Sports tourism is a booming industry that continually brings in astounding revenue. Harford County, in Maryland, is a prime example of this revenue impact. In Harford County, sports tourism brought in nearly $50 million and supported 650 jobs, each year over the past three years. According to The Baltimore Sun, this revenue came in from three sports- youth baseball, lacrosse, and soccer tournaments- at three different venues.
Due to this steep incline in revenue, the Maryland Office of Tourism, did a study to see the true impact of tourism on the county overall. The study showed that Harford County gained $374 million in total or more than $1 million a day. With sports tourism bringing in $50 million, the county owes a lot to the sports industry for the more revenue.
According to the study, baseball averaged the most events per year with 39, and the most participants, 20,600. That brought nearly 55,000 spectators to the county’s Ripken Stadium. Lacrosse made a big imp...
NASC is sending a big congratulations to the Tampa Bay Sports Commission for hosting the most attended NCAA Women’s Final Four Tournament. During the April 5-7 games, Tampa had the highest all-time attendance, hosting 123,039 fans.
The Tampa Bay Business Journals says the event is a major economic driver for the area. It starts with celebratory events leading up to the game days including the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Convention, which had a record attendance of 2,891. Then Amalie Arena played host to back-to-back sellout crowds totalling 40,189 on Friday and Sunday.
This was Tampa’s third time hosting the Final Four in the NCAA Women’s tournament. Tampa hosted for the first time in 2008, then again in 2015.
For any event organizer, selling more tickets can prove to be a challenge sometimes. If you feel like you hit a plateau with your ticket sales, try one of these marketing strategies from Prior Booking.com.
1) Convert Customer Loyalty Into Revenue
If you’re familiar with marketing, you may have heard of the 80/20 rule. This rule states that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. These clients are your most loyal and powerful customers- they will engage with your brand online, write positive reviews, and endorse your events for their friends. Investing in a loyalty program for your best customers (discounts, early access to ticket sales) will keep your biggest clients happy, and give your brand a solid foundation of followers to grow from.
2) The Early Bird Makes More Profit
An easy way to get a jump start on ticket sales is by selling tickets at a discount the moment your event is publicized. “Early bird” packages...
We can all agree that visiting potential sites is an integral part of the site selection process for events. However, not all site visits are created equal. Rights Holders are looking for a quick trip to look at the venue to make sure it will work for their needs. Looking at facility specs on paper, or online, is helpful; but, we really need to see the space in person to identify any potential issues, planning the layout, and identifying branding opportunities. While not all Rights Holders are looking for the same experience, there are some common themes we look for to make the most of the visit.
Do Your Homework
Just as we ask for destinations to do their homework before our appointments at Symposium, we want you to do your homework before our site visits as well. Byron Hicks, the Manager of Events for USA Ultimate says, “Know my needs before I come and show me what I need. Don’t show me ball fields when I need linear field space.”...
There are plenty of cities in the United States that are embracing American soccer, but few cities have cultivated an identity with their team quite as strong as Portland, OR. The Portland Timbers sell out nearly every MLS home game, while the Portland Thorns lead the NWSL in fan attendance. So where are these sales numbers coming from?
AN UNPARALLELED SPORTS EXPERIENCE
Keeping audiences engaged is harder today than it ever has been. In a world built off of instant-gratification, it can be difficult to keep fans engaged in 90 minutes of gameplay that may only result in one or two goals. The Timbers and Thorns keep fans engaged through their supporter organizations: The Rose City Riveters and Timbers Army. These organizations add a new layer to the fan experience, and are a tangible marketing element for ticket sales. The Timbers and Thorns also source their concessions from local businesses, further aligning their brand with the city.
TEAM ACCESS
The Thorns attendance indic...
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...
Hosting games for the men’s NCAA Tournament is a big job for any city. Des Moines, Iowa took on that job for a second time. The city hosted several games during the first round the men’s NCAA Tournament. It’s a job Des Moines did three years before, and were ready to do it again in 2019, learning from their 2016 experience. The Des Moines Register laid out a few things the city did to make this year’s experience a bit more polished.
Don’t count on the weather
There are no guarantees on the weather in the midwest especially in March, which is why the Wells Fargo Arena has connectivity to skywalks.
The more concessions, the better
After receiving negative comments in 2016 about long lines for food and drink, the arena increased staff along with adding portable grab-and-go stands and six vending machines.
Improving the ‘fan experience’
Between improving WiFi service in the arena, to adding charging stations, and sh...
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...
Knowledge is power and in the fast pace work environment that is sport tourism, the more you know, the better. As the current Director of Sports Development for Visit Greenville, North Carolina, Gray Workman knew this and wanted to elevate her knowledge to grow Greenville from a smaller destination to a high-level competitive sports destination. She enrolled in the Certified Sports Event Executive (CSEE) program and gained invaluable information.
From being in the CSEE program, Workman saw this program as a way to further her education after college, with more focus on event planning. The classes focus on all aspects of the event, and why every single detail is important, and show how each aspect is a vital piece of sales and marketing materials. “As a destination, sometimes we forget all the minute details tournament directors have to focus on. Now I am able to be a resource to them.” Workman said.
The classes offered also gives students the chance to grow ...
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