Welcome to my new blog! I will do my best to keep you up to date with people, places, events, and facilities I visit or hear about. We will start with one a week and see how it goes. Last week I attended the 2011 Sport Events Congress presented by... Continue reading

By Jim Dietz, Columbus Indiana Visitors Center We, like everyone else, have faced some challenging times. Our Parks & Rec department has faced budgetary cutbacks each of the last three years and we feared the budget cuts would begin affecting the maintenance of the tournament-quality facilities they have been providing... Continue reading

The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) and the SportsEvents Media Group teamed up with the non-profit organization Clean the World to recycle soap and hotel ammenities at the 2011NASC Sports Event Symposium. During the conference, which took place April 12-14, 2011 at the Sheraton Greensboro Four Seasons in Greensboro,... Continue reading

The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) held its annual Sports Event Symposium on April 12-14, 2011 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The conference included the recognition of 25 recent graduates of the Certified Sports Event Executive (CSEE) Program. Continue reading

The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) held its annual Sports Event Symposium from April 12-14, 2011 in Greensboro, NC. The conference included the recognition of its outstanding members during the 2011 NASC Member Awards Luncheon on April 14, 2011. Continue reading

Established sports event industry leaders are set to lead NASC in 2011-2012. The Nominating Committee received a record number of nominations this year from a talented pool of candidates. The committee focused on volunteer committee participation, demographic location, budget size, diversity, communication skills, leadership and board governance experience when selecting... Continue reading

In today’s environment of generating business from an existing client base and recognizing new opportunities, the basic principle of relationship building and maintenance is important to continue on a daily basis. As with any successful plan, advance preparation, due diligence and knowing the individual target is critical to increase chances... Continue reading

It is almost time for Greensboro and the 2011 NASC Sports Event Symposium. Your Cincinnati staff has been busy adjusting the schedule and topics to your suggestions since last summer. Now, the pace quickens! I’d like to highlight several points: The Certified Sports Event Executive program features the final of... Continue reading

Creative Leadership As leaders of our organizations during trying economic times, we are all searching for new and effective ways to do more with less. The need to truly leverage resources and exploit the expertise of our partners has never been as important as it is today. In order to... Continue reading

Congratulations! - You have received an RFP for a large event that is going to need municipal venues, public safety, volunteers and so much more. This is an event that can have a large impact on your community financially and an impact on services. Now the real work begins. In... Continue reading

When you see surveys asking Event Rights Holders them the most important factor in the site selection process, the quality and features of the facility are usually their number one answer. Unfortunately, it is becoming more difficult for host cities to be able to gain access to the premier (or... Continue reading

We are experiencing tremendous demand for information on what it takes to succeed in the sports travel market. In recent appearances at the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism and the TEAMS Conference I was deeply impressed by the amount of determination to succeed expressed by attendees. It is in times like these that I am reminded to stress what it takes to become an “overnight sensation.” Simply stated, there is no such thing. It takes experience, preparation, and the right people combined with enough time for the seeds of success to germinate. Continue reading

BUDGETING FOR SPORTS EVENTS by Bill Hanson Our Spring/Summer issue defined most of the revenue items for a sports event budget, with promised follow-up on the expense items. Sports Commissions, CVBs and local youth organizations all face the same challenges when creating a realistic budget for a bid or for... Continue reading

Budgeting for Sports Events by Bill Hanson While wanting to conduct an athletic event in support of an amateur organization is admirable, getting a grip on the financial side must be the first priority. Whether you represent a sports commission, a CVB or a local youth team, putting yourself or... Continue reading

The golden rule for a volunteer is this: “If you don’t know the answer, find it or send them to someone who has it”. Continue reading

Much has been said about the economic impact of sports events. “Keeping score” is an important element in competition, and it can be equally important to those engaged in attracting events to a community. If an event has developed a reputation for producing large numbers of visitors, it will attract... Continue reading

NASC member Dave O'Lenick shares his thoughts about www.sportscommissions.org and the resources that are available. Continue reading

The 2010 Market Segment Meetings are quickly approaching, and it is as important as ever to learn from your peers and share best practices. Similar to the best practices roundtable discussions that are held in conjunction with the Sports Event Symposium, Market Segment Meetings allow us to connect and discuss important issues and trends that are happening within our markets. Continue reading

Be sure to login to the website, www.SportsCommissions.org, to check out the updates to the event database. It is now easier to use than ever! The date the event was added is now visible as well as more detailed bid information. You can still download the event listings in an... Continue reading

Top US lumberjacks, lumberjills & ESPN cameras come to your venue when you host the original extreme sport, the 2011 STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series US Championships. Check out wood-chip flying action below. RFP information will be available on the NASC event database shortly! Continue reading

Video recordings from education sessions that were on the program at the NASC Sports Event Symposium in April are now available through the NASC Learning Center. The session that are now part of the video library include: How Green is Your Event Risk Management Social Media: How to Stay On... Continue reading

There are two things that drive me crazy in our industry. The first involves hotels that say, “We didn’t get any business,” when we know they did. The other maddening item (and the reason for this article—is when someone in our business says, “I don’t need to know that.” Continue reading

FIBA Americas named Jim Tooley, USA Basketball, first vice president of FIBA Americas for the 2010-2014 term. The NAIA named Ruth Stein director of eligibility services and Angela Crawford and Dustin Wilke managers of eligibility services. The National Association of Black Sports Professionals Atlanta chapter named Adrian Williams co-president. William... Continue reading

Produced annually by the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC), the NASC Sports Event Symposium is the sports event industry's leading networking conference. Join other professionals in the sports event industry for exceptional programming, networking, the NASC Sports Marketplace, and much more. Attendees are certain to take home new ideas, practical tips and the hottest new trends in the industry. Continue reading

In April 2010, the NASC made a donation of $5,000 to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Foundation (OHSAAF) on behalf of members of the association. All funds were donated to the OHSAAF through the NASC Silent Auction. Read more. Continue reading