Sports Organizations
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Former professional tennis player Todd Martin will become CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport, Rhode Island. Martin will succeed Mark Stenning, September after 35 years with the organization and 14 years as CEO. In addition to his role as CEO, Martin will serve as tournament director of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships and will have oversight of the annual Hall of Fame enshrinement festivities.

The Canadian Olympic Committee has named Eric Myles executive director of sport. He previously served as executive director of Québec en Forme, a group that encourages as director of sport programs at l’Académie Les Estacades. Myles also founded Complexe sportif Alphonse- Desjardins in Trois-Rivieres, Québec.

Rhonda Lundin Bennett and Leslie Claybrook have been named to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. Bennett, senior associate athletics director at the assistant commissioner at the Southeastern Conference, will begin their terms September 1. They will replace two-time committee chair Carolayne Henry, senior associate commissioner at the Mountain West Conference, and University of Alabama at Birmingham athletics director Brian Mackin. Claybrook previously served on the committee, which is responsible for NCAA basketball tournament site selection.

Greg McLaughlin, who has served as president and CEO of the Tiger Woods Foundation since 2000, has announced he will leave his position to join the executive staff of the PGA Tour. Prior to his work with the foundation, McLaughlin served as the tournament director of the Nissan Open, now known as the Northern Trust Open, as well as the Honda Classic and the Western Open.

Xtreme Fighting Championships has named Edward Jung CEO. Prior to his promotion, Jung helped the Tampa, Florida–based mixed martial arts organization expand in Brazil and throughout Latin America, including broadcast deals with Brazil’s RedeTV! and ESPN for XFCi 1.

USA Triathlon has promoted Chuck Menke to chief marketing officer. Menke will be responsible for branding, event marketing and membership acquisition and retention. Menke has been with USA Triathlon since 2010, when he was hired as the director of marketing and communications.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America has named Greg Hubbard chief financial officer. Hubbard brings 18 years of experience with nonprofit organizations to his new role, including nearly seven years as CFO of Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Mike Hooper, CEO of Commonwealth Games Federation, has announced his plans to leave the organization after the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Hooper started as the federation’s first fulltime CEO in 2000 and helped transform it from a small, volunteer-based group into a professional operation that has staged the games in the United Kingdom, Australia and India.

The NCAA has unveiled the logo for the 2015 NCAA Women’s Final Four, scheduled to be staged at the Tampa Bay Times Forum April 5–7, 2015. The logo, which is inspired by vintage luggage stickers, aims to convey a feeling of leisure while evoking the excitement of the women’s basketball championship.

NASCAR has reached a 10-year deal with CIE, Latin America’s leading live entertainment company, for the Mexicobased Toyota Series to continue operating under the NASCAR banner through the 2023 season. The 2014 season will be the 11th for the series, which has been NASCAR-sanctioned since 2007.

The Football Writers Association of America and the National Football Foundation will begin conducting a joint weekly college football poll starting with the 2014 season. The new poll is named the FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16, in honor of famed sportswriter Grantland Rice, a leader of the NFF in the early 1940s. It is aimed at combining the expertise of the nation’s top college football journalists, players, coaches and administrators.

Hosts & Suppliers

John McNichol has been named president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. McNichol has been vice-chairman of the center’s board and has served in an unpaid capacity as acting president and CEO since December 2013.

Peter Luukko has been named to the board of directors for Pointstreak Sports Technologies. He most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Comcast-Spectacor. Pointstreak offers leagues, teams and governing bodies real-time statistics, online registration tools, website content management and live video-streaming services.

Maritz Travel Company – the meetings and events organizer comprising Experient and Maritz Travel – as named Eduardo Chaillo, Ping He and Ben Goedegebuure global general managers. Chaillo, owner of Global Meetings and Tourism Specialists, will focus on Latin America and Mexico. With more than 20 years of experience at Experient, He will focus on the Asia Pacific region. Goedegebuure, who served as the director of sales at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, will focus on Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Omni Hotels & Resorts has announced plans to build a 600-room convention hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The property is expected to house some 70,000 square feet of meeting space as well as a spa, a fitness center, two full-service restaurants, a rooftop café and a lobby lounge. Guests will also be within walking distance of the Kentucky International Convention Center, which features another 300,000 square feet of meeting space.

GoVision, an Argyle, Texas–based supplier of customized LED walls, has acquired the Los Angeles–based LED supplier InnoVision Media Group. The move gives GoVision its first physical presence outside of North Texas, expands its inventory and adds depth to its management and technical teams.

Sites & Venues

The NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans have reached an agreement to rename New Orleans Arena the Smoothie King Center. The naming rights deal between the Pelicans, the state of Louisiana and Smoothie King is for 10 years. A new Smoothie King Center logo will adorn the roof of the building and the new name and logo will appear on the facility’s exterior facade, on the Pelicans home basketball court, the team’s scoreboard and in numerous locations throughout the arena.

