Sportstravel Podcast

Last year the editors of SportsTravel got together for a year end recap for the first time and we thought it would be a great idea to do that again. In this episode, Managing Editor Matt Traub, Associate Editor Justin Shaw and Executive Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz take a look at their biggest takeaways from the past year, stories that resonated with them, stories that flew under the radar, the biggest international news and their favorite events to cover. But they'll also take a look at stories they will be following in the year to come and will each make a bold prediction for 2024. And pay attention to those predictions as last year, two of their three ended up coming true with Matt predicting chaos in conference realignment and Justin impressively calling that the Denver Nuggets would win the NBA championship with Nikola Jokic being named MVP. Jason's prediction of the University of Colorado winning the College Football Playoff National Championship failed to come to fruition — although for three wee

J.C. Poma spent almost 7 years with Richmond Region Tourism, working his way up from manager to director to vice president before leaving earlier this year. He didn’t venture far, as he went about 20 miles south of Richmond to the small city of Chesterfield, Virginia. Since arriving in Chesterfield, his task has been to build up the Play Chesterfield brand within the Sports, Visitation, & Entertainment department, and both utilize and upgrade the various facilities in the area. Poma’s philosophy of building from within has Play Chesterfield focused on creating spaces for residents to play and interact, while also looking to bring in tournaments and events from outside the county to drive revenue. We talked with Poma about what his short and longterm goals are, how he and his team are promoting the new Play Chesterfield venture and the delicate balance of keeping the locals happy, while establishing the destination as a prime spot for sports tourism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flag football being named to the 2028 Olympic program earlier this year completed an impressive rise for the sport. Having the sport in the Los Angeles Games is a massive win for the NFL in broadening its global reach. On the IOC’s part, having the NFL promoting the Olympics does the same in expanding its reach and marketing to fans of a sport who may have never bothered with the Games in the past. And having gender equality in flag football is a big reason why the IOC was open to the idea of the sport being on the program; more than half a dozen states have sanctioned girls’ flag football as a varsity sport. We talked with USA Football Chief Executive Officer and President Scott Hallenbeck about the sport’s inclusion into the Olympics, its rise among girls and female participants, and much more about the sport’s global reach.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Khalid Cannon didn’t have the most direct route to the world of Ivy League athletics, but he certainly made the most of his opportunity. Growing up on a chicken farm in Alabama, his father was incarcerated when he was just a toddler, a development that led him to sports as a youth as an outlet for the challenges his family naturally faced. Not only did he excel athletically in baseball, football and other sports, he excelled academically as well. So much so that when it came time to consider playing football in college, he caught the eye of coaches at Yale and eventually played offensive line for the Bulldogs while pursuing degrees in chemistry and geology. After graduation, his career included a stint at a gold mining corporation until a conversation with a fellow former Yale football player turned him on to a fledgling nonprofit called Put Me In! The mission of Put Me In! is to be a support to the more than 5 million kids who are estimated to have a parent who is incarcerated. CIPS, or children of incarcera

Like many elements of the incredibly fast-growing sport of pickleball, the PPA Tour does not yet have a long history, having been founded in 2018. But its growth has also been very much on the upswing. Today the tour offers 24 events nationwide and a prize purse exceeding $5 million. Carvana is on as a title sponsor and interest on all levels in the tour continues to rise. Recent months have also seen the signing of a slate of professional players, many of who are former tennis stars like Sam Querry, Jack Sock and Genie Bouchard to name a few. The recently announced merger with Major League Pickleball, an entity that has taken more of a team approach, also promises to grow the pie. And the PPA Tour recently became the first league to allow gambling on matches, opening the sport to a new audience of potential bettors on the action. In this conversation, we chat with tour’s president, Bryce Morgan, about where the tour has been, where it’s headed and trends the PPA is watching by way of venue development, site

The Maryland Cycling Classic, a one-day competition sanctioned by USA cycling and UCI, the sport’s international federation, is the centerpiece of a full Labor Day weekend of activities throughout the Baltimore region. The event is owned and operated by the Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, of which Terry Hasseltine is the president. We chatted with Terry recently about getting the event off the ground last year after two previously scheduled attempts were cancelled because of the pandemic, what goes into the planning and logistics of the event, if anything has changed from the inaugural year to this year and what the event could grow to be in future years. We hope you enjoy the conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The EsportsTravel Summit is the world’s largest gathering of esports tournament and video-game event organizers and the only event focused on the travel side of the esports industry. Presented by SportsTravel and hosted by Destination Toronto, the 2023 EsportsTravel Summit was held July 12–14, 2023, in Toronto. One of the major programming sessions at the event was on grassroots esports. Recognizing the important work being done at the grassroots may be even more crucial to a destination’s success in building an esports ecosystem of its own. In this session, attendees were able to hear the experiences and advice from a panel of experts that included Katie Briggs, president at LanFest; Melissa Burns, founder and chair of Esports Canada and Gerald Solomon, executive director of the NASEF. 2:15: What is the big-picture state of grassroots esports? 5:45: The differences between grassroots esports and the other disciplines of the industry 9:25: The value that grassroots esports brings to destinations around North

