Category: Feature Story

Feature Story — SportsTravel — News, Insight and Analysis for the Sports-Event Industry

Daniel Balcorta IFA7
IFA7 President and Founder Daniel Balcorta (center).

How IFA7 and Daniel Balcorta Helped A Different Kind of Soccer Go Global

International Football Association 7, also known as IFA7, is the world’s governing body for seven-on-seven soccer, a dynamic and fast-paced variation of traditional soccer. Founded in 2015 by Daniel Balcorta, a former head coach of Canada’s Seven-a-Side National Team and now the organization’s president, IFA7 has 24 federations and affiliates worldwide and a presence in […]

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Matt Farrell
U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell at the Starbucks Winter House in Milan. (Photo by Jason Gewirtz)

SportsTravel Catches Up With U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell

Jason Gewirtz has been on the ground in Italy throughout the Winter Olympics, talking with CEOs of various U.S. national governing bodies. Check out each interview here: Dean Gemmell, USA Curling Sophie Goldschmidt, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Pat Kelleher, USA Hockey Aron McGuire, USA Bobsled/Skeleton Ted Morris, US Speedskating MILAN — Matt Farrell is no […]

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Beijing Olympics Whites Farewell
U.S. snowboarder Shaun White took home gold in the halfpipe, the first of three times he would win that event at a Winter Games. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

Turning Back the Clock to Turin

Editor’s Note: This is part of SportsTravel’s ongoing Olympic preview week. Check back each day this week for more. February 2: What to expect at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, by Jason Gewirtz February 3: Previewing each venue — and whether they’ll all be ready, by Paul Stevens February 4: Looking back 20 years at […]

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NBA London
The NBA London Game 2026 at the O2 Arena (Credit: Paul Stevens)

Euro Step: Five Takeaways From My First NBA Game In London

After seven years without an NBA London Game, British basketball fans in the UK could have been forgiven for a lack of interest in a regular-season game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic. However, even long before a reported sellout crowd filled O2 Arena for a 5 p.m. local time tip-off on Jan. 18, […]

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World Series Rays Dodgers Baseball
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws to Tampa Bay Rays' Joey Wendle during the second inning in Game 1 of the 2020 World Series in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

One Year Later: How COVID has Changed Sports Forever

Remember what it like to go to a sold-out game? Waiting in line with others for seemingly forever before getting your ticket scanned, walking into the concourse and trying to avoid bumping into other people while finding a hot dog and soda, then going to your seats to check out the early scene. Maybe you […]

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Hard Rock Stadium Cubano Sausage
Cubano sausage at Hard Rock Stadium. Photo: Courtesy of Hard Rock Stadium

Centerplate CEO: What to Expect from Stadium Concessions

The College Football Playoff National Championship may have looked the same on the field as any other recent year: Alabama won, again — its sixth title under Coach Nick Saban since 2009. But for the 14,926 fans who attended the January 11 game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the experience was anything but normal. […]

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USA Volleyball

Poised for Pandemic, SloCoach Makes Move in United States

On the surface, it would appear that SloCoach would be one of those companies that must have formed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. An online coaching tool where athletes can upload videos of themselves practicing their sports—with professional or Olympic-level athletes or coaches returning a video critique—seems to be tailor-made for the new […]

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Skyline-Super-Bowl-Village-001
A conscious effort by city leaders in Indianapolis to create a concentration of sports venues and hotels in downtown has paid off with large events over the years. (Photo: Visit Indy)

How Indianapolis Landed the NCAA Basketball Tournament

The NCAA started calling in the fall. In an effort to cut down on team travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, would Indianapolis — which was set to host the 2021 Final Four — be interested or willing to host the entire Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament? The answer, of course, was yes. But the delay […]

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IMG_0208
The 2019 CEO Fighting Game Championships at Ocean Center in Daytona Beach attracted competitors from 30 countries.

New Research Shows Esports Fans
Want to Travel Post-COVID

The number of esports fans has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic and those fans will be more willing than the general public to travel to live events and competitions when they return, according to new research presented at the EsportsTravel Virtual Summit held December 2–3 at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. In a session […]

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