National Association of Sports Commissions Releases Annual State of the Industry Report

 Posted on: April 13 2017
The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC), in conjunction with Ohio University, released its annual State of the Industry Report for the sport event industry, and the survey shows the industry continues to be strong throughout the country. Estimated visitor spending associated with sports events in 2016 was $10.47 billion, a 10% increase from 2015, when the total was $9.45 billion. Between 2012 and 2016, according to the study, visitor spending in the United States has increased at a strong 26.1%. “The survey results show that sport event continues to be a major economic driver,” said Alan Kidd, president and CEO of NASC. “Our members lead the way in holding well-run events that keep rights holders as well as participants coming back year after year.” Other findings from the report show that 97% of the organizations have seen either consistent sponsorship revenue streams or an increase in sponsorship revenues for their events. Individual org...

Top 3 Takeaways When You Attend NASC Market Segment Meetings

 Posted on: August 30 2016
Have you experienced challenges with how to track room night information better, or do you wonder if others pay bid fees and, if they do, where do they receive the money?  Well, you are not alone with challenges or issues we may face in the sport tourism industry.  The upcoming NASC Market Segment Meetings in Indianapolis, October 25-26, 2016, is a great meeting to attend for the opportunity to discuss your challenges/issues and to share best practices in the sport tourism industry. NASC Market Segment Meetings are very beneficial.  Here are three top benefits for attending these meetings in Indianapolis. 1.         Learning Opportunity.  Market Segment Meetings are an excellent opportunity for you to sit down with your colleagues and share challenges or questions you may have.  Learn best practices, trends, strategies, ideas or solutions in small group discussions.  You will be discussing with organizations similar ...

The cost of keeping up

 Posted on: August 22 2016
You might remember the plans for a new high school football stadium for McKinney that called for a $62.8 million price tag for the facility. Well, the cost now is close to $69.9 million, because of construction overruns, according to a story published last week by Nanette Light, a staff writer for the Dallas News. In her article, she indicated that school board trustees learned last week that the costs are estimated to be $7.1 million more than what voters approved in May. The differences are attributed to higher concrete prices and additional road construction at the site, according to district officials. Originally the roads were to be built in phases but officials now have decided to build them all at the same time. McKinney is not alone in the higher pricing: The bill for the new stadium in Katy, Texas, has gone up around $4.5 million from the $58 million price tag the voters approved, and upgrades to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, are being scaled back because construction...

Schools’ losses could be sports community’s gain

 Posted on: August 15 2016
Olympic fever, albeit short term and every four years, can be a big driver in sports facilities. As we’ve seen Team USA excel in the pool and in gymnastics, expect little boys and girls everywhere (and their parents) to have visions of gold medals dancing in their heads. These expected booms in these sports (and more) can mean an increase in building these facilities—to meet the demands of more people who want to use state-of-the-art equipment and venues. An article in the South Bend Tribune reflects that demand—in the case of two northern Indiana cities, Elkhart and Plymouth, their schools’ facilities are aging (and a YMCA has closed) but those pools could be replaced by larger sports complexes to be used not just for students but for regional meets. If plans go through, northern Indiana would become home to two sports centers that could draw a variety of athletes, from soccer players to swimmers to fitness buffs. Both cities are planning to include a ...

And the big winner so far in Rio is…

 Posted on: August 8 2016
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.

Got mud?

 Posted on: August 2 2016
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...

Give it a twirl

 Posted on: July 25 2016
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...

Developing the best facilities

 Posted on: July 19 2016
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 ...

June’s Featured Member Benefit – NASC Economic Impact Calculator

 Posted on: June 27 2016
We continue our featured benefit for the month of June with a blog post on the NASC Economic Impact Calculator. The Economic Impact Calculator model and Event Spending data are based upon studies completed by Sportsimpacts at over 50 events within the last decade spanning various market sizes and event types, and a 2011-2012 Consumer Spending study conducted by the University of Arizona Sports Management program that analyzed daily visitor spending trends at 30 events spanning various market sizes and event types. Dr. Pat Rishe, Executive Director of Sportsimpacts, a national sports consulting firm, originally developed the calculator in 2007, which offers a consistent approach to calculate and report economic impact results. When used properly, the calculator allows NASC members to approximate the total direct spending stemming from all non-local sources, and report upon such findings in an accurate manner. Access to the calculator is offered to all NASC members as a benefit of member...

Call it the "Oprah” effect

 Posted on: June 20 2016
With all the time we spend talking about youth sports, it’s interesting to look at some of the more common sporting events that you probably see just about every weekend in your area—the charity 5K or 10K that you’ll run into (or be detoured around) on Saturday mornings. According to 2015 stats from Running USA, the number of recreational athletes completing road races declined for the second straight year in 2015. The reduction was by a more significant margin than in 2014, when finisher totals edged down one percent. For 2015, 17.1 million finishers were reported across all road race distances, a decrease of nine percent from the previous year. Between 1990 and 2013, finisher totals skyrocketed from five million road race runners to more than 19 million. But there is one group that is experiencing its own running boom—women. Women and girls, once an afterthought in the world of running, made up 57% of the 17 million U.S. race finishers last year, again accordi...
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