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Contact: Jackie Reau Game Day (513) 708-5822 jreau@gamedaypr.com Sports ETA taps 4FRONT as official innovation and marketing partner CINCINNATI (March 3, 2021) – Sports ETA, the trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, announced today an official partnership with 4FRONT to guide the association in offering new innovative education and marketing programs to its national membership. “4FRONT has been a long-time partner of Sports ETA offering cutting edge programming for our members, which have all earned rave reviews,” said Al Kidd, President & CEO of Sports ETA. “We are thrilled that 4FRONT will serve as the Official Innovation Engine of Sports ETA.” In 2020, 4FRONT created two new certificate programs for Sports ETA: Sports Tourism Innovation Certificate and the Sports Tourism Analytics Certificate to launch Sports ETA’s new education portfolio, the Sports Tourism Learning Institute, and its Sports Tourism Stra...

In a time of COVID-19, events look a little different. After seven years in the industry, this Sport ETA Young Professional has been forced to make some changes Meet Katie Langland. Katie is the Business Development Manager at Minneapolis Northwest Tourism. She is responsible for bringing events into one of three cities while developing and maintaining relationships with planners and partners. “Meeting other sports tourism suppliers and planners from all over the country is my favorite part of the industry,” Langland said. “You meet so many people and before you know it, they become your friends. You have support, people to talk to and learn from, and a huge support system.” In the future, she wants to become more involved with sports tourism. She is already involved with MPI MN and MN Festivals and Events Association. Outside of sports, Katie enjoys a myriad of outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, and traveling. Greece is at the top of her trave...

Looking to the future, this Sport ETA Young Professional plans to double their sports economic impact from before COVID-19 shook the world. Stan Adams has a vision. After being in the industry for five years, Stan is working at Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports as the Director of Sports. As the director, he oversees developing, maintaining, running, and acquiring sports events to generate economic impact for the Tuscaloosa Community. Stan has had some incredible experiences working in the industry: “Being involved with the largest high school basketball tournament in the country, the Gov. Challenge, running the Alabama High School Football Championships in Bryant Denny Stadium, getting to meet Deontay Wilder, and of course making lifelong friends with everyone in the industry at conferences.” Outside of work, sports are still a huge part of Stan’s life. He lives for Miami sports. Watching or attending any game for the Heat, Dolphins or Marlins is his go-to hob...

Contact: Jackie Reau Game Day (513) 708-5822 jreau@gamedaypr.com   CINCINNATI (February 16, 2021) Sports ETA, the trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, announced today the rescheduling of its three spring events: Women’s Summit, Facilities Summit, and the Annual Symposium.   The Annual Symposium will take place in Birmingham, Alabama from October 25-29, 2021. The Women’s Summit and Facilities Summit will be delivered as live events in Birmingham, adjacent to the Annual Symposium. Schedule, details, and registration information will be forthcoming.   “By co-hosting these three annual events, we can continue to deliver networking opportunities and educational programming for our membership while being sensitive to travel and budget expenses,” said Al Kidd, President & CEO of Sports ETA.   Registration Members who are registered for the Symposium in April will automatically be transferred to October...

Many of you may remember the welcome Sports ETA and its members received at the 2019 Symposium in Knoxville. The one where the mayor slammed someone into a table. If not, check out the clip and you may begin to understand this next Young Professional’s love for Knoxville. Parker Medley has been with Knoxville Sports Commission for over four years. He’s the Sports Sales Director, promoting Knoxville and Knox County as a premier sports tourism destination. The 2019 Sports ETA Symposium has been one of his best experiences in the industry. “{The Symposium} brought in a record number of attendees. It was very fulfilling to showcase our beautiful city to rights holders and DMO’s across the country,” Medley said. Parker also enjoyed taking a group of clients to the Battle at Bristol, which was the largest attended college football game ever. It helped that Tennessee came out victorious. Another win that Parker loves to remember- his alma mater Florid...

Contact: Jackie Reau Game Day (513) 708-5822 jreau@gamedaypr.com Sports ETA names Russ Yurk as Special Projects Coordinator CINCINNATI (February 2, 2021) – Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA) has appointed Russ Yurk as Special Projects Coordinator. He will oversee events rights holder relationships on behalf of the organization to increase connectivity with the Sports ETA membership. He is a sport industry professional with more than 27 years of experience in event management and project development on the international, intercollegiate, national and state levels. Most notably, he has worked with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2017 World Rowing Championships, USA Baseball and 2021 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U18 Baseball World Cup, among others. This past year, he managed the site selection process for the NCAA Championships program. Yurk will continue his sports industry consultancy with 129 Sports as well. &ldqu...

Contact: Jackie Reau, Game Day jreau@gamedaypr.com | (513) 708-5822 Sports ETA and Playeasy Create Strategic Partnership to Connect Sports Events and Tourism Industry   CINCINNATI (January 27, 2021) – Sports ETA, the trade association for the U.S. sports events and tourism industry, and Playeasy, the digital platform that connects event organizers, athletic facilities, and sports destinations across the country, announced today that they have created a strategic partnership to better serve the industry.   The partnership connects Playeasy’s online marketing, market analysis and lead generation software platform to Sports ETA’s established network of sports destinations, industry partners, and facilities and rights holders. Additionally, Playeasy and Sports ETA will collaborate on future product features and enhancements that create additional value to all stakeholders across the sports events and tourism ecosystem.   All in all, destinati...

Are you still thinking about how to get your team motivated in the new year? Game On Nation is offering a free virtual masterclass on February 3rd at 11:30 am EST, sharing the same game-based tactics they’ve used to inspire exec teams at NASCAR, Pirates, Grizzlies, Deloitte, and Merck. Register for Techniques to Transform: How to Activate and Engage your Team in 2021 at https://levelup.gameonnation.com/masterclass Game On: Techniques to Transform

The Winter 2020 - 2021 edition of the Playbook is available now. Download your copy. Inside This Issue: Evaluating Resident Sentiment  "Street Sweeper" Mentality Lessons Learned in the #Return2Racing Add Something Extra To Your Symposium Experience Sports ETA Makes Strategic Shift During COVID-19 We encourage members to share information with their peers. Contact Meagan Grau to learn more about how you can contribute to a future edition of The Playbook.

While nobody has a blueprint for navigating through COVID-19, Al Kidd, CEO of Sports ETA, the national trade association for sports tourism, has put his decades of business experience to use in managing through these unprecedented times. This interview, conducted in early November, captures what the organization has done to help its members stay informed and emerge intact when the pandemic has subsided. SPORTS PLANNING GUIDE: HOW DO YOU BEST SUMMARIZE 2020? Al Kidd: There’s three things that have happened during this time: Reaction phase – this started with, OMG, what happened, followed by readjustments, furloughs and trying to figure out guidelines for reopening. Recharge phase – this focused on professional development and diversification. This is where education flourished. We jumped in very quickly to find services and products that would make a difference. One of the things we did was establish a virtual distribution network called SE...