Judy MacLeod has been named commissioner of Conference USA, making her the first female commissioner of a Football Bowl Subdivision conference. MacLeod started at Conference USA in 2005 and has served as the executive associate commissioner and chief operating officer. MacLeod also worked at the University of Tulsa for 15 years, the last 10 as director of athletics.

Michael Friisdahl has been appointed president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Friisdahl has served as president and CEO of Air Canada’s leisure group since its inception in 2012. Prior to that, he was CEO of Thomas Cook North America.

Renata Simril has been named president and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, effective January 4, 2016. Simril most recently served as senior vice-president and chief of staff at the Los Angeles Times. She succeeds Anita DeFrantz, who has served as president of the foundation for the past 28 years.

Laurel Richie has stepped down from her role as president of the WNBA. NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will oversee the league on an interim basis. Richie joined the WNBA in May 2011, becoming the first African-American to lead a major sports league.

The National Women’s Soccer League has announced that the Orlando Pride will become its 10th club and second expansion team. The Pride will be owned and operated by Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer and will begin play with the 2016 season. The Pride will play in the Orlando Citrus Bowl for the start of the season and move to a new downtown stadium when construction is completed. Tom Sermanni, former head coach of the Australian and U.S. women’s national teams, will serve as head coach.

Technology entrepreneur Stephen Malik has purchased the Carolina RailHawks, a founding member of the North American Soccer League, from Traffic Sports USA. The team is based in Cary, North Carolina.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association has added the LPGA Volvik Championship to the 2016 season. The inaugural event is scheduled to take place at Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 26–29. The event will feature a full field of 144 players competing in a 72-hole showcase for a purse of $1.3 million.

Hosts & Suppliers

Tania Armenta has been appointed president and CEO of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Convention & Visitors Bureau, effective January 6, 2016. She has been with the bureau for more than 17 years and currently serves as its chief operating and marketing officer. Armenta succeeds Dale Lockett, who will transition out of his role when his contract ends on January 5, 2016.

The Louisville (Kentucky) Sports Commission board of directors has announced the promotion of Karl Schmitt to president and CEO. Schmitt previously served as the commission’s executive director, a position that he had held for five years. In addition, the commission has promoted Greg Fante from director to vice-president of sports development and Julie Howell from director to vicepresident of revenue development.

Rob Smith has been named executive director of Delaware’s Kent County Regional Sports Complex, an 85-acre, 12-field artificial grass facility now under construction. Smith previously served as vice-president of soccer development and community relations with Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.

Joe Davis has been named interim general manager of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation. Davis previously served as assistant general manager of the corporation as well as general manager of the Hawaii Convention Center. A search is underway for a replacement for outgoing president and CEO Carol Wallace, who will step down from her position on December 31, but will serve as a consultant to the corporation through the end of 2016.

Shasha Cruz has been appointed director of meetings and events for North America at the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism. Cruz previously worked at the ministry as a representative for the Mid-Atlantic United States and has also worked as a sales executive at American Airlines.

Sites & Venues

The host cities for the 2016 Amgen Tour of California have been announced. The race will begin in San Diego and conclude in Sacramento. Stage 2 of the event will begin in South Pasadena and conclude in Santa Clarita. Stage 3 begins in Thousand Oaks and ends in Santa Barbara County. Stage 4 starts in Morro Bay and finishes in Monterey County. Stage 5 runs from Lodi to South Lake Tahoe. Stage 6, an individual time trial and women’s team trial, will take place in Folsom. Santa Rosa will be the site of Stage 7.

London Irish will play Saracens next year at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, home to Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls. The English rugby match, set for March 12, will be the first Aviva Premiership match to be played overseas.

USA Cycling has selected Louisville, Kentucky, to host the 2016 and 2017 Amateur Road National Championships for men’s and women’s 9 – 23 divisions as well as the men’s Open Category 1 division. The competition comprises a time trial, road race and criterium that will be held over four days.

The 2016 USA Cycling Hill Climb National Championships will take place at Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The inaugural event will be held August 13, 2016.

The Oldsmar BMX supercross track has opened in Oldsmar, Florida. The $2 million project updated the city’s existing 13-year-old track with the addition of a 20-foot-high hill and courses for both professional and amateur riders.

San Diego has been awarded the inaugural Association of National Olympic Committees World Beach Games. Featuring more than 20 sports, the Olympic-style event will be held in 2017 following the International Olympic Committee session in Lima, Peru.

The 2017 NCAA Hockey Midwest Regional will be held at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, March 25–26, 2017. It will mark the third time in four years that the arena will host the event.

The inaugural National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship—the NCAA’s 90th and newest title event— will debut May 6–8, 2016, in Alabama. The event, at Gulf Shores Public Beach, will be hosted by the city of Gulf Shores and the Orange Beach Sports Commission. Gulf Shores has also been chosen to host the 2017 championship, which will be held May 5–7.

Ironman has announced the addition of the Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City triathlon, which will be staged September 18, 2016, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the event will offer qualifying slots for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship to be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Sportscore Two complex in Rockford, Illinois, will host the 2016 USA Ultimate National Championships, to be held September 29–October 2. During the championships, 18 fields are expected to be used including five synthetic turf fields that are currently under construction.

The 2016 Sugar Bert Boxing Title Belt National Championships will be held at Park Inn by Radisson Resort & Conference Center Orlando in Kissimmee, Florida. The event is scheduled to take place November 18–21, 2016.

Sponsors & Licensing

Through a 10-year partnership between Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment and Vivint, a smart home technology provider, the home arena for the Utah Jazz has been renamed the Vivint Smart Home Arena. Formerly known as EnergySolutions Arena, the venue offers 19,911 seats and hosts about 1.8 million guests and more than 100 sports and entertainment events each year.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Starwood Preferred Guest have announced a partnership with Major League Baseball that designates Sheraton as the official hotel and SPG as the official hotel loyalty program of MLB.

The Hershey Co. has secured a five- year partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee and will serve as an official sponsor and confectionery partner of Team USA through the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The National Women’s Soccer League and Nike have extended their partnership through the 2019 season. Nike began its relationship with the NWSL in 2012 as one of the league’s founding sponsors.

Pizza Hut has become the official pizza partner of the Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center. Plano, Texas-based Pizza Hut will have marketing rights such as use of team and arena trademarks as well as six concession stands within American Airlines Center.

U.S. Lacrosse has selected GreenFields USA as its official artificial turf partner. Under the terms of the five year marketing partnership, GreenFields will install its turf at U.S. Lacrosse’s new headquarters and training center in Sparks, Maryland, in 2016.

Symetra has extended by four years its title sponsorship of the Symetra Tour–Road to the LPGA. Symetra has also pledged to contribute to a fund that provides a match to tournaments that raise their purses starting in 2016. As part of the program, the 2016 purses of the Symetra Classic and Symetra Tour Championship will increase to $150,000 and $200,000, respectively.

U.S. Figure Skating has announced a new collaboration with Realtor.com, a provider of online real estate services, which will run through the end of the 2015–2016 season. The sponsorship includes presenting rights to the Realtor. com Real Time Update, an element of NBC’s broadcasts.

And Finally…

Six of the world’s top mass participation cycling events have come together to form the World Association of Cycling Events, whose goal is to promote cycling worldwide. WACE comprises the Cape Town Cycle Tour (South Africa); TD Five Boro Bike Tour (New York); Vatternrundan (Sweden); L’Etape du Tour (France); RideLondon (United Kingdom); and Granfondo Campagnolo Roma (Italy). More major cycling events are expected to join WACE, and the association is planning to create the WACE Challenge, which will award riders taking part in multiple WACE events around the world.

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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