The Powerade State Games of North Carolina have announced venues for 2014 events in Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, Mooresville, Matthews, Cramerton, Concord, Indian Trail and Pineville. The games are scheduled for May 31 – June 29 and are expected to attract more than 14,000 athletes. Rugby and inline hockey are joining the list of 20 sports that the event offers. The opening ceremonies are planned for June 20 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Prospect Meadows Ball Fields has launched a campaign to build a new complex near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The 17-field facility will offer amenities including a recreational lake, a walking trail, gardens and play areas. It will be built northeast of Marion, Iowa, on a 128-acre parcel of land that is currently owned by Linn County. The project is expected to be completed in 2016.

RunDisney, a series of running events taking place at Disney parks, has announced the launch of the Marvel Comics – themed Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend, scheduled for November 14–16, 2014, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The race weekend will include kids races, a 5K and a half marathon, as well as a health and fitness expo.

The U.S. Bowling Congress will host its 2015 Youth Open Championships and North Pointe Junior Gold Championships in DuPage County, Illinois, July 9–26. The Junior Gold Championships feature boys and girls bowlers competing for national titles in the U12, U15 and U20 divisions. The Youth Open Championships are open to all USBC youth members in the U8, U12, U15 and U20 divisions. The DuPage County CVB will co-host the events with the Stardust Bowl Group, whose venues will host tournament play.

Major League Baseball and The Color Run will jointly host The Color Run MLB All-Star 5K presented by Nike on July 13 at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The event will take place two days before the 2014 MLB All-Star Game at Target Field in Minneapolis. The untimed race will allow participants of all ages to make their way through an All-Star themed course featuring appearances by mascots and Major League Baseball legends.
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NASCAR has announced a three-year extension to its sponsorship agreement with Mondelez International, which owns the food brands of the former Kraft Foods Group. The agreement designates Oreo, Nilla Wafers and Nutter Butter as the official cookies and Ritz and Wheat Thins as the official crackers of NASCAR.

The International Olympic Committee has extended its Worldwide TOP Partnership with Atos, an international information technology services company, through 2020, and Panasonic, in the audio-visual product category, through the 2024 Games. The Atos agreement will allow the company to provide services for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan. Panasonic has been a partner since the IOC’s global sponsorship program began in 1985 and is the first partner to sign through 2024.

The International Triathlon Union has entered into a three-year partnership with Threadneedle Investments, making the investment firm the global financial sponsor of the World Triathlon Series. Threadneedle has sponsored several triathlon events in the past. Stops on the 2014 series include Chicago and Edmonton.

USA Synchro, the national governing body for synchronized swimming, has entered into an agreement with Triflare, making the St. Louisbased athletic apparel company a sponsor of the U.S. national team. As a part of the agreement, Triflare will provide swimsuits for the U.S. national teams through 2017.

Orienteering USA has entered into an agreement with Noname, making the Finnish athletic clothing manufacturer the uniform supplier for the U.S. Orienteering Team. The team is composed of senior, junior, world university, mountain bike, ski and trail orienteering squads, which will compete in a series of events culminating in July’s World Orienteering Championships in Trentino, Italy.

U.S. Masters Swimming, the national governing body that promotes health, wellness and competition for adults through swimming, has announced a new partnership with Malibu C, a collection of eco-conscious hair, scalp and skin beauty products for swimmers. The agreement provides marketing, licensing and promotional rights. The company will also support the NGB’s Swimming Saves Lives Foundation.

The National Women’s Soccer League has announced that the Army National Guard will be its official armed forces partner. The league will work with the guard’s Grassroots Soccer program, which informs high school-aged soccer players, parents and coaches about the benefits of joining the Army National Guard.

And Finally…

Pete the Mountain Lion and Earl the Raccoon have been named as the official mascots of the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, scheduled for February 2–15, 2015, in Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado. The mascots will make special appearances throughout the coming year, as well as during the two weeks of the championships. The event is expected to showcase athletes from more than 70 nations. In addition to welcoming visitors to the championships, Pete and Earl will also pay tribute to Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton, whose vision led to the creation of the Vail and Beaver Creek resorts.

Registration has opened for the Travel & Tourism College, a three-year program run by the Texas Travel Industry Association and taught by industry CEOs and college professors. Students can receive the Certified Tourism Executive designation. Open to anyone in the travel and tourism industry in the United States, Travel & Tourism College begins June 16 and will be held at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort in Lost Pines, Texas. For more information, visit travelandtourismcollege.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 10–13 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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Media Contact:
Timothy Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider Publishing Company, Inc.
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