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Grab your dancing shoes, it’s time to tango with sponsors. Don’t worry, we aren’t here to teach you to salsa dance. Instead, we are here to help you build meaningful relationships with your sponsors. One of the simple ways to improve a sponsorship relationship, according to SBI, is elevating your sponsors. Give them a spotlight on your social pages, connect them with other business, or invite them to another event of yours. These easy tasks show them are thinking about them all year long. When it comes time to bring a sponsor in on an event, don’t create a cookie-cutter proposal. Add in your own flare that ties it all back to the sponsor. That could be a creative name, a giveaway, or a hashtag. Give them something they haven’t heard before. Sponsorships should be mutually beneficial. Sponsors want to support the team, but also have their brand well represented. Their happiness will be based on how well they are being recognized at your event. If y...

Sponsorships in this current age are more than just funding opportunities. Sponsors can be used to market your destination or event. MKTG analyzed three ways any sports commission can do this. Start by selecting a sponsor which helps you target a particular demographic. MKTG uses the example of Travel Alberta being a sponsor for the Los Angeles Kings. Travel Alberta created the Alberta Dome near the arena. The LA Kings encouraged fans to visit the dome before and after games, and to post pictures using a hashtag. With this activation, Alberta was able to market itself as a travel destination for Los Angeles residents. Is your destination not generally not know by the public? Or maybe you want to focus on one certain area. MKTG suggests finding a sponsor that will put your name in front of a large audience. This is what Azerbaijan did when they got a sponsorship deal from Atletico Madrid, a prominent Spanish soccer team. This gave Azerbaijan a chance to promote themselves as a tou...

The Super Bowl may have determined a winner on the gridiron, but the National Football League and its 32 teams may be the bigger winner. According to IEG research recently released, sponsorship in the NFL reached $1.39 billion for 2018-2019 season. That’s a 5.9% gain from last year. IEG found the growth was driven by two factors- a new group of league-wide sponsorships including technology company Intuit, restaurants McDonalds and Pizza Hut, and mattress company, Sleep Number. Also, signing the league’s first-ever “Official Casino Partner” with Caesar’s Entertainment. IEG says that deal is reportedly worth $30 million per year. The biggest surprise from this research is what IEG is calling the most invested brand. That title went to Ticketmaster. The ticket sales and distribution company has sponsorships with 100% of NFL properties. Budweiser/ Bud Light is at 88%, Gatorade at 79%. View full article from IEG.

We are officially under 100 days until the NASC Symposium! Are you joining us in Knoxville, Tennessee from May 6 through the 9th? Each year, leaders from event hosts, tourism professionals and industry partners gather to exchange resources, strategies and solutions. A few reminders for those of you coming to Knoxville: Do you have your hotel reservation? The hotel blocks are quickly filling up. Get yours today: https://www.sportscommissions.org/symposium/hotel-travel. Event owners -- NASC will book your hotel room.  Destinations: Register by 2/15/19 to be entered to win your top 3 mutually requested appointments (10 organizations will be selected) Vendors: Register by 2/15/19 to be entered to win a free pre-symposium eBlast (3 organizations will be selected) Event Owners: Register by 3/22/19 to be considered for travel assistance You can start preparing for the 2019 NASC Symposium right now. Check out which event owners are coming and which destinations wi...

How CVBs and Event Partners Can Provide a World-Class Experience to Visitors When you think of Disney World, what comes to mind? If you’ve ever had the chance to visit Mickey’s magical land, you know that every detail of every park and resort is tailored to create an immersive, unique experience to all who enter (and they do such a great job of this that they have a whopping 70% return rate for first time guests!).  So, what does Disney World have to do with us as event partners or host communities? Well, it’s safe to say that we’re all looking to provide the best possible experience to all of our guests so they continue to come back, year after year. It’s unlikely that most of us will be able to eliminate all litter at our events by ensuring that no trash can is ever more than 30 steps away, or create an elaborate system of underground tunnels for staff to travel between locations, but there are many other ways in which we can all work togethe...

