2020 SUMMER PLAYBOOK
INSIDE: SportsBIZ XChange Keynote Speakers Tour Birmingham Like A Pro: A Preview of the 2021 Symposium 2020 Women’s Summit Goes Virtual
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www.FoleySportsTourism.com FoleySportsTourism@gmail.com
National Headquarters 9916 Carver Road, Suite 100 Cincinnati, OH 45242 Telephone (513) 281-3888 Website www.SportsETA.org Staff Alan (Al) R. Kidd, President & CEO Janis Ross, CMP, CSEE, VP of Events & Experiences Meagan Grau, Director of Member Services and Engagement Michelle Wessels, Business Services Manager Rebecca Myles, Sponsorship & Advertising Jennifer Stoll, Ph.D., CSEE, Research & Education Board of Directors Officers Chair: Janis Burke, CSEE, Chief Executive Officer, Harris County - Houston Sports Authority Vice Chair/Chair-Elect: Michael Price, CSEE, Executive Director, Greater Lansing Sports Authority Treasurer: Don Dukemineer, CSEE, CHSP, Director of Sports Development, Decatur Morgan County Tourism Past Chair & Secretary: Kindra Fry, CSEE, SMP, President/CEO, Experience Bryan College Station Directors Ashleigh Bachert, CSEE, Vice President of Sales, Tulsa Sports Commission Derek Bombeck, CSEE, Sales Development Manager, Lincoln CVB John David, CSEE, COO, USA BMX Josh Dill, CSEE, Director of Sports & Events, Visit Frisco Pete Harvey, Director of Sports Development, Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission Gen Howard, CSEE, Senior Sales Manager, Louisville Tourism Meaghan Hughes, CSEE, Associate Director, Ann Arbor Sports Commission Frank Lett, CSEE, Senior Associate Executive Director/ Director of Sports Marketing, Visit Kingsport Matt Libber, Executive Director, Maryland SoccerPlex Brent Nelson, Sr. VP of Business Development, Greater Orlando Sports Commission Ray Palmer, CSEE, President/CEO, Pensacola Sports Hank Pivarnik, CSEE, Event Solutions Advisor , EventConnect Daniel Rush, CMP, CASE, Vice President of Global Sports and Event Sales, MGM Resorts International Christine Strong Simmons, Senior Director of Operations, USA Fencing Marissa Werner, CSEE, Director of Sports Development, VISIT Milwaukee J.D. Wood, CSEE, Director of Business Development and Events, Dallas Sports Commission
contents Letter From President and CEO SportsBIZ XChange Keynote Speakers Announced Tour Birmingham Like a Pro: A Preview of the 2021 Symposium 2020 Women’s Summit Goes Virtual ESCA Releases White Paper Outlining Safety Measures for Producing Events During a Pandemic Lower the Bar to Raise the Bar
Looking to share your expertise? Information-sharing is a founding principle of Sports ETA, and the industry knowledge among the Sports ETA membership lends itself to unprecedented expertise. Sports ETA encourages members to share information with your peers. Contact Meagan Grau, Director of Member Services and Engagement, at Meagan@SportsETA.org to learn more about how you can contribute to a future edition of the Sports ETA Playbook. To include your news in the weekly Get in the Game eNews, send press releases and articles to info@sportseta.org.
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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
Front Office Musings Over the years during my advertising career, our clients required crisis communications management. Each crisis is unique and had its own set of unique solutions. The common ground among all crises is that while there are often many hardships and tough decisions, there are also new opportunities that will show themselves in time. As we receive a steady onslaught of tough news, it is difficult to see the light. As we navigate together through COVID-19, it may be difficult to see these opportunities. Soon, you may be seeing and hearing the beginnings of many good ideas and creative solutions. My guess is that tourism sales processes and structures will be scrutinized with new models appearing in the months to come. The same may take place of how sports events are staged and financed. Time will tell how this all shakes out. Keep thinking and developing improvements and ways to diversify your organization’s income to buffer your current programs and sustainability. We are here to assist in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out and include us in your thinking. One of the most common discussions I am hearing among my peers across the tourism industry is the emergence of resident sentiment as an addition to the definition of success for our work. “Heads in beds” is not going away and, in fact, is a very important element of success in markets. It is the economic evaluation of return on investment (ROI) by the chief funding partner, the lodging industry. Nothing is wrong with this evaluation and appropriately measuring ROI performance is important. However, of everincreasing importance is: What is the view of your community and elected officials on the effect of sports in their community? While running the Sports Commission in San Diego, my mayor had me on speed dial so that he could attend any announcement of a new sports event or program coming to town. It always created a photo opp and at times, took him away from work not nearly as glamorous as a sports event. This return on mission (ROM) goes a long way in creating positive community sentiment of your work and its impact in your community. More and more cities are incorporating resident sentiment in their performance evaluations. In some cases, our members are working closely with the Economic Development Department and Community Development Departments to enhance this ROM discussion. Who knows, those departments may be an additional financial source to pay for your local market impact research.
