TAMPA (April 7, 2025) -- The 2025 Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA) Women’s Summit was held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four and proudly hosted by the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. From April 2–4, female leaders from across the sports events and tourism industry—including representatives from CVBs, sports commissions, rights holders, and industry partners—gathered to explore emerging trends and exchange best practices in business, leadership, and advocacy. This year’s Summit marked a milestone moment, with a 60% increase in attendance—making it the largest and most impactful gathering in the event’s history.
Expert Panelists Present at the Sports ETA Women’s Summit
The lineup of keynote speakers included the following:
Claire Lessinger, Tampa Bay Sports Commission
Linda Logan, Greater Columbus Sports Commission
Taylor Obersteadt, WIN for KC
Natasha Reyes, Sport Oregon
Kourt...
TAMPA, FL (April 3, 2025) -– The Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA) announced today that Marissa Werner, Director of Sports Milwaukee at VISIT Milwaukee, has been named the 2025 Sports ETA Woman of the Year. The award was presented today during the annual Sports ETA Women’s Summit, as part of the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
This prestigious honor celebrates a woman who has demonstrated exemplary leadership, innovation, and commitment in the sports events and tourism industry.
Werner, who launched and now leads Sports Milwaukee, a division of VISIT Milwaukee, has played an instrumental role in elevating Milwaukee as a destination for premier sporting events and advocating for health and wellness through community engagement.
“Marissa Werner’s recognition as Sports ETA’s Woman of the Year is a testament to her incredible passion for health and wellness in our community as well as her relentless dedication to bringing world-...
CINCINNATI (February 4, 2025) – The Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA), the trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, announced today a new partnership with Team Travel Source, a leader in tournament housing for youth sports, and software company EventPipe as the official housing technology and services providers for Sports ETA events.
Under the partnership, Team Travel Source will serve as the Housing Services Provider, managing customer service and support for Sports ETA members and event attendees. EventPipe will act as the Housing Technology Provider, supplying the platform for booking online reservations and streamlining the housing management process. Events included in the agreement are the 2025 Sports ETA Symposium in Tulsa, the 2025 4S Summit in Annapolis, MD, the 2026 Chief Executive Summit (location TBD) and the 2026 Women’s Summit in Phoenix.
“We’re excited to work with Team Travel Source and EventPipe to e...
Save the Date: February 7 is not just another day—it's National Women and Girls in Sports Day! To celebrate this empowering occasion, we're thrilled to kick off our first Women's Community meeting of 2024 at 3 PM ET 🌟
Join us for an exclusive session with Katherine Holland, Executive Director of KC2026. She'll be sharing the incredible journey that led her to where she is today in the dynamic world of sports events and tourism.
But wait, there's more! Have your voice heard and shape the future of our meetings by completing our brief 2-minute survey. Your input is crucial in crafting content that truly resonates with you. Take the survey: https://forms.gle/bzs2MCsKkabxAGmr7
Let's keep the conversation going! Stay connected and be part of the vibrant exchange in our LinkedIn group. Your insights and experiences matter, and we look forward to celebrating the spirit of women in sports together!
See you virtually on Februa...
Women’s Summit held in Dallas on Eve of NCAA Women’s Final Four
By Jennifer Stoll, PhD, Stoll Strategies
There is simply something special about the Sports Events & Tourism Association's annual Women's Summit held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four! I can't explain it, but learning from exceptional peers and industry dynamos is invigorating. This year was no exception as we saw a tremendous number of first-time attendees connect with seasoned ladies in real, open, and honest conversations. New industry relationships were formed that undoubtedly will last a lifetime.
Congratulations to Monica Paul and her team for hosting this year’s NCAA Women’s Final Four, one of the best tournaments I can remember. TV viewership of the final games was at an all-time high and the games featured some of the best players and coaches in today’s game.
“What a way to close out Women’s History Month. I can’t b...
Volunteer Opportunity
Interested in volunteering at the Women's Final Four? Check out these opportunities:
Tourney Town shifts at the convention center:
Thursday, March 30 until 8:30pm (the Women's Summit ends at 5pm and it's an open evening)
Friday, March 31 until 5:30pm
Final Four shifts at American Airlines Center:
Friday, March 31 from 4:00pm to 11:30pm
Details:
Volunteers will proudly represent Dallas with every interaction with each other and the fans. Volunteers will create excitement for NCAA Women's Final Four as fans engage during their time at Tourney Town. Volunteers will greet fans, assist with waiver stations, and staff the different activations and basketball activities. This is a great way to make an impact for NCAA Women's Final Four. Be ready to be on your feet for your shift.
You will need to create an account and register HERE.
You will create a profile and submit a background check
Women’s Summit: March 31 - April 2, 2021 hosted in San Antonio, Texas
Sports Facilities Summit: April 26-27, 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama
Symposium: April 26-29, 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama
4S Summit: October 19-21, 2021 in El Paso, Texas
The Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA) announced today its 2021 slate of programs, which includes four signature events designed to bring the national membership and sports events and tourism industry leaders together for educational and networking opportunities.
The Women’s Summit, planned for March 31-April 2 hosted in San Antonio, Texas, is developed by top female leaders in the sports events and tourism industry to help women achieve their career goals. Attendees will take away tools and resources to elevate their personal brand and become more valuable to their organization. Registration is open now: https://www.sportseta.org/events/womens-summit
The Sports ETA Symposium, which will be...
CINCINNATI (March 20, 2020) – Sports ETA, the association for the sport tourism industry, announced its revised schedule of 2020-21 programs to bring the national membership and sports events leaders in the industry together for educational and networking opportunities.
The Annual Symposium has been moved to August 2-5, 2020, remaining in Kansas City, Missouri, and 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 discussions, all to help Sports ETA members elevate their sports events and improve their work in their destinations. Registration for 2020 is open. The 2021 Annual Symposium will be held April 26-29 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Attendees can focus on the four S’s of sports events and tourism: strategy, service, sales, and sponsorship at this year&rsqu...
Sports ETA announced today that it will move its Women’s Summit in New Orleans due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. We are currently working on a plan to reschedule the Summit for later in the year.
Additionally, we are continuing to evaluate options surrounding the annual Symposium from April 20-23 in Kansas City and will provide more information next week. We are going to delay opening the appointment portal until all Symposium details are confirmed. Once all details are finalized, communication will be shared with all registered attendees.
Take a look at this COVID-19 Response Plan from our PR partners, Game Day Communication.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Janis Ross, janis@SportsETA.org, 541.915.9479.
Thank you,
Al Kidd
President and CEO
Sports ETA
Attention women in the sports industry- Sports ETA is excited to welcome you to the 2020 Women’s Summit on April 1-3 in New Orleans. We’ll be talking about our personalized Enneagram Assessments with Deni Tato, Media Training, and Negotiation Skills for Professional Women with attorney Tracy Warren.
The Enneagram Assessment Test is a great opportunity to understand your personal habits. Recognizing not who you are, but why you act in the way that you do. Deni Tato is a certified Enneagram trainer and will help you better understand the deeper motivations behind your behavior in her workshop at this year’s summit. We held a webinar preview for the workshop, which you can access the recoding for here.
Also coming to the Women’s Summit is Tracy Warren. The attorney with Buchalter Law will present the best practices to hone negotiation skills specific for professional women. To help with our media skills, Betsy Ross and Jackie Reau from Game Day will teach you...