Celebrating Milestones

Twenty years ago this month, the first issue of SportsTravel rolled off the presses. It was our belief then that the sports-event industry needed its own authoritative trade magazine to serve its unique informational needs that, up until the launch of SportsTravel in 1997, had been largely overlooked. In the two decades since, that has continued to be our guiding principle.

Every issue of SportsTravel features an array of up-to-the moment content, including exclusive interviews with the top names in sports, answers to sports-event organizers’ most pressing questions, in-depth coverage of host destinations, details on sporting events up for bid and much more. In recent years, our content has been distributed in new and ever-more engaging ways, including interactive features and video storytelling available through our mobile app, digital edition, social media channels and on SportsTravelMagazine.com.

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary this year, we are renewing our commitment to serve the people who organize and manage sporting events of all types at all levels. One way that we seek to uphold that commitment is by forging meaningful partnerships with the organizations that are most important to a healthy and thriving sports-event industry. Since the magazine’s inception, for example, we have been a proud sponsor of the National Association of Sports Commissions. This year, NASC is celebrating its 25th anniversary and to mark this milestone, we are pleased to announce a new partnership with NASC. 

As part of the partnership, SportsTravel will feature special sections that will run in the print and digital editions of the March and May/June issues. Centered on the NASC’s 25th annual Sports Event Symposium, which will be held March 27–30 in Sacramento, California, the special sections will include an interview with NASC’s Executive Director Don Schumacher, who will retire this year after having served as the association’s only executive director. The special
sections will also include stories on NASC’s history, its Legacy Fund, CSEE program and volunteer leadership; profiles of the inductees to the inaugural class of the NASC Hall of Fame; photographs and coverage of the winners of NASC’s annual awards program; and a directory of NASC member organizations.

Long-term, industry-friendly partnerships are, we believe, the hallmark of an organization committed to the continued success of the communities it serves. We are truly gratified by the number of destinations that understand the importance of such partnerships. One among those is Louisville, Kentucky, which will host the TEAMS ’18 Conference & Expo, October 1–4, 2018. For additional details, please see the story on page 9.

As you finalize your plans for the year ahead, be sure to also save the dates for TEAMS ’17, which will be held October 30–November 2 in Orlando, Florida. For additional information, please see the ad on pages 20–21, call (877) 577-3700 or visit TEAMSconference.com.