From the Clubhouse President’s Advisory Task Team Sports ETA has formed a Diversity Equality and Inclusion Taskforce to review, develop and implement actionable programs and resources. The objective of the team will be wide-ranging with the goal of producing meaningful systemic actions toward the sports events and tourism industry and our organization. If you are interested in having me participate on an upcoming webinar or Zoom meeting to share the importance of sports events and tourism, as well as the impact that our members have on their communities, sports, etc. on a regular basis, please email me at Al@SportsETA.org.
Al Kidd President and CEO
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116,000 square foot facility 8 Hardwood Basketball Courts or 16 Volleyball Courts 1 Championship Court E-Sports Cafe
Chicagoland’s newest sports destination
OPENING 2021
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The first-ever SportsBIZ XChange, presented by Sports ETA, kicked off on August 3. The month-long event concluded on August 21, and consisted of virtual business appointments and industry networking opportunities to connect its members.
Keynote Speakers
Virtual attendees participated in appointments with key decision-makers, accessed dozens of new and updated RFPs, and attended numerous social networking opportunities in the virtual lounges. Additionally, a virtual locker room was open to all attendees where they could view event documents (RFPs, fact sheets, and videos) from each participating rights holder. A high caliber list of keynote speakers was assembled for the inaugural SportsBIZ XChange including NFL wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, CBS Sportscaster, Seth Davis, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Rohit Bhargava.
Andrew Hawkins Andrew “Hawk” Hawkins, is a former NFL wide receiver, sports executive, Shorty Awardwinning writer, Emmy Award-nominated host, and Oscar-winning producer. At only 5’7”, Hawk’s seven-year NFL career was as improbable as his post-NFL successes in media, business and entertainment. The former NFL team captain, who graduated with a master’s degree and a 4.0 GPA from Columbia University, has become synonymous with creative cultural content, and digital media expertise and development. After retiring from the NFL, Hawk began his media career at ESPN, where he was a two-time Emmy Award-nominated host of SportsCenter on Snapchat. Behind the camera, Hawk, who is currently on-air talent for the NFL Network and Uninterrupted, has written and produced award-winning comedy sketches and was the Executive Producer of Hair Love, which won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Animated Short. For the past three years, Hawk has simultaneously served as the Director of Business Development for The SpringHill Company, the media and marketing conglomerate of LeBron James and Maverick Carter.
Seth Davis Seth Davis is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who covers college basketball. Since 2004, Davis has been a mainstay of CBS Sports’ studio coverage of college basketball and the NCAA Tournament. He wrote for Sports Illustrated for 22 years and is currently the Managing Editor for college basketball at The Athletic. Davis is the author of five books, including the New York Times best sellers Wooden: A Coach’s Life, which chronicles the life of longtime UCLA coach John Wooden, and When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball, which tells the story of the 1979 NCAA championship game which pitted Magic Johnson against Larry Bird. Davis’ most recent book is Getting to Us: How Great Coaches Make Great Teams. In it, he uses in-depth profiles of elite coaches such as Mike Krzyzewski, Doc Rivers and Dabo Swinney to explain how they use the PEAK profile to form winning teams. That stands for Persistence, Empathy, Authenticity and Knowledge, a concept he’ll share with SportsBIZ XChange attendees. A former stand-up comedian who used to perform at comedy clubs throughout New York City, Davis currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, three sons and their Goldendoodle, Clarence.
