SportsTravel Podcast: Insights and Expert Analysis

The SportsTravel Podcast focuses on news, insight, trends and more from some of the top event organizers and destination executives throughout the sports-event industry. With more than 100 episodes over the past three years, the SportsTravel Podcast has become the place to listen to interviews with event organizers of all sizes, destinations ready to host national and international events and many executives within the U.S. Olympic movement. Hosted by SportsTravel’s editorial staff, the podcast can be heard on all your favorite platforms including iTunes, Google Play and Spotify.

Ron Price: Visit Phoenix’s Big Basketball Push

Posted: April 18, 2024

Ron Price has been the chief executive officer of Visit Phoenix since July 2021. Prior to the move to Phoenix, Price had stops in Arlington and San Antonio, Texas, as well as more than a decade with Marriott in several places, including Denver and Southern California. Phoenix has become a basketball hotbed, having hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four in March with the Women’s Final Four on tap for 2026. Phoenix will also host the WNBA All-Star Game this summer and the NBA All-Star Game in 2027. And then there’s always the lingering question of when the region will again host the Super Bowl, which it last did in 2023. There’s a lot going on in the Phoenix metropolitan area, and Ron Price is the man at the center of it.

Scott DeRue: Expanding Ironman’s Global Reach and Enhancing the Athlete Experience

Posted: April 2, 2024

Scott DeRue was named the new chief executive officer of The Ironman Group in January, joining the organization from Equinox, where he served as president. At Equinox, DeRue oversaw a business that included 107 fitness clubs, a connected fitness platform, a large personal training and coaching practice and digital commerce and media properties. Ironman’s portfolio includes hundreds of events across more than 50 countries in triathlon, running, trail running, road cycling and mountain biking and a suite of digital training platforms and programs for athletes. We discussed with Scott his motivation for taking the job at Ironman, his early work since being hired within the organization, assessing the business, thoughts on the mass participation industry and Ironman’s plans going forward.

Pickleball and Beyond: The Latest SFIA Sports Participation Trends

Posted: March 14, 2024

You may have heard the stat that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the United States. That’s true, and that stat comes from and is verified by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s Topline Participation Report, which shows the wildly popular sport up another 50 percent in participation in the past year. We’ll go into why that remains the case, but the pickleball data only scratches the surface of this report. And in an Olympic year when many otherwise obscure sports get their highest visibility, you can expect some interesting things in the year ahead, which we’ll go into as well. Another trend that’s on the rise: team sports. More and more people are participating as a group and loving it. And we’ll go into which team sports they are liking the most. SFIA President and CEO Tom Cove dives into the data to pick out all the trends you need to know.

Kevin Kilpstein: The Long Play for Squash

Posted: February 19, 2024

This year, Kevin Klipstein will celebrate 20 years at the helm of US Squash, the national governing body for the racquet sport that has been steadily growing in participation and membership over that time. While the NGB has seen remarkable success through projects such as a national training center in Philadelphia, and exposure in new markets, the sport itself for years has been seeking a holy grail of sorts. That effort, of course, is a place on the Olympic program. That effort began with a campaign to get into the 2012 Games in London, and in each subsequent Games after that. But for one reason or another — and there were different reasons each time — the sport could never quite clear the hurdle. But when it came time to pitch for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, everything finally lined up perfectly.

International Case Study: How the Congo River Marathon Promotes Sports Tourism

Posted: February 14, 2024

If you’re familiar with the sports history of the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it may be as the site of the famed “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. But in recent years, another effort is aiming to attract visitors to the African nation and build a lifelong culture of sport through running. Since they launched the Congo River Marathon, Rolly Kayumba and Nancy Bachmann have been slowly adding to the event’s footprint, and using the opportunity to run along the Congo River and in the city of Kinshasa as a way to develop runners domestically and visitors internationally. This year’s race, which is scheduled for June 2, may be the biggest effort yet.

Tim Hinchey: Leading USA Swimming Into Paris 2024

Posted: February 7, 2024

USA Swimming is known around the world as one of the powerhouse teams in the sport and this year expectations are high as always ahead of the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris. This year’s Games will be the second for Chief Executive Officer Tim Hinchey but the first in which he does not have to lead the national governing body under pandemic-related conditions. With a high-profile year that includes not only the Olympics but the World Aquatics championships that recently started in Qatar and a host of national level meets around the country, we caught up with Tim recently to discuss how USA Swimming places events around the United States, anticipation for this year’s Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and much more.

Jason Siegel: A Massive Multi-Sport Weekend in Orlando

Posted: January 30, 2024

The first weekend in February will be an extraordinary one in Orlando, Florida, which hosts the U.S. Olympic Trials for marathon on February 3, followed the next day by the NFL Pro Bowl Games are at Camping World Stadium. We chatted with Jason Siegel, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, about the process in landing the U.S. Olympic Trials for Marathon and the preparation that has gone into planning the event, what the big weekend ahead will be like for locals, the news of renovation funds committed to area venues and more.

Linda Logan and Jesse Ghirozi: Bringing the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to Columbus

Posted: January 17, 2024

The Greater Columbus Sports Commission will host this year’s U.S. Figure Skating National Championships, the first time the event will be in the Ohio destination. Nationwide Arena will host over 400 athletes, coaches, and officials, plus thousands of fans over the seven-day event. The venue is within walking distance of many hotels and restaurants to ensure a smooth fan experience. It’s a major event to kick off a busy year ahead for the Greater Columbus Sports Commission and Linda Logan, which will host more than a half-dozen other collegiate and national governing body events in the first six months of the year. We talked with Linda Logan, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, and Jesse Ghiorzi, director of marketing at the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, about planning for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, what it took to win the bid and much more.

Sam Joffray: Preparing for Las Vegas’ First Super Bowl

Posted: January 11, 2024

Sam Joffray is no stranger to the Super Bowl. He has been to every big game since 1997 in some capacity. Whether it was leading a bid for the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation or as a consultant or vendor, Joffray has a wealth of experience when it comes to the NFL’s crown jewel. So when Las Vegas welcomed the Raiders to the city and built world-class Allegiant Stadium four years ago, they needed someone to run point on a Super Bowl bid. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority hired Joffray to be the president and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee. Following a successful bid, Sin City will host its first Super Bowl on February 11. Joffray and his team have been hard at work to make sure the event is a success, and are hopeful that Las Vegas can get into the regular rotation of Super Bowl host venues is the coming years.