Sports Organizations
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Tim Hinchey has been named president and CEO of USA Swimming. Hinchey, who has been president of Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids since 2011, will succeed longtime CEO Chuck Wielgus, who passed away in April. Hinchey has more than 25 years of experience in sports, including leadership positions with Major League Soccer, the English Premier League, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

Jim Scherr has been named the first CEO of the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), the international governing body that was formed in 2008 as the result of a merger between the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations and the International Lacrosse Federation. Scherr, the former CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, most recently served as executive director for the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. He also served as executive director of USA Wrestling.

Casey Taker has been named partner at Open Water Planet, a new event series with a focus on openwater swimming. She previously served as the organization’s director of hospitality and COO. Prior to that, she founded Anytakers Sports & Entertainment.

Lydia Murphy-Stephans, president of Pac-12 Networks, has stepped down to launch a media advisory company, where she will act as a consultant to Pac-12 Networks. Murphy-Stephans is a retired Olympic speedskater who became the first woman to head a national sports network.

The North American Soccer League has announced a new expansion team in Orange County, California. The new West Coast club will begin play in the 2018 spring season at Titan Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located on the campus of California State University–Fullerton.

Hosts & Suppliers

Mike Testa has been named president and CEO of Visit Sacramento, where he previously served as its chief operating officer. Testa started at Visit Sacramento in 2001, first as director of public relations. Prior to that, he worked for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership directing its public relations and marketing activities.

Ron Sertz, executive director of the Erie Sports Commission, has been inducted into the Metro Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He has been involved in the Erie sports scene for more than five decades, having also served as director of operations for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League and as founding president of the Erie BayHawks.

Jason Sands has been appointed sports marketing director at the Fort Worth (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Sands most recently served as executive director of the Evansville Sports Corp. He also served as director of sponsorship and marketing for the EVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and director of sports development at the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority.

Visit Milwaukee has promoted Marissa Werner to senior sports and entertainment sales manager. Werner has been with the convention and visitors bureau since 2011 and has worked to bring events including the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships, PGA Championships and Big East Volleyball Championships to the city.

BCD Meetings & Events, a global meetings and events agency, has announced the formation of BCD Sports, an independent unit that will focus on designing athletic experiences for corporate hospitality and coordinating team travel for professional, collegiate and youth teams.

Sites & Venues

National Football League owners have awarded Tampa the 2021 Super Bowl, an event that previously had been given to Los Angeles. Instead, Los Angeles will host the 2022 Super Bowl after weather delays postponed the anticipated opening of the new stadium that will house the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. The 2021 Super Bowl will mark Tampa’s fifth time hosting the NFL’s premier event, and its first time hosting since 2009.

The 2019 NBA All-Star Game will be staged at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will be held February 17 and comes nearly two years after the league took the 2017 game away from the city over North Carolina’s controversial HB2 legislation.

The NFL Pro Bowl will return to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium in 2018, the second consecutive year the venue will host the event. The NFL will stage Pro Bowl Week festivities across the Orlando area. Orlando also will host the NFL Flag Championships Powered by USA Football, the announcement of the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award and the annual USA Football National Conference, the largest gathering of youth and high school football administrators and coaches in the country.

USA Volleyball has selected Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix as host of its three signature national championship events in 2018. The USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships will be staged in Detroit for the first time and will be played June 25–July 4 at the Cobo Center. The USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships will return to Phoenix for the third time, July 2–9, at the Phoenix Convention Center. And the USA Volleyball Open National Championships will return May 25–30 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

SMG has been selected to manage a new exhibition and convention space under construction in Shenzhen, China. With 4.3 million square feet of exhibition space and another 500,000 square feet of meeting space, the venue is set to become one of the largest convention centers in the world when it is scheduled to open in 2019.

Des Moines, Iowa, has been awarded the 2018 and 2019 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men’s Volleyball National Invitational, the first time the city will host the event. Eight teams will compete at the Charles S. Johnson Wellness Center at Grand View University, April 18–21, 2018, and April 17–20, 2019.

The 2019 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will be held at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York. This will be the second time the championship in senior golf will take place on Oak Hill’s historic East Course.

Sponsors & Licensing

Specialty sporting goods manufacturer Mizuno has partnered with LakePoint Sporting Community, a tournament destination in Emerson, Georgia, with athletic facilities, retail, entertainment and hotels. Mizuno will serve as the official performance sports gear partner of LakePoint.

The NFL and Bose Corp. have announced a multiyear extension of their sponsorship agreement, which designates Bose as the official headphone and headset of the NFL. Bose has served as an official sponsor of the NFL since 2011.

Aflac has signed a partnership making it the official supplemental insurance provider of Tough Mudder, the active lifestyle brand and media company. The partnership includes the introduction of the Aflac Small Business Challenge, designed for teams participating in Tough Mudder events on behalf of small businesses.

National Car Rental has become the national official car rental partner of the Boston Red Sox through 2021. National will have in-stadium signage above the Green Monster outfield wall and home plate and a presence in the Royal Rooters Club. The company will also sponsor the new Emerald Club Express Gate, a dedicated entry line to Fenway Park available exclusively for Emerald Club Members and their guests.

And Finally…

In advance of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Atlanta Football Host Committee and the College Football Playoff have partnered to fund Atlanta’s first Creative Learning Systems SmartLab. The $75,000 donation was made in honor of the Scott Elementary School faculty. The facility will allow students to explore a wide range of applied technologies, including robotics, software engineering, mechanics and structures, computer graphics, digital media and more.

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Media Contact:
Timothy Schneider
310-954-2525
Northstar Travel Group, LLC

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