Rohit Bhargava Rohit Bhargava is a leading authority on marketing, trends and innovation. He is the Founder of the Non-Obvious Company and previously spent over 15 years advising large organizations on digital and marketing at two respected global agencies: Leo Burnett and Ogilvy. Rohit is widely considered one of the most entertaining and original keynote speakers on marketing disruption and innovation in the world. He is the #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of six books on topics as wide ranging as the future of virtual work, building a human brand with personality, and why leaders always eat left handed. He has been invited to deliver sold-out keynotes and workshops to change the way teams and leaders think at the World Bank, NASA, Intel, LinkedIn, MetLife, Under Armour, Univision, Disney and hundreds of other well-known organizations. Rohit also teaches a popular course on marketing and storytelling at Georgetown University in Washington DC and writes a monthly column on trends for GQ magazine in Brazil.
TOUR BIRMINGHAM LIKE A PRO: A PREVIEW OF THE 2021 SYMPOSIUM BY: BETSY ROSS
We can’t wait to see everyone at the Sports ETA Symposium, scheduled for April 26-29, 2021 in beautiful Birmingham, Alabama. If you’ve never been, Birmingham has lots to do and see—but don’t take our word for it, here’s your personal guide to the area from Tonia Whatley, CSEE, CPRP, SMP, National Sports Development Manager for the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. Birmingham is the largest city in the State of Alabama and the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan area has a population of 1.1 million. Birmingham has many unique places and incredible sports facilities to visit, but here is just a snapshot of what is Birmingham, AL. Established in 1871, iron and steel production gave rise to the city of Birmingham and in 1904 at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Vulcan, the largest cast iron statue in the world, was unveiled as the symbol of Birmingham reflecting its roots in the steel industry. Vulcan, now located atop Red Mountain overlooking the city, is a 56-foot tall statue that depicts the Roman god of fire and forge and showcases bare “buns of steel” that are as wide as a Greyhound bus. Birmingham is home to the nation’s oldest baseball park, Rickwood Field, which opened in 1910 and is still operational today. Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum has the largest collection of vintage, rare and contemporary motorcycles in the world, according to the Guinness World Book of Records, and is adjacent to one of the finest open road racing facilities around. Barber Motorsports Park is the host for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, along with many motorcycle races, and is also home to the Porsche Driving Experience. Birmingham’s role in America’s Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s places the city at the center of the most significant domestic drama of the 20th century. The city’s Civil Rights District and Park is designated as a National Monument. Although there are many places locals enjoy, such as our numerous restaurants, craft breweries and distilleries, we like to climb into the way back time machine at the Atomic Lounge, or other hot watering holes such as The Collins Bar, Queens Park, Carrigans, or rooftop bars like The Roof or Moonshine.
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Birmingham, the ‘Dinner Table of the South,’ has many James Beard award-winning chefs and restaurants from BBQ to sophisticated dining such as Highlands Bar & Grill, Rodney Scotts BBQ, Hot & Hot Fish Club, Bottegas, Chez FonFon, Blueprint on 3rd, Automatic Seafood, and Oceans, just to name a few. Go for Bloody Mary’s at The Garage, once filled with antiques, this neighborhood bar is known for its quirky decor scattered about the outdoor seating. As planning for the April Symposium continues and evolves through COVID-19, our hopes are to be one of the first in 2021 to offer an in-person fun, safe and productive sports conference and roll out the welcome mat to Birmingham, AL, World Games 2022 Host.
Hosting the Symposium will provide us an opportunity to showcase what the Greater Birmingham Area has to offer regarding sports venues, hotels, attractions, location in the Southeast, ease of getting around and hospitality to not only sports event rights holders but also to all the attendees that haven’t had the chance to visit Birmingham and hopefully might find a reason to come back. We are proud of our sports resume and as we continue to build new facilities and renovate existing ones. We want to share our successes and lessons learned with our industry peers while supporting Sports ETA, our sports and tourism trade association.