“When others in our industry see CSEE after your name, they know right away what that means.” Clay Partain, a recent grad from the Certified Sports Event Executive (CSEE) program, knew from his first NASC Symposium that earning this credential would set him aside from his competition in the sports events and tourism industry.  As the current Director of Sports Market Sales for Visit Salt Lake, the CVB for the Salt Lake County, Partain knew that adding CSEE to the end of his title would show his stakeholders and employers that he means business.  Beyond the career development, Partain will forever be grateful for the network built from this experience.  The program offered him a chance to talk first hand with his peers about their successes, challenges and struggles and a support group to get advice from.  With sports tourism being a relatively small market that is completely relationship driven, he knows the bonds he has created will last for a very l...

A big win for two National Association Sports Commissions members as the National Hockey League selects two cities to host outdoor games in 2020. The 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic is headed to its southernmost location yet. The Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas will play host to the January 1st game. The contest will mark the first NHL regular-season outdoor game for the Dallas Stars. The game in 2020 will mark the 12th year for the first NHL Winter Classic. The Colorado Avalanche will also host an outdoor game in 2020 at the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs. The NHL Stadium Series will play at Falcon Stadium on February 15, 2020. The Avalanche’s opponent will be named at a later time. This is the second NHL outdoor game for the state of Colorado, and the first in Air Force’s history. Congratulations to both Dallas Sports Commission and Denver Sports!   Read full article by NHL.

CINCINNATI, Jan. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Association of Sports Commissions is getting ready for its 2019 program slate of four national conferences, which will bring the national membership and sports events leaders in the industry together for educational and networking opportunities. The Women’s Summit from April 3-5 hosted in Tampa, Florida is developed by top female leaders in the sports events and tourism industry to help women achieve their career goals. Topics include building allies, breaking down barriers, personal branding and female entrepreneurship. Registration is open now: https://www.sportscommissions.org/education/womens-summit The NASC Symposium, which will be held May 6-9 in Knoxville, Tennessee, will bring hundreds of sports events and tourism professionals and industry partners together to exchange resources, strategies and more. The Symposium features dozens of education sessions, networking opportunities, and business development...

Illinois is the birthplace for wheelchair basketball, so it’s fitting the NWBA National Junior Wheelchair Basketball Tournament is headed back to the state. The 2019 Tournament will be held in New Lenox, IL, a suburb southwest of Chicago, from March 29-31. The tournament will host three competitions for the Junior Division: National Junior Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NJWBT) National Junior Invitational Tournament (NJIT) National Prep Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NPWBT) This will be the 27th year of the Junior Division Nationals, and the fourth time Prairie State College has hosted the tournament. The 16-top ranked Varsity level teams will compete in the NJWBT, with the teams ranked 17-32 competing in the NJIT. The NPWBT tournament will be comprised of the top 16 Varsity teams from Prep. “We are excited to host the 2019 National Junior Wheelchair Basketball Tournaments in the Chicago Southland and are proud supporters of adaptive recreation,&r...

NEW YEAR - NEW YOU Happy New Year! The NASC Mentoring and Engagement Committee wishes each of you the best in 2019: in business, personal relationships, competitions, and personal growth! Goal #1 - I will read this entire blog post. Goal #2 - I will take the action at the end of the post. If you can reach these two goals you’ll begin the year with two ‘Wins!’ GOALS = SUCCESS If you want to succeed you must set goals. Without goals we flounder, directionless. Goals provide a roadmap, waypoints, direction, and, ultimately, achievement. Your goals can be short-term or long-term; your goals can be personal and/or professional; your goals can be big dreamer and/or mundane. The point is that with our goals on paper they become real and attainable. Take a few moments to review how to create, measure, and realize your goals! GET MOTIVATED Get excited about what you want to achieve this year. It’s a new year and we are all recharging for the upc...