The National Council of Youth Sports has member organizations that go beyond just sports organizations. Destination marketing organizations are also involved as are groups whose missions it is to foster a great youth sports experience. But the sports organizations that belong to the National Council of Youth Sports represent some of the largest groups by participation in the country. Some 60 million young people are registered to play sports in these member organizations, making the council the perfect place to engage in deeper conversations about youth sports. And that’s some of what we’ll dive into in this deep conversation with Wayne Moss, who has been the organization’s executive director since 2018. Specifically, we’re going to discuss the top of safety in youth sports, a topic that encompasses not only emotional and physical safety in the form of abuse prevention but also physical safety when it comes to preventing injuries on the field of play. And as the country saw in real time last season when the B

Sustainability has never been a more important factor in the sports market with events that are some of the most high-profile in the world. Tim Trefzer has led sustainability efforts at Mercedes Benz Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff and the Atlanta Falcons among others. He also co-founded the Sustainable Sport index, the sports industry’s first benchmark of sustainability. SportsTravel Managing Editor Matt Traub talked with Tim recently on how sports organizations can use its events to educate people about climate change, how much sustainability has increased as a priority in sports and its venues, the most important topics of focus still needed for sports venues to be sustainable and much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second annual TEAMS Europe included leading experts from global organizations including the National Football League, the International Olympic Committee, World Rugby, the International Tennis Federation, LaLiga, Major League Baseball and more. TEAMS—the world’s leading conference and expo for the sports-event industry—unites sport event organizers with destinations, venues and suppliers interested in hosting or supporting their events. The conference returned to the ExCeL Center in London from June 27–29, 2023. In addition to business development through a marketplace with pre-arranged appointments, the conference featured educational sessions focused on some of the most significant events and issues in the industry today. 1:48: How North American Professional Sports Have Found New Markets  12:00: Rugby World Cup: 2023 And Beyond 21:22: Games Learning: Best Practices from the Olympic Movement  29:10: The Legal Arena: Trends You Need to Know  36:35: Sustainability Now: How Your Organization Can Be Mor

USA Gymnastics is looking to build a national training and wellness center that will serve as the hub for the national governing body and has issued a request of expressions of interest directed at destinations and real estate developers targeting a 2026 project completion, said President and Chief Executive Officer Li Li Leung during a discussion on the SportsTravel Podcast. The NGB is seeking a partner to design, build, operate and maintain a campus comprising a modern training and wellness center and ancillary facilities for the national team in various disciplines as well as develop the overall grassroots growth of the sport. USA Gymnastics does not have a centralized training and wellness center currently. The new center may also become home to the NGB's national headquarters. In this episode, Leung discusses why the NGB is seeking the new location as well as preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You wouldn’t be much of a sports fan if you didn’t have a bucket list of events you want to see in person before you, well, kick the bucket, as it were. While plenty of people talk about such a list, few of us write it down, and even fewer of us set out to actually accomplish it. And that makes David Carter unique. Carter is a national authority on sports business and strategic marketing, and the author of four books about the sport business industry. He founded the Sports Business Group in 1999 following more than 10 years of consulting for the sports and entertainment industries, and he’s an adjunct professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business with an emphasis on sports. But perhaps of even greater interest, Carter has set out with his best friend to tackle their own bucket list of sports events — 25 events before they turn 75 years old. Carter is serious about the endeavor as well. He’s put his list to a spreadsheet, with ground rules about w

USA Boxing Executive Director Mike McAtee discussed the years-long process in coming with plans for a new international federation in the wake of the IOC’s expulsion of the International Boxing Association, the various issues the national governing body has had with the IBA — including fight manipulation — and more in this episode. McAtee also discussed the future plans for World Boxing; whether the international drama surrounding the sport has been a topic of discussion at USA Boxing events; and the recent news that the IOC has promised boxing's spot in the LA28 program is secure.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Kris Alexander had an upbringing not unlike many of us in that when he discovered the joy and excitement of video games, he never looked back. But unlike many of us, he has turned that passion into a successful career, not just playing the games but educating the future work force that will help the industry continue to flourish and thrive. As professor of video games at Toronto Metropolitan University, Alexander has built a program that now includes about 300 students and has produced the Red Bull Gaming Hub, an active events center that serves as not just a laboratory of sorts for his students, but a functioning venue that has hosted esports and other neighborhood events. As you’ll see from this discussion, Alexander is passionate about video games and esports and has a compelling case to make as to the benefits that games can bring in educating students and as sources of continued business development. In this conversation with SportsTravel Executive Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz, Alexander goes i