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2020 WOMEN’S SUMMIT GOES VIRTUAL Springtime in New Orleans for the 2020 Women’s Summit turned into virtual presentations streamed to our living rooms, but that didn’t prevent our attendees from hearing from some of the top leaders in business and communications on today’s issues in the business of sports. From selfawareness to crisis plans, this year’s Summit took a look at how female sports executives can learn and grow from others’ experiences. Kicking things off was the opening keynote session with Sasha SpencerAtwood, Athletes & Teams Experience Director at Oregon21. She told attendees her experiences as an athlete and in the workforce helped her to believe in herself, and that we shouldn’t be afraid to challenge ourselves. “As I became an entrepreneur and small business owner and challenging myself in these new areas, I had to really believe in the power of myself when I really gave it my best,” she said. “Three things: Calling on courage, capitalizing on the opportunity that I was given, even if it wasn’t the one that I expected at the time, and choosing to believe in myself. I challenge and invite you to think about those philosophies and those strategies and how they apply to the work that you are doing and the effort that you are making in your organizations at home.” Sessions included “Who Am I Really, Enneagram Deep Dive” by Deni Tato, Corporate Consciousness; “Playbook Your Passion” by Betsy Ross from Game Day Communications, and “PR4U,” by Jackie Reau, also from Game Day. Deni’s presentation took a look at the Enneagram types to get a better idea of individual strengths, challenges and motivations and to gain a better understanding of styles of communicating. “It isn’t about what you do, only why you do it,” according to Deni. “I believe that you must focus on understanding your deeper motivation behind the behavior if you want to make a long lasting, transformational change in a behavior or aspect of your life.” In “Playbook Your Passion,” Betsy gave examples of women who have accomplished “firsts” in sports, from race car driver Janet Guthrie to Little League star Mo’ne Davis to tennis legend Billie Jean King and how they succeeded in not only breaking down barriers but creating opportunities for the next generation. “It’s nice to be the first female vice president or the first female law partner,” said Betsy, “but don’t be the only one. Pay it forward, pass it on.”
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Jackie’s public relations presentation shared how to present yourself and your organization in the best light to the media. “As you’re thinking about your own public relations, whether it’s your company, your organization, say yes. Say yes to the live interview at 5 a.m. for your event. Say yes to speaking at a civic group or a presentation. And take a look at your social media content and start to strategically think about how you post social media.”
Sports EIC
Closing our Women’s Summit was Oklahoma Sooner’s head softball coach, Patty Gasso, who talked about, among other topics, more women being hired in men’s sports. “I would hope that those who are getting hired, it’s not just a ‘look at us,’ it’s not just a promotion,” she said, “trying to get women to watch because we have a woman coach. “We can’t hit the ball as far as these guys, we can’t throw the ball as hard, we’re not made that way, we’re made differently, that’s why we’re men and women,” Gasso continued. “But we can know as much about the game, we can show you how to do something, even though I can’t hit it as far as you, I can show you how to do it. We have minds that can work, that can understand business, that can understand promoting sport, there are so many smart, sharp, aggressive, strong, confident women out there that can teach a man. And the smart men know it.”
S H O W M E M I S S O U R I S P O R T S . C O M
MISSOURI’S GOT GAME MAKE YOUR NEXT EVENT A WINNER IN MISSOURI!
CILITIES EXCEPTIONAL FA CENTRAL LOCATION AFFORDABLE S P O R T S E TA
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ESCA RELEASES WHITE PAPER OUTLINING SAFETY MEASURES FOR PRODUCING EVENTS DURING A PANDEMIC *This article was originally published in the July 2020 edition of Trade Show Executive The Exhibition Services and Contractors Association (ESCA) released a white paper that provides guidance on how contractors and partners can produce exhibitions during a pandemic. “Health & Safety Guidance for the Exhibitions Industry” was the culmination of the work done by a 30-member committee of ESCA experts who came together to create best practices to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 during events. In addition to working with each other on a regular basis to develop the paper, the group received input from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the Society of independent Show Organizers (SISO) and the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). Larry Arnaudet, ESCA Executive Director, described the process of creating the white paper this way: “Numerous conference calls ensued, and the recommendations and suggestions from all were vetted and incorporated into the document. We kept IAEE, SISO and IAVM in the loop as the document grew and much appreciated all of their input. That being said, it is a ‘living document,” meaning that it is continually being updated as additional important information becomes available to us.” The white paper provides advice on several key areas, including: Personal protective equipment (PPE) Companies should provide PPE as recommended by federal, state and local guide-lines to all employees, and ensure that these items are reordered in a timely fashion when the supply is low. Employers should also provide instructions on how to properly use face coverings, including washing cloth masks after every use and ensuring that hands are washed or sanitized before putting any masks on. Trade show layout In order to promote physical distancing on a show floor, ESCA’s white paper suggests that companies increase the length of side rails to eight feet, remove any booth properties or roadblocks that cause attendees to be too close together, and add markings on the show floor to direct the flow of traffic so all attendees move in the same direction while maintaining social distance. Cleaning and disinfecting Sanitizing stations should be placed around the floor throughout the duration of a show’s set up, event run and tear down. Hightouch surfaces need to be disinfected regularly and workers should be reminded to frequently wash their hands for at least 20 seconds. Decorating All decorating materials - vinyl, metal, hard surfaces and fabric/textile surfaces should be cleaned based on CDC guidelines, so companies should keep abreast of changes to these recommendations in order to ensure best practices are always being employed. Workers handling these materials should use appropriate PPE. Floor coverings Carpets should be sanitized and treated with an antimicrobial solution before a show, vacuumed daily during the show, and treated after the show before being rolled up and stored for future use. In addition, the ESCA suggests that hard surface floor coverings be disinfected and cleaned with peroxide every day for the length of an event. “We were careful to ensure that the document and suggested guidance focuses specifically on official contractor operations. Venues, event organizers, exhibitors and attendees all have their own suggested practices focusing specifically on their part of the overall process of producing safe events. Nothing in our guidance addresses other parties’ operations,” he said. “However, at this time in our industry, inclusion is extremely important and critical to the success of any plan. We are hopeful that other segments of the industry will review our suggestions and proceed accordingly.”
