Rio itself. With all the talk of crime in the streets, incomplete construction, Zika, pollution and the like, Rio has looked like the winner so far in these Olympic games. The opening ceremonies may have been too long, even with a 7:30 p.m. Eastern start, but they were memorable, from Gisele Bundchen’s catwalk across the stadium floor to the Tonga flagbearer (he’s a taekwondo athlete, by the way) to the global warming lecture, it was must see TV. And, they did it on a budget that was 12 times less than in London and 20 times less than Beijing.
Why we care…
With all the doom and gloom coming into these games, Rio needed to start strong, and organizers have delivered. Security is visible and plentiful, but once the games got under way, the complaints seemed to quiet down. Let’s hope it stays that way for the next two weeks.
Read the rest of Game Day Communication’s “The Take” here.
Blog post courtesy of Game Day Communications.
The challenge venue owners often face is what to do with all that space when your primary sport is no longer in season. In particular, a space as big as a racing oval has to find an activity as big as the space to bring in revenue in the off season. That’s why you’ll see, for example, multi-day concerts at race tracks.
The growth of extreme sport challenges, like Tough Mudder, Spartan Race and similar obstacle events has given these race tracks and other large venues, something to host on off weekends. And Michigan International Speedway has taken that idea one step further.
The Childrenz Challenge at MIS is in its third year and is in record territory. The muddy obstacle course for 4 to 13 year olds at Michigan International Speedway is looking at a record 2,200 participants on Aug. 13.
After having about 1,300 kids last year, the 1,500-kid limit for the Childrenz Challenge already was reached by Feb. 29 this year, Scott Vitale, founder and p...
An economic impact second only to college football? That’s a pretty significant impact. And that’s what is going on this week in South Bend.
Baton twirlers, yes, that staple of halftime band performances everywhere, are on the University of Notre Dame campus this week from around the country for the 47th annual America’s Youth on Parade baton twirling competition.
The South Bend Tribune reports that the National Baton Twirling Association’s competition — often dubbed the Super Bowl of baton twirling — draws contestants from all 50 states and many other countries. Age categories range from tots to the collegiate level in the diverse competition, which will include majorette contests, parade corps, flag corps, drill teams and cheerleading. By the way, the competition’s sessions are free and open to the public.
It's estimated that about 5,000 visitors come into the South Bend-Mishawaka area for the competition, and Meghan Huff, sports...
We’ve talked a lot about how you can use the facilities you have for the best events you can attract. And yes, we’ve seen a facilities “arms race” blossom, as cities look to expand their sports venues to bring in even bigger and, they hope, better events.
The “Gold Standard,” if you will, of sports facilities just may be in Blaine, Minnesota, where the National Sports Center is located. Billing itself as the World’s Largest Amateur Sports and Meeting Facility, the National Sports Center (NSC) boasts 50+ athletic fields, a golf course, an indoor FieldTurf field, velodrome, stadium, rinks and its own residence hall. It brings in more than 100 unique programs and events that will draw more than 4 million visitors each year.
In fact, the facility has welcomed over 50 million visitors since its opening in 1990, when it was built by the state of Minnesota as part of a statewide building program to improve its amateur sports facilities. The NSC ...
Check out our line-up of best practices and event webinars below and reserve your spot today!
USA Cycling
Thursday, July 21, 2016
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET
Presented by Micah Rice
Sponsored by MGM Resorts International
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Join Micah Rice from USA Cycling as he discusses what he looks for in a host city and what it takes to host their events. Micah will share details on their upcoming 2018-2019 USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championships, 2018-2019 USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships and the 2019-2020 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships. There will be time at the end of the presentation for questions. If you are unable to join us on the 21st, remember, you can download the webinar recording from our Webinar Archives (login required).
Create Success with Housing
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Presented by Patrick MacCoubrey
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In this webinar learn how event housing can help you improve ...
When it was announced that golf would return to the Olympics for the 2016 games, just about everyone was excited about the possibility of showing off the game to a worldwide audience. Coming with its own built-in star power in the form of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the like, golf seemed to be a sure-fire hit in ticket sales and TV viewership.
And then the Zika virus came along.
Although that might not be the real reason that many of the sport’s stars are not competing for their countries this summer, Zika and the potentially devastating effect it can have on the unborn have been enough to steer many of golf’s top names from heading to Brazil.
The latest to bow out? Jordan Spieth, who told International Golf Federation officials this week, just before a news conference, that he would not be playing next month in Brazil.
Spieth joins Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and McIlroy in deciding to skip the Games, mostly due to concerns about the Zika virus that is prevalen...
For a number of years back in the very late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the Florida State Games used to host a Business of Sports Symposium. As a new kid running a CVB in Lincoln, Nebraska, it was a great way to learn more about this new sales specialty. There weren’t many CVBs involved then. It was mostly sports commissions with some of them tussling with CVBs to get part of the lodging tax dollars.
So, this young guy from North Carolina, Hill Carrow, tried to organize a “National Association of Sports Commissions”. It didn’t resonate on the first try. He persisted, and a few of us started to listen. Along the way, we created the bones of the organization deciding such a group should be dedicated to sharing information with each other and rights holders, along with quality, professional education. The NASC was officially born in a meeting room in St. Louis with about fourteen people in attendance.
Why tell you ...
More than 900 members and events rights holders attended the 2016 NASC Sports Event Symposium in Grand Rapids to elect new NASC leadership, honor members with national awards and participate in dozens of continuing education programs led by industry leadership.
“As the only only not-for-profit trade association for the sport tourism industry offering an annual meeting for serious-minded sport tourism professionals, we enjoyed a week of educational programs to share best practices in the industry as well as honoring those doing great work in our member communities,” said Don Schumacher, CSEE, executive director of the NASC. “In future years, our
members will have the opportunity to visit three fantastic American cities in Sacramento, Minneapolis and San Diego as we host our annual Symposium in each city.”
The Symposium Committee is currently developing the schedule, recommended pricing structure and other important elements of the planning process. The Board of...
The Bluegrass Sports Commission in Lexington, Kentucky, has ambitious plans to draw more youth sports to the area, while offering recreation for residents with a $25 million sports complex.
The proposal, presented to the Urban County Council this spring, includes a 134-acre site already owned by the city. The Commission has agreed to raise more than $6 million for the complex, and is asking the city to fund the remainder. The payoff? An economic study by Hunden Strategic Partners shows that over 20 years the complex could generate $450 million in spending at Lexington hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
Although the designs aren’t final, the site has room for more than 20 sports including baseball, softball, soccer and more. The tentative plan also calls for a playground as well as walking tracks that would connect to area trails.
“This could be a true economic driver for our city,” Brian Miller, president and CEO of the commission, told the...
As the interest in the sport tourism market continues to grow, we are making a special effort to tell the NASCʼs story and increase exposure for our members at the national level.
For the third year, the NASC, in association with SportsBusiness Journal, will publish a special advertiser-supported section on the impact our members make in their communities and in sports. The section appearing in the August 8 issue will focus on the evolution of the sport tourism industry and how it impacts communities. Other areas of coverage will include industry trends and best practices, case studies and examples of successful events, and the monetization and economic impact of events.
This is a perfect platform for NASC members to showcase their role in the sport tourism industry. As an advertiser, you will be guaranteed an opportunity for a company spokesperson to be interviewed for the story.
With SportsBusiness Journal as our partner, we know that your message will be reaching an audie...