Symposium

The NASC Symposium is just over two weeks away, which means it’s time to request event overview appointments! The Symposium is a phenomenal way to network and learn more about the industry from the people currently thriving in it. Wondering how to do that? It’s simple! Start by going to the NASC Symposium website to update your profile. Making sure that your profile is up to date is vital because you may not appear correctly in the member directory, which is where Symposium attendees look when requesting/accepting appointments. After that, make your request for all the organizations you would like to meet with during event overview appointments. You will be able to view a list of organization’s that you have a confirmed one-on-one appointment. Once you submit the request, rank each one, while also accepting or declining appointments requested of you, to ensure that you receive the best possible matches.  If you request an appointment, but the other organiza...

The countdown is on for the 27th annual NASC Symposium! Before your bags are packed, check the conference website. Then, as you prepare to meet event rights holders, vendors and destination representatives from throughout the USA in Knoxville, Tennessee May 6- 9, you might want to check it again. This will help you ensure the most efficient and effective use of your time! NASC staff and volunteer members have worked diligently to provide several great resources to assist you as you get organized to attend the NASC’s annual meeting (for the first time or the 27th)! Follow the links below to find answers to many of your questions: Hotel & Travel Schedule Education Marketplace NASC FAQs Blogs Hotel & Travel: Traveling to a destination by yourself (especially for the first-time) can seem a bit intimidating. A little advanced homework will reduce potential concerns and set you up for a fun, successful conference experience. Review your...

We are just over a month away from the 2019 NASC Symposium. No, you don’t need to start packing your bags just yet, but you do need to start planning out what you want your week to look like. We just released the education sessions for the 2019 Symposium in Knoxville, Tennessee from May 6-9. If you are part of a destination looking to attract more events to your city, you may consider sitting in on sessions like “Developing your Destination’s Sports Tourism Program” on Tuesday or “Bidding on NAIA Events” on Thursday. For the sales and development managers, there are also sessions for building brand awareness, partnership strategies, and valuing sponsorships. There are more than 25 education sessions planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so there is something for each member of your team coming to the Symposium. Check them all out here. Also, if you registered for the CSEE course at the NASC Symposium, put on your crisis mode c...

As I’ve gained more “experience” (another way of stating that I’m getting older) in this industry, I tend to be more straight forward about the positives and negatives of the sports events industry. No need to sugar coat anything. And that’s what I’d like to comment on here, to hopefully save those of you just getting started, a lot of potential headaches. So, here’s the scenario - you’ve just started your career at your local sports commission or CVB as the new sports events’ sales manager. As the new person, you’re fired up because you get to work in sports, and you think you have the sports facilities in your area to do big things.  And you want to get out there and get that first big event for your area, a real home run, as soon as possible. You attend your first NASC Symposium and meet with numerous event-owners and they all sound great. You think to yourself, wow we could do ALL these events in our destination &n...

The appointment portal for the 2019 NASC Sports Marketplace opens next week, Wednesday, March 27. Here are the 5 most important things you need to know:  The portal will be open from March 27 at 9:00 a.m. ET – April 17 at 11:59 p.m. ET. During this time, you will only request/accept/decline/rank appointments for one-on-one slots. The event overview appointment portal will be open from April 22 – April 24. Only the first registered attendee from your organization will have access to the appointment portal. Your organization’s Symposium registration(s) and 2019 membership dues must be paid in full before you can access the appointment portal. Click here to check the status of your organization’s registration and/or dues. Make the most of every appointment. If your organization’s membership profile is not up-to-date, your org...

The 2019 NASC Symposium is right around the corner -- which means we are gearing up for the Sports Legacy Fund Silent Auction! While in Knoxville, make sure you stop by the one and only Women's Basketball Hall of Fame for our Halftime event on Tuesday, May 6. You won't want to miss this opportunity to sip on Ole Smokey Mountain Moonshine, play casino games, network with industry colleagues, and bid on silent auction items! So what can you bid on? How about a WiFi Smart Video Doorbell or a pair of Beat headphones? A throwback prize of a Nintendo NES Classic Mini Console and a $100 Visa gift card! We are constantly adding new items, so check back often to view newly added items. Don't wait, start bidding now. The 2019 Sports Legacy Fund Silent Auction is open for mobile bids until 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7. To view auction items and place a bid, click here. You will be asked to create a free account. Live action bidding will take place on Tue...

The Spring 2019 edition of the NASC Playbook is available now.  Download your copy. Inside this issue: What kind of leader do you want to be Sports Facilities Summit On motivating your employees Why rebrand the NASC That aha moment 12 questions for CVBs and Sports Commissions Symposium education track line-up Staying competitive on and off the sports field  We encourage members to share information with your peers. Contact Meagan Grau, Director of Member Services and Engagement, at meagan@sportscommissions.org to learn more about how you can contribute to a future edition of The NASC Playbook. The NASC Staff

A mentor is someone that will guide you along the path you have chosen, someone that will help you overcome challenges and build your character, while being motivated to support you and being a positive influence on your journey. Have you identified important individuals that have had a positive impact on your life? These individuals could be friends or advisers that you haven’t talked to in years, but they are still mentors to you. Reach out to them, thank them and start up that new dialogue. For me, it was a college professor at Ohio State in 2003, and I never realized how important he was to helping create who I am today and why I ended up in the sports tourism industry in 2012. After nine years of working in a variety of roles in professional sports – from interning and working full-time for a Minor League Baseball team, to spending time selling sponsorships for a PGA golf tournament and then moving into event operations for a golf contractor, then finally landing...

When you begin to plan for your event, something that is a driving force of how you plan is the event’s branding strategy. Everything is centered around what colors you associate with your brand, the logo, the tagline, and the name of your event. Beyond that, how your event goes will affect the future of your brand and can change it forever. Keeping this in mind, here are some tips from ‘Wild Apricot’ for keeping your branding strong throughout the event planning process. Name your event.  The name of your event is the first thing your future consumers will see.  It can easily be a make or break if someone decides to participate in it so you need to make sure your tagline is eye catching and easily explains the event.  With naming your event, think about how your event is different from others in your area and what are you wanting the message that your consumers read is.  Create a tagline. Once you have the name, think of a short and m...

Among the numerous segments comprising a destination’s tourism portfolio, often exists sports and event tourism. These efforts may reside in any number of organizational structures from within a destination marketing organization (DMO), a government entity or stand-alone organization. The growth of sports and event tourism has been undeniable. The industry’s professional association originated with merely a dozen communities gathering to share ideas more than 25 years ago. Today, what would become the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC), serves more than 840 members from across the country and beyond. As the go-to resource for the robust sports and events tourism industry, the NASC serves not only destination representatives, but just as importantly, sports and event rights holders looking for host destinations that can accommodate their events, venue and facility operators, and a plethora of industry suppliers. Destinations ranging in population from less ...