Gianni Infantino has been elected to serve as president of FIFA. Infantino, the general secretary of the European soccer governing body UEFA, will replace Sepp Blatter, the longtime president of the global soccer governing body, who resigned after a series of scandals. Infantino’s term will last through 2019.

Lisa Borders has been named president of the WNBA. With more than 25 years of experience in operations, marketing, government relations and public service, she most recently served as chair of the Coca-Cola Foundation and vice-president of global community affairs at the Coca-Cola Co. Borders replaces Laurel Richie, who announced her departure in November.

Doug Beal has announced that he will retire as CEO of USA Volleyball effective January 2, 2017. Beal has been the national governing body’s CEO since 2005 and has been a national team player, coach, administrator and executive for five decades.

The NCAA has extended the contract of President Mark Emmert through 2020, with an option for an additional year. Emmert became the association’s fifth chief executive in 2010.

National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman has signed a contract extension through 2022. He has been leading the NHL since 1993 and is the longest-serving commissioner among the major North American sports leagues.

Kirby Hocutt has been selected to serve as the chair of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. He serves as director of athletics at Texas Tech University and previously held the same position at Ohio University and at the University of Miami.

Warde Manuel has been named the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics at the University of Michigan, a five year appointment. Manuel previously served as director of athletics at the University of Connecticut.

Pat Haden has announced his retirement as athletic director of the University of Southern California, effective June 30. He has agreed to a one-year term immediately following his retirement to lead a fundraising initiative focused on renovating the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, home to the USC Trojans.

Terry Gawlik has been selected to serve as the next chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee during the 2016–2017 academic year. She is senior associate athletics director for sports administration and the senior woman administrator at the University of Wisconsin– Madison.

Major League Baseball has opened an office in Washington, D.C., that will be led by Josh Alkin, the newly appointed vice-president of government relations. He worked with MLB for 15 years during his time with the law firm BakerHostetler. MLB also has hired the Duberstein Group to provide counsel on government-related issues.

U.S. Paralympics has announced the launch of the American Development Model for Paralympic Sport, which aims to promote sustained sport participation, improve the well-being of future athletes and grow the athlete pipeline from which U.S. Olympians and Paralympians are selected. The model will offer equal opportunity for recreation and competition.

Hosts & Suppliers

Tyson Webber has been appointed president of GMR, a global experiential marketing agency headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Webber joined GMR from Miller Brewing Co. in 2002. He succeeds Craig Connelly, who will serve in a senior advisory role through the end of this year.

Caitlin Ward has been named sports and niche markets sales executive at the Muskegon County (Michigan) Convention & Visitors Bureau. She most recently served as a sales manager with the Wisconsin Center District, owners and operators of the Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee Theatre and UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena.

The Frisco (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau has promoted Ryan Callison to director of marketing and communications and has hired Wesley Lucas as communications manager. Callison has been with the bureau since 2014, and Lucas most recently served as communications coordinator for the Grapevine (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Sybil Davis has been appointed national accounts manager at the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. She will be responsible for booking international, multicultural and religious groups for the Pennsylvania Convention Center and hotels in the greater Philadelphia area. Davis most recently served as senior sales executive for the Renaissance/ Washington, D.C.–Downtown.

Sites & Venues

The 2017 NHL All-Star Game will be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 29, 2017.

The 2017 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship will be staged at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The event, April 1–9, 2017, will serve as the final qualifying event for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The NFL has announced that it will play a regular-season game in Mexico during the 2016 season. The Oakland Raiders will host the Houston Texans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Monday, November 21, marking the first Monday Night Football game to be played outside the United States. It will be televised live on ESPN in the United States and on Televisa and ESPN in Mexico.

Frisco, Texas, will continue to stage the Division I Football Championship title game at Toyota Stadium through 2020 after reaching a deal with the NCAA. The game will be hosted by the Southland Conference, the city of Frisco and Hunt Sports Ventures. Toyota Stadium is scheduled to undergo a $39 million improvement project that will include new locker rooms. Construction is expected to be complete by late 2017.

The American Finals Rodeo will be staged at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, over Veterans Day weekend, November 11–12.

On the heels of a five-year, $279 million transformation, the Cobo Center in Detroit recently welcomed the North American International Auto Show. The facility offers more than 700,000 square feet of exhibit space, and a large terrace called Cobo Square is scheduled to open this spring.

The 2016 Powerade State Games of North Carolina will include events in Raleigh, Cary and Durham, June 4–26. More than 12,000 athletes are expected to compete in 26 events.

The 2016 and 2017 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities World Series will be played on fields throughout greater Cincinnati. Hosted by the Cincinnati Reds, the RBI program is a Major League Baseball youth initiative designed to provide those from underserved and diverse communities with opportunities to play baseball and softball, while also encouraging academic achievement and teaching the value of teamwork and other life lessons.

Sponsors & Licensing

Starting in 2017, Hyundai Motor America will serve as the new title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s tournament at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Hyundai will shift its previous sponsorship from the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii to what is currently the Northern Trust Open.

Northern Trust will replace Barclays as the title sponsor of the first FexEx Playoff tournament beginning in 2017.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has renewed its title sponsorship of the Cotton Bowl. The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will continue to be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

USA Hockey and Dunkin’ Donuts have entered a multiyear partnership. Dunkin’ Donuts will serve as the official coffee shop of USA Hockey and the U.S. Women’s National Team.

West Marine, a retailer of boating-related gear, has signed on as the title sponsor of the 2016 Carolina Cup, a standup paddleboard race that will be held in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, April 19–24. The 6th annual West Marine Carolina Cup is expected to draw more than 1,000 paddlers from roughly 20 nations and 40 states.

Repucom will provide sponsorship research and consulting services to Hulman & Co., the parent company of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The partnership encompasses media analysis of all Verizon IndyCar Series events, all events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the tracking of the IndyCar brand worldwide.

USA Triathlon has extended its longterm partnership and technology agreement with Active Network, a provider of data solutions. Active and USA Triathlon have been working together since 2011.

In Memoriam

Mike English, former USA Shooting president and athlete, and the former chief of sports performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee, passed away in January while diving in the Cayman Islands. English was a 10-year member of the U.S. Shooting National Team and a three-time Pan American medalist. He became president and chairman of the board of USA Shooting in 2001 and previously served as the governing body’s vicepresident and as an Athletes’ Advisory Council representative. He began work at the USOC in 2004 and oversaw the U.S. team’s 37-medal performance at the 2010 Olympic Games.

And Finally…

Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis has launched the Sports Innovation Institute, the first university effort in the United States that is focused on sports and innovation. The institute serves as a bridge between eight schools at IUPUI and Indianapolis sports-industry partners. It will conduct research and collect data, with the goal of establishing Indianapolis as an innovation and entrepreneurial hub for global sports. For more information, visit petm.iupui.edu.

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. TEAMS ’16 will be held September 26–29, 2016, in Atlantic City. 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.
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Media Contact:
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