can best support them.

“During the pandemic, for many destinations sports-related travel provided a vital economic lifeline. Since then, sports-related travel is now recognized as one of the largest — if not the largest — and fastest growing generator of economic value for destinations large and small,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president of the Northstar Meetings Group Sports Division. “The purpose of the SportsTravel Leadership Forum is to facilitate the partnerships and relationships that will facilitate the industry’s continued growth.”

The event will include interactive education sessions, high-level networking, world-class amenities and premium activities, including spa, pickleball and golf on both the North and South Courses at Torrey Pines.

“We’re applying the same formula to the SportsTravel Leadership Forum that we have applied successfully to our annual Meetings Group Leadership Forum, producing both events at the same iconic location at the same time,” said Shalise DeMott, vice president of sales for the Northstar Meetings Group. “We’ll be bringing the sports-related travel industry’s senior leaders together in a way that will facilitate new relationships and bolster established ones, not just among themselves, but with leaders from across the meetings industry as well.”

Capturing the hearts and memories of guests across two centuries, the Hotel del Coronado is a living legend that continues to inspire. Designated a National Historic Landmark, the hotel will be newly renovated and decorated for the holiday when it welcomes the SportsTravel Leadership Forum, making the venue truly memorable for the Summit’s participants and their guests.

Northstar currently seeks partners and event organizers with a stake in the future of the sports-related travel industry to help map the industry’s future at its debut SportsTravel Leadership Forum.

Here’s who should attend:

•  Sports Event Organizers
•  Destination Marketing Organizations
•  Sports Commissions
•  Sports Federations and Associations
•  Venue Managers
•  Tourism Boards
•  Corporate Sponsors and Partners
•  Sports Media and Broadcasting Professionals

For more information, please contact Shalise DeMott, at sdemott@ntmllc.com.

International Sports Convention, the leading event dedicated to the business of sport, and Northstar Travel Group’s TEAMS Europe Conference will collaborate for the ISC edition in 2025, providing each other’s communities with expanded education, business and networking opportunities.

Both events will be held March 19–20, 2025, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London’s newest state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue.

ISC, founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2009, attracts over 1,000 delegates and organizes its conference program around five key pillars — Broadcast/Media, Fan Engagement/Digital, Brands/Sponsorship, Integrity/Governance and Events/Tourism.

The addition of TEAMS Europe will further enhance ISC’s program around the growing business of sport-related travel, as TEAMS Europe is the offshoot of Northstar’s TEAMS Conference and Expo, the world’s largest gathering for professionals involved in producing and managing sport events, including event organizers and the destinations and suppliers who support them. Now in its 26th year, The TEAMS Conference and Expo is managed by the Northstar Meetings Group, a division of Northstar Travel Group.

In addition to the focus on sport events and tourism, TEAMS Europe will offer its signature one-to-one business networking sessions, providing events rights holders with curated meetings with destinations and service providers uniquely positioned to support them.

“We are delighted to have TEAMS Europe co-located with the International Sports Convention next year,” said Nigel Fletcher, chief executive of ISC. “It’s an exciting time in the B2B sector of sport events as more private organizations and brands develop leagues, events, and competitions together with the traditional sport federations and competition organizers running more events. This collaboration will ensure delegates have more opportunities and benefits in the sport events, hosting, and tourism sector of ISC.”

“Sporting events are one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry internationally,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president, executive editor and publisher of Northstar Meetings Group’s Sports Division. “The TEAMS brand was built on the foundation of the in-person sporting experience, encompassing more than just the game itself. With its expanded focus on the business of sport, ISC is the perfect partner for growing our TEAMS Europe event in 2025.”

Both ISC and TEAMS Europe will soon open their registration platforms; registrants to each conference will have access to both events, including all content sessions. Qualifying events rights holders will be hosted by Northstar, on the condition that they participate in a minimum number of business appointments during the conference.

A new Sports Events & Tourism Association State of the Industry Report reveals that sports-related travel provided $52.2 billion in direct economic impact in 2023, with more than 200 million people traveling to amateur and collegiate sports events, underscoring the power of the market to attract visitors across a variety of sports.

