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SportsTravel Magazine
'Press Box' Presented by SportsTravel Magazine (April 2015)
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Los Angeles, CA – April 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Each monthly issue of SportsTravel contains information from the Press Box. SportsTravel is the sports world’s event magazine.

Sports Organizations
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'Press Box' Presented by SportsTravel Magazine (April 2015)Greg Sankey has been named commissioner of the Southeastern Conference by the presidents and chancellors of the SEC. Sankey, in his 13th year as a member of the SEC staff, has served as executive associate commissioner and chief operating officer since 2012. Prior to his role with the SEC, Sankey was commissioner of the Southland Conference. Effective July 31, he will succeed Mike Slive, who announced his retirement in October.

John Ruger has been named senior director of beach operations at USA Volleyball. Ruger most recently worked with the U.S. Olympic Committee, serving as the athlete ombudsman from 1999 to 2014. He also served 12 years on the USOC board of directors, including five years on its executive committee. The U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors has approved three new members: Daniel Doctoroff, former CEO of Bloomberg LP; Steve Mesler, three-time Olympian and president and CEO of Classroom Champions; and Kevin White, vicepresident and director of athletics at Duke University. Doctoroff will serve as an independent director, Mesler will represent the Athletes’ Advisory Council and White will represent the National Governing Bodies Council.

Futbol USA has announced that it is launching a 32-team, two-division professional soccer league, with an inaugural season to start in September. More than 700 players will be recruited at four regional tryouts in June. Instead of recruiting players directly from universities or professional leagues, FUSA will recruit predominantly among Hispanic and Latino amateur players.

The Canadian Curling Association has unveiled a new name, logo and brand. Curling Canada is the new title for the world’s largest domestic curling association. The re-branding, including a website redesign, will roll out in the coming months.

USA Triathlon has partnered with the International Powerman Association to present run-bike-run events through 2017. USA Triathlon will sanction all U.S.-based Powerman events, including five events that will be part of the 2015 USA Triathlon Duathlon Race Series.

The United Soccer League has unveiled a new name and logo. Dropping the USL PRO moniker, the league will be known simply as USL. The 2015 season debuted with 13 new clubs, seven of which are owned and operated by MLS teams.

The U.S. Soccer 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will kick off with a record number of participating teams and a revised format. The 102nd edition of the tournament will feature 91 teams, an increase from the 80 that competed last year. A new, geographically based random draw will determine the round of 16 matches and set a fixed bracket for the final.

Courtney Patterson has been appointed marketing and public relations manager at the United States Association of Blind Athletes. She previously served as a United States Olympic Committee NGB intern.

Hosts & Suppliers

David Whitaker has been named chief marketing officer for Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States. Whitaker will begin his role with Brand USA on May 11, following eight years as president and CEO of Tourism Toronto. Prior to that, Whitaker spent 17 years with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Steve Van Dorn, president and CEO of the Santa Clara (California) Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, has resigned after 13 years with the organization. During his tenure, Van Dorn also managed the Santa Clara Convention Center, overseeing the expansion of its Mission City Ballroom. A search has been launched for his successor.

Gary Alexander has been named a principal at the Huddle Up Group LLC, a sports consulting firm with offices in Arizona and Colorado. Alexander was senior vice-president and COO of the Nashville Sports Council from 2000– 2014. He most recently served as executive director of the local organizing committee for the 2014 NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Bill Fitzgerald has resigned as president of the Valley Forge (Pennsylvania) Tourism & Convention Board. He has accepted a position with Pyramid Hotel Group as vice-president and managing director of the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing.

Harry Gilbert has been appointed executive director of tennis at Albany, a resort community in the Bahamas jointly owned by Tavistock Group, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. Gilbert is a United States Professional Tennis Association elite professional and former USPTA national president.

Marc Anderson has been named chief sales officer and senior vice-president of Choose Chicago, the city’s destination marketing organization. Anderson has 23 years of industry experience and most recently served as regional director of marketing for Peninsula Hotels.

Susan Thomas has been named chief marketing officer of Visit Huntington Beach in California. Thomas most recently served as senior vice-president of the Hilton Head Island Bluffton (South Carolina) Chamber of Commerce and Visitor & Convention Bureau.

Sites & Venues

The Myrtle Beach Sports Center in South Carolina has opened. The complex offers eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, an entertainment zone and seating capacity for up to 2,000.

The Pac-12 Conference has extended its partnership with Force 10 Sports Marketing, the Seattle Sports Commission and the Seattle Center. Under the terms of the agreement, the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held at KeyArena in Seattle through 2016.

Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the Presidents Cup 2021. The partnership between the PGA Tour and the Quail Hollow Club will bring the international team match-play event to the southeastern United States for the first time in the event’s 27-year history.

The Sevens World Series will add an annual stop in Vancouver, British Columbia, which beat more than 20 other bidding cities to host the rugby event. The stop in Vancouver will be a two-day tournament featuring 16 nations at BC Place.

