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A Look Ahead, by Timothy Schneider, Publisher, SportsTravel
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| Los
Angeles, CA – January 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / The start of a new year
is always an opportune time to consider what the immediate future holds.
That topic as it relates to the sports-event industry was center stage
at TEAMS ‘14, which featured a panel discussion led by SportsTravel
Editor Jason Gewirtz with the leaders of some of the most successful sports
organizations in the country. Will Dean of Tough Mudder, David Abeles of
Competitor Group, Sean Eggert of Red Bull North America and Frank Supovitz,
formerly the senior vice-president of events for the NFL, weighed in on
what they see as the most significant trends for the coming year. One trend
they all agreed on is the need for event organizers at all levels to innovate.
In fact, Will Dean noted that Tough Mudder has a full-time staffer with
the title of “manager of event innovation,” which takes that focus to an
entirely new level.
|  Judging
by the attendee conversations at TEAMS,
it is clear that sports organizations need to constantly be considering
how they can evolve. That’s due in part to a landscape where the very nature
of attendance at sporting events is changing thanks to spectators watching
their smartphones as much as the action on the field or court. Here
are several other trends that those in the sports-event industry should
keep their eye on in the year ahead:
Professional sports. As the television-viewing experience improves, watch how professional leagues work to improve the fan experience at their live events. Even the NFL—whose games comprised 34 of the 35 most-watched TV shows of any kind this past fall—is concerned about keeping fans coming through the turnstiles. Collegiate sports. One thing is clear from the Final Four and regional sites that the NCAA recently selected for events through 2021: Cities willing to make the investment in new arenas and stadiums have an advantage. Venues in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Sacramento and Detroit, among others, were awarded events despite the fact that the facilities have not yet been completed. That’s a vote of confidence from the NCAA that should cause other cities with aging venues to take notice. Amateur sports. One trend that continues to take shape is the push to have children play a wider variety of sports to avoid burnout in their teen years. Watch how event organizers in some of the most popular team sports work to keep a steady base of athletes and traveling teams for their events in the face of young participants who may no longer specialize in one sport for years at a time. Olympic sports. This month, the U.S. Olympic Committee will pick one of four cities to submit to the IOC as a potential host for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games. (See item on page 6.) With recently adopted reforms approved by the IOC aimed at lowering the cost of bidding, will cities willing to take the plunge see any noticeable difference in the financial commitment required of them to tackle the bid process? Trends in the sports-event industry are always high on the agenda at the TEAMS Conference. Please be sure to mark your calendars now to be part of the discussion at TEAMS ‘15, November 9–12, in Las Vegas. For more details, please call us toll-free at 877-577-3700 or visit TEAMSconference.com. This current issue of SportsTravel can be viewed in digital format online by clicking here. ### SportsTravel, the sports world’s event magazine, is published by Los Angeles-based Schneider Publishing Company, which also publishes Association News. Founded in 1997, SportsTravel was the first magazine to identify and serve the sports-related travel and event industry. Schneider Publishing organizes the TEAMS Conference & Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers, which will be held November 9–12 in Las Vegas. In addition, Schneider Publishing organizes the Meetings Quest trade-show series for corporate and association meeting planners. The travel markets served by Schneider Publishing generate 106 million hotel room nights annually. For more information, visit SchneiderPublishing.com or call toll-free 877-577-3700 or 310-577-3700 if dialing from outside the United States. SportsTravel,
Association
News, TEAMS and Event Doctor are registered trademarks
and Meetings Quest is a trademark of Schneider Publishing.
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