The report also noted that in 63 percent of destinations surveyed, sports-related travel is the top generator of hotel room nights in their communities.

The survey, conducted by Tourism Economics with support from Longwoods International, and sponsored by the Northstar Meetings Group, builds on two previous surveys, the latest of which covered data through 2021. The report covers travel to adult and youth amateur events, as well as collegiate championships and tournaments but does not include professional sports events or regular-season collegiate events.

“The sport tourism industry continued to grow in 2023, increasing by 7 percent over sports traveler volume in 2022,” said John David, president and chief executive officer of Sports ETA. “The number of sports travelers in America established a new high-water mark of 204.9 million in 2023.”

Among the other highlights of the report:

• The $52.2 billion is an increase from $39.7 billion as the industry recovered from the pandemic in 2021 and $45 billion in 2019.
• The analysis revealed that sports-related travel produced $128 billion in total economic impact in 2023, including non-direct and induced spending.
• The industry supported 757,600 jobs and generated tax revenue amounting to $201 billion.
• Sports-related travelers, event organizers and venues spent a total of $91.8 billion, including $13.5 billion on transportation, $10.9 billion on lodging and $9.7 billion on food and beverage.
• Sports-related travel generated more than 73.5 million room nights in 2023.
• Regions that prioritize sports tourism in their economic development plans have seen faster growth and greater stability in their tourism sectors.

“The results of the State of the Industry Report confirm what we have been saying for years: When it comes to travel, there are few areas of the industry that provide a more powerful economic impact than sports,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president of the Northstar Meetings Group Sports Division and a Sports ETA board member. “Stakeholders in the industry should examine and become familiar with this data to make the case for more investment in their communities and events to serve this robust and expanding market.”

The State of the Industry Report was conducted using data from Tourism Economics and Longwoods International, as well as survey results from members of Sports ETA. For the first time, event rights holders and sports venues were asked to submit data to reach new survey conclusions.

Among the data collected were preferences by rights holders on how they decide where events are located. The top consideration for those rights holders, according to the survey, is host bids and financial incentives offered by a host destination, ranking even higher than the cost of a venue or the destination itself. Rights holders also offered data on how they book their housing for events and whether they employ “stay to play” policies to require participants to book in specific properties for events.

Data collected from venues reveals that nearly all hosted youth or amateur events in 2023. Venue managers also offered insights on their funding mechanisms and factors of a successful event for their locations.

Pulling data from sports-event industry stakeholders and economic data, the report also notes the 10 states that have the most activity in sports-related travel: Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia.

“Each state played an integral role in sports tourism in 2023,” said David. “The addition of the Top 10 list of states generating economic impact with sports tourism allows us to analyze best practices for all of our members.”

The full report results are available to Sports ETA members at www.sportseta.org.

The Sports Events & Tourism Association is seeking data from sports-event industry professionals that will be used to create the 2023 State of the Industry Report, which will be unveiled at the association’s annual symposium in April. The report, conducted by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, and sponsored by the Northstar Meetings Group, will be the first comprehensive update to industry’s economic impact since a similar report that covered data through 2021.

The previous report concluded that coming out the pandemic, the sports-event industry in the United States generated an estimated $39.7 billion in direct spending. Combined with indirect spending, the industry generated $91.8 billion based on 2021 numbers.

“The Sports ETA State of the Industry Report is the most comprehensive report of its kind to demonstrate the value of our industry,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president of the Northstar Meetings Group Sports Division and a Sports ETA board member. “But it’s imperative that members of the industry participate in the report’s findings. This report is one of the most powerful tools we have to advocate for the work we do in the sports-event industry. The importance of participation cannot be understated.”

The new report will incorporate essential data from 2022 and 2023 and aims to offer strategic insights into market size, economic impact, competitive dynamics and industry trends.