Jim Scherr was named the first chief executive officer of World Lacrosse in 2017. Prior to that, he was CEO of the United States Olympic Committee from 2003 to 2009. Scherr, who competed as a wrestler at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, was the first Olympian to serve in that position with the USOC. Before joining the USOC, Scherr served as executive director of USA Wrestling from 1990 to 2000, and also was the National Collegiate Hockey Conference commissioner from 2012­ to 2013. During his time at World Lacrosse, Scherr has grown the sport globally ahead of the 2023 World Lacrosse Championships from June 21-July 1 in San Diego. Scherr discusses the World Championships with teams from 30 nations competing for the championship, getting a version of lacrosse on the docket for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, his background in the Olympic movement, the social media power of the Premier Lacrosse League and much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Izell Reese is the chief executive officer of RCX Sports, a youth sports experiences business, running and operating leagues, camps, combines, tournaments and events. Reese has been the Executive Director of NFL Flag since October 2019, working closely with the NFL to expand the sport of flag football around the world. RCX has also recently entered into partnerships with the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer for youth programs. Before entering the youth sports world, Reese played safety in the NFL for seven years. Reese describes how his experiences in youth sports and the NFL influence how he works as CEO at RCX Sports; partnering with the NFL on NFL Flag and the exposure the sport got from the Pro Bowl; new alignments with the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer; strategies on increasing participation of girls in youth sports; and a special moment coming for him in his hometown of Dothan, Alabama See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of two international federations in the esports world, the International Esports Federation’s mission is to further esports on a global scale. With 130 member national federations, IESF president Vlad Marinescu discusses esports on a global level, the international outlook for the industry, esports at the grassroots level around the world compared to the United States, the tightening of financial backing within the professional esports space, esports’ possible place in the Olympic sports landscape and much more. This episode is sponsored by the EsportsTravel Summit, the world’s largest gathering of esports tournament and video-game event organizers and the only event focused on the travel side of the esports industry. Presented by SportsTravel and hosted by Destination Toronto, the 2023 EsportsTravel Summit will be held July 12–14, 2023, in Toronto. The biggest brands in the esports world will attend the event and their representatives are featured as presenters. For more details on everything planned, pl

Houston and Dallas were recently in the spotlight as hosts for the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Fours. Each of the destinations hosted tens of thousands of visitors from out of town, providing a spotlight for Marriott, which has sponsored the NCAA for seven years through its Marriott Bonvoy program. The sports-related travel market was the first segment of the travel industry to come back in big numbers as the world started to reopen from the pandemic and the pace has only continued in the months since, a trend that Marriott executives have watched with interest. In this conversation between SportsTravel Managing Editor Matt Traub and Mandy Gill, Marriott vice president of global marketing for the United States and Canada (recorded on location at the Men’s Final Four in Houston), we discuss the current state of the sports-related travel industry, Marriott's NCAA partnership and much more from the hotelier’s point of view on the strength of the industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Until it just recently released its new report, Sports ETA as an industry association had not surveyed its members about their compensation and salary information for about 10 years. A lot has changed since then. And, of course, a lot has changed just within the past few years coming out of the pandemic, which led to massive turnover in the industry and a crop of new employees entering the space. The latest survey, which was sponsored and supported by Northstar Meetings Group, reveals some hard facts about not just what industry professionals are being paid, but how they are being compensated as well. [article_sidebar]In this conversation between SportsTravel Executive Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz and the leading researchers on the report — Jennifer Stoll of Stoll Strategies and Cambria Jones of SearchWide Global — we explore those issues. That includes how many sales people on average are employed at destination marketing organizations, what kinds of benefits those employees are now looking for, the co

For years, the Sports & Fitness industry Association has studied which sports people participate in and how often. Perhaps just as important, they also track the number of people who say they don’t participate in anything at all. For professionals in the sports-event industry, there is a tremendous amount of interesting data in the SFIA’s recently released Topline Participation Report, including which individual sports are trending well and which team sports are trending well. If you’re the organizer or a host city of a sports tournament or event, knowing where the interest lies could be the key to a successful future. As you’ll hear, there is no doubting the incredible growth that pickleball has seen not just in the past year but for the past several years. But pickleball is not alone. In fact, all racquet sports are on the upswing, including tennis, which has the largest participation of all. In this conversation between SportsTravel Executive Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz and SFIA President and CE