Read the full white paper at: www.sportseta.org/escawhitepaper Reach Larry Arnaudet at (972) 447.8210 or larry@esca.org.
285,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY WITH SEATING FOR 5,000. OPENING 4TH QUARTER, 2020.
DANI TIMM, CSEE SPORTS MARKETING NATIONAL SALES MANAGER DTIMM@VISITVIRGINIABEACH.COM 757-373-6804
BILL KELLY, CSEE SPORTS MARKETING SALES MANAGER WJKELLY@VISITVIRGINIABEACH.COM 757-385-6651
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LOWER THE BAR TO
RAISE THE BAR
In these challenging times, most of us are not as motivated and focused as we usually are. Many people are experiencing high levels of anxiety and depression. Often the only relief they’re getting is by self-medicating with drinking, TV, and other forms of media. Consider why your emotional state is where it’s at, it’s not random. Your mind is reacting to real problems that need attention. What if our minds didn’t care about a global pandemic, an economic shutdown, isolation, life disruption, racial injustice, or social unrest? It makes sense that we’re not operating at our standard level. However, we need to be productive, and we want to avoid excessive anxiety. Many people find themselves in a self-defeating cycle of stress emotions that lead to reduced productivity, which leads to feeling bad about their poor productivity, which leads to lower productivity. To start to improve your emotional state and productivity, give yourself a break and lower the bar. Expect negative emotions and don’t expect to be at your highest level of productivity right now. Be okay with whatever mental state you’re experiencing. This acceptance will give you the space to move forward by doing easy things on your to-do list. Just get moving on something productive. Once you get moving, your internal state improves, allowing you to work on higher priority tasks. Once we lower the bar and get moving, we can start to raise the bar. While increased stress, distraction, alcohol, and TV are a normal part of what we’re going through, we can keep them at workable levels with the right process and mindset. You can use VP’s 3-Steps to put “lowering the bar” into action.
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STEP 2:
Expect negative emotions, distraction, disruption, unrest, and uncertainty for the next several months. It’s not pleasant but being mentally prepared for it while realizing we’ll get through it decreases stress and improves resilience.
Separate – We don’t decide to feel anxious, unmotivated, and distracted; our minds release chemicals to give us messages that make us feel that way.
EXPECT THE EXPECTED
APPLY SEE TO EMOTIONS
Embrace – Fighting or suppressing these feelings makes them worse. Thank your mind for the messages and experience your emotions knowing they’re temporary. Again, what if we had no concern about all that’s going on? Check out the science of embracing emotions in TED Talks from Dr. Susan David and Dr. Kelly McGonigal. Evaluate – Once we separate and embrace, we can usually move to our thinking minds, even if the emotion is still present. Ask yourself what’s controllable and productive.
STEP 3:
CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLE
sportsillinois.com
You also have control over removing some distractions and the amount of news and social media you take in. Get the information you need without overdoing it. Keep applying the 3-Steps to lower the bar and you’ll start to see improvement in your mental state and your productivity through this challenging period and beyond.
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Decide the action you’ll take to be productive. When you’re unmotivated, pick something easy to do that’s still productive. Getting into action will allow you to start working on more difficult tasks. By lowering the bar to get started, you can raise the bar to work on higher priority items.
With more than 1,200 fields, rinks, courts, diamonds and more, Illinois is the perfect state for you to host your competition.
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