Symposium

https://issuu.com/sportscommissions/docs/2017_sponsor_prospectus

As registration just opened for the 25th annual NASC Sports Event Symposium, it is never too early to start planning for appointments.  Whether you are a rights holder, DMO, sports commission, or vendor, appointments require some level of planning from both an appointment setting and discussion point of view. There is nothing more frustrating than sitting down for an appointment with someone who is unprepared for the meeting. Whether you are a rights holder or a destination, the first thing you need to know going into a trade show with appointment style meetings is “know what you are selling.”  If you are a rights holder this means knowing the type of event, a time frame, and your minimum list of requirements.  If you don’t know what your requirements are, then how are destinations supposed to know if they can accommodate your event?  From the destination side, the DMO/Sports Commission must know its own inventory.  There is no point in meeti...

Cincinnati, OH and Vancouver, BC; September 7, 2016 – The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) announced today that it has signed a contract with Meetingmax, provider of the travel industry’s most flexible online housing reservation software.  Through the agreement, Meetingmax’s online accommodation platform will handle hotel room bookings for NASC’s events and conferences, including the NASC Sports Event Symposium. The system will handle all 2,500 room nights associated with the 2017 symposium, to be held in Sacramento from March 27 to 30. “As a member organization, customer service is of the utmost importance to us,” says Lori Gamble, Associate Executive Director, National Association of Sports Commissions. “By using the Meetingmax Housing software, our members and sponsors will be able to easily compare participating hotels and make their reservations online. On our end, it will allow our team to effectively manage the roo...

Registration and housing for the 2017 NASC Sports Event Symposium opens on Tuesday, September 6. The 2017 Symposium, scheduled for March 27-30 in Sacramento, CA, marks the 25th anniversary of the only non-profit, 501(c)3 association for the sport tourism industry in the United States.  The Symposium features dozens of authentic education sessions, countless networking opportunities, and business development appointments in the NASC Sports Marketplace.   The NASC staff, Board of Directors and Symposium Committee are looking forward to seeing you.  By attending, you will learn how to produce measurable ROI, elevate your sports events, and improve the quality of life in your destination.  First Class of NASC Hall of Fame Inductees to Be Recognized in Sacramento The 2017 schedule includes recognition of the very first class of the NASC Hall of Fame inductees during the opening ceremony. The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to promote the professional manage...

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...

As your professional association continues toward its 25th Anniversary at our 2017 Sports Event Symposium in Sacramento, it seems a good time to look back on the process that led to adopting bylaws and obtaining not-for- profit status. The process itself took three years, and perhaps what is most important is this: the NASC was founded to be THE place where host organizations could gather and share experiences. The first conversations regarding an association took place in 1989. A volunteer committee was formed and work continued through 1990 and 1991, culminating in adoption of bylaws and the election of officers and directors April 10-11, 1992. The single person deserving of credit for making this process work is Hill Carrow. Hill made certain our organizational meetings had agendas and minutes and each meeting resulted in progress. Those persons present in 1992 and still involved in the NASC besides Hill are Vicky Comegys, Dennis Gann, Mike Millay, Dan Quandt, and myself. Fina...

For many of you, whether you’re an events rights holder or operate a sports venue, this is your Christmas season—it’s your busiest, most frantic time of the year as schools let out and summer sports organizations kick into high event gear. You’ll be working on multi-session, multi-day tournaments and won’t be able to catch your breath until the last champion is crowned. So this is a good time to remind all of us, in between cursing the rain, the broken popcorn maker and the late t-shirt delivery, why we do what we do in sports, especially youth sports. Earlier this year, Fortune Magazine published an article, “Here’s Why Women Who Play Sports Are More Successful” by Beth Brooke-Marciniak, global vice chair of public policy at EY. A study by Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports confirms what we all know—about 70% of children in the U.S drop out of organized sports before age 13. We’...

Check out our line-up of best practices and event webinars below and reserve your spot today! Financing Sport Tourism & Recreation Assets, Part II Best Practices Webinar Wednesday, May 25, 2016 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET Presented by Don Schumacher Register Now! Join NASC Executive Director, Don Schumacher, CSEE as he presents a follow up to the Financing Sport Tourism session that was presented in Grand Rapids, MI during the 24th NASC Symposium. During this webinar, Don will discuss proven methods, critical elements, and insight to demystify the financing process for new sports venues. This is a webinar for those with an interest in new project development and those desiring to broaden their knowledge related to project finance. There will be time at the end of the webinar for questions. If you are unable to join us on the 25th, you can download the recording from the webinar archives page on www.SportsCommissions.org. NASC Economic Impact Calculator Best Practices Webinar Wednesday...

What a week it was in Grand Rapids! We want to thank everyone who attended the 24th NASC Sports Event Symposium. We had a blast and we hope you did too, but we also hope you took something (or many somethings) away from your meetings and networking during the week that will help you now that you’re back in the office. We learned lots during our week in Grand Rapids, including:    You love our educational components. We heard time and time again that you appreciate the educational opportunities that NASC offers, not just at meetings (like the CSEE program) but links and contacts that are available 24/7 on the NASC website. We hope more of you can take advantage of any and all of our opportunities to learn from each other. You recommend NASC to your friends who aren’t members (yet). As NASC membership grows, we’re always looking for ways to reach those who are in the sports tourism business, but who aren’t members of NASC. You told us that you...