The 2015 Amgen Tour of California course will feature several rider and fan-favorite locales from past races, as well as five stages that highlight different regions of California for the first time. The eight-day route will begin May 10 in Sacramento and conclude May 17 in Pasadena. Additionally, 14 of the top women’s cycling teams are confirmed to compete over three days and 158 miles of stage racing. The women’s dates are May 8–10, with an invitational time trial May 14.

Edmonton has abandoned its bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Since Edmonton announced its intention to bid, the Alberta government has seen its fiscal program go from a $500 million surplus to a $7 billion deficit due to world oil prices. Edmonton will instead shift its focus to the 2026 Games. Durban, South Africa, is the only city remaining to bid for the 2022 event.

The 2016 AT&T American Cup will be held at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The one-day competition featuring the world’s best gymnasts will take place on March 5, 2016. The Nastia Liukin Cup, which showcases the country’s top Junior Olympic female gymnasts, will be held at the same venue on March 4, 2016.

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football has announced that the United States will host the 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. The United States last hosted the event in 2012.

Sponsors & Licensing

Walt Disney World Resort and Orlando City Soccer Club have announced a multiyear partnership that makes Walt Disney World Resort a founding sponsor of the club. Walt Disney World Resort becomes the official theme park and resort destination of the soccer club, Disney Cruise Line will be its official cruise line, and Disney Vacation Club will be its official vacation club.

Competitor Group and Dunkin’ Donuts have announced a new partnership for the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. The agreement will make Dunkin’ Donuts the official coffee and breakfast restaurant of events in Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Assurance and the Chicago Cubs have announced a partnership, making the insurance brokerage the new partner for what has been called the Executive Club of Chicago at Wrigley Field. Under the agreement, the mezzanine-level club will be referred to as the Assurance Club. In addition, the Cubs and American Airlines have announced a longterm partnership making American Airlines the official airline of the team and Wrigley Field. The airline will have a branding presence at Wrigley Field and Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, and will also host Cubs player and mascot appearances, giveaways and sweepstakes.

LG Electronics USA has extended its corporate partnership agreement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association through August 2018. Under the deal, LG will continue to serve as an official NCAA corporate partner and have exclusive category marketing and promotional rights for the categories of consumer electronics, mobile phones and home appliances related to all 89 NCAA championship events across 23 sports.

The National Hockey League has announced a multiyear North American partnership with SAP SE, a corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. As the official cloud software provider of the NHL, SAP collaborated with the league on the transformation of the NHL’s statistics platform.

The Amgen Tour of California and Lexus have announced a multiyear partnership. Lexus will entitle two stages of the race and supply more than 125 vehicles to support critical race roles. The Lexus NX compact crossover will be the official pace car to lead the peloton during each stage.

The United States Tennis Association and Lavazza have announced a multiyear partnership that will make Lavazza the official promotional partner and the exclusive coffee of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. The U.S. Open represents Lavazza’s largest tennis sponsorship in North America.

NASCAR and Sherwin-Williams have announced a three-year extension of their official partnership, which will designate Sherwin-Williams as the official paint of NASCAR through 2017. Through its renewal, the retailer of paint and paint supplies will maintain its role as a contingency sponsor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR touring and weekly series.

Comcast-Spectator has partnered with Cisco and Comcast Business to build the Xfinity Wi-Fi network in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center. This free network of hotspots is expected to allow enhanced communication and ingame interaction in the arena.

USA Water Polo has entered a twoyear agreement with Bag Tags Inc., running through the 2016 Junior Olympics and Champions Cup. The partnership will make Bag Tags the official credential supplier for all USA Water Polo events.

The Boat Owners Association of the United States has continued its partnership with the Association of Collegiate Anglers by renewing its title sponsorship of the 2015 Collegiate Bass Fishing Series Championship. BoatUS has been the title sponsor of the championship since its inception a decade ago. The event will take place on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama, May 20–22.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg has renewed its partnership with Lundy’s Special Events through 2017. The Kentucky-based company has provided concessions and catering for the premium clubs at the event since 2011.

In Memoriam

Deedee Corradini, the president of Women’s Ski Jumping USA and a key supporter of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games when she was mayor of Salt Lake City, died at her home in Park City, Utah. She was 70. As the only president of Women’s Ski Jumping USA, Corradini was an outspoken leader in the global fight to allow women to participate in ski jumping at the Olympic level. After years of legal battles, the sport was allowed on the Olympic program in 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Corradini was also the past president of the International Women’s Forum and a senior distinguished fellow in urban studies at the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership at Furman University.

And Finally…

Nickelodeon has teamed up with Kansas Speedway for a title sponsorship for its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, now called the SpongeBob SquarePants 400. The race will be staged May 9. Plans include costumed character appearances and a Sponge- Bob SquarePants photo station in the Kansas Speedway Fan Zone. The deal with the TV network and the animated series is intended to expand NASCAR’s reach to a younger demographic.

This current issue of SportsTravel can be viewed in digital format online by clicking here.

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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.
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Media Contact:
Timothy Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider Publishing Company, Inc.

Association News, Meetings Quest, SportsTravel and TEAMS are registered trademarks of Schneider Publishing.

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Placement Dates: 04/07/15 – 06/07/15
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