To complement data that Tourism Economics is collecting, Sports ETA is seeking survey responses from destination organizations (sports commissions, CVBs/DMOs, chambers of commerce); event rights holders (national governing bodies, sports organizations, pro sports teams, tournament/event organizations); and sports venue/facility/parks and recreation organizations (arenas, ballparks, stadiums, multi-purpose campuses, outdoor recreation). Organizations do not have to be Sports ETA members to take the survey.

Surveys will take about 10 minutes to complete and will require data related to budget (last year’s and this year’s), events, sponsorship, participation and spending. Each organization is asked to provide just one response and responses will be kept strictly confidential. Results will be reported only in aggregate.

To ensure data collected from this survey remains relevant, the survey will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 1, 2024.

As an added incentive, those replying to the survey by February 16 will be entered to win a $500 Amazon gift card (one $500 Amazon gift card will be awarded to each organization type: destination, event rights holder, sports venue/facility/parks and recreation). Those who complete the survey by March 1 will also be entered to win one of four $100 Amazon gift cards (one each for each of the organization types).

To fill out the survey, click here.

In partnership with the Sports Events & Tourism Association and supported by Northstar Meetings Group and Playeasy, Stoll Strategies has released a new sports facilities report that analyzes the state of sports venues across the United States. The free report accesses Playeasy’s data to pinpoint a variety of information about sports venues across the country, breaking down trends based on geography, sports and business development.

Items featured in the report include detailed data insights and suggested actions for destinations and event organizers related to venue types, sports offerings and amenities.
“Data is essential for destinations looking to develop sports venues, as well as for sports organizations looking to make informed decisions about where their events are located,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president of the Northstar Meetings Group Sports Division. “We’re pleased to partner with these industry leaders to support the work behind this first-of-its-kind report since we know there are still valuable learnings about what the future of sports event venues will hold.”

Information in the report includes:

Bells And Whistles

From standard amenities to new technology and innovative experiences, learn what amenities are most (and least) common among facilities.

Facility Breakdowns

The report dives deep into the data to breakdown facility insights by facility type, sport, region and even state. It also examines emerging trends and non-traditional venues, too.

Key Insights

The landscape of sports facility development is rapidly changing. The report includes information you need to know with key insights in every section along the way.

Future Considerations

Whether professional sport, or youth and amateur, facility development is all the buzz. The report will arm you with trends and considerations as you look to the future of the industry.

Historical Context

Facility development has gone through many cycles over the years. The report explores the current boom in facility development in the context of the past, present and future.

Event Success

Events do more for communities than fill hotel room nights. The report will help expand, measure and communicate additional metrics of success.

To download a free copy of the report, click here.

For most people, sports and leisure are synonymous. Which is to say, sports is leisure. But for the athletes who participate in youth, amateur and professional sporting events, playing sports typically isn’t about rest and relaxation. Rather, it’s about hard work, self-improvement and healthy competition — which is why many athletes and their families are keen to extend their stays when they visit new cities for games, matches, meets and tournaments.
In this free downloadable guide, learn how your destination or venue can capitalize on ways to keep participants in town and exploring everything else your region has to offer.

Among the topics covered in the guide:

Choosing a Leisure-Friendly Locale

Scheduling a Signature Event or Activity

Dangling Discounts

Partnering with Destination Marketers

Fill out the form below to download this valuable resource.

Sponsored by:
 

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The post-pandemic travel world is still righting itself, making contract negotiations more cumbersome than ever. The industry has turned from a buyers’ market, where hotels were eager for business, to a sellers’ market, where it’s difficult for groups to find the space they need and wield leverage in the negotiation process.
In this free downloadable guide, hear from hotel experts that work with sports event organizers on what your organization can do to get the best scenario out of your hotel experience, from contract negotiations to sourcing the best properties.

Among the topics covered in the guide:

Basic Contract Negotiations

Getting the Best Rate

Winning the Dollar Game

What to Look for in a Room Block

What to Look for in a Specific Hotel Property

Determining the Scope of Your Housing Needs

Sports Packages Offered in Hotels

Fill out the form below to download this valuable resource.

Sponsored by:

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