Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission have been chosen to host the sports marketing industry’s most prestigious annual conference in 2010, executive director Linda Logan announced today.

Columbus will host the National Association of Sports Commission’s Sports Event Symposium at the Hyatt Regency and the Greater Columbus Convention Center in April 2010. This year’s NASC Sports Event Symposium is being held this week in Omaha, Neb. The conference will be held in Denver in 2009 before coming to Columbus in April 2010.

“It will be a tremendous honor and opportunity to showcase Columbus during the NASC Sports Event Symposium in 2010,” Logan said. “The NASC Spots Event Symposium attracts not only sports commissions and other entities that host sporting events, but also more than 75 events-rights holders that are constantly on the lookout for destinations to take their individual events, so hosting a successful NASC Sports Event Symposium will benefit our community for years to come.”

The National Association of Sports Commissions is the sports event industry’s leading networking organization. Founded in 1992, it represents more than 425 organizations from more than 300 cities from across the country. Members include those responsible for bringing sporting events to their community (such as sports commissions and convention & visitors bureaus), event owners and suppliers to the sports event industry.

“We were very impressed with Columbus’ bid, especially the commitment from the community’s entire sports industry,” said Don Schumacher, executive director of the National Association of Sports Commissions. “The Greater Columbus Sports Commission’s strong partnerships with the Blue Jackets, Crew, Nationwide Arena, Ohio State and sports icons such as Archie Griffin and Clark Kellogg were very apparent during the bid process, and we look forward to a very successful Sports Event Symposium in Columbus in 2010.”        

Logan, a former chair of the NASC’s board, has been a member of the association since 1997 when she joined the Greater Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau (now known as Experience Columbus).

Columbus hosted the Executive Committee of the NASC Board of Directors in January 2006, an event that brought many of the organization’s most influential board members to Columbus for the first time.

“Hosting the NASC executive committee was a key component of our successful bid to host the NASC Sports Event Symposium,” Logan said. “Columbus has much to offer as a host city, which the committee discovered during its executive committee meeting. Now we will have an opportunity to promote our city to the organization’s entire membership.”

The NASC was founded in 1992 to provide opportunities to discuss industry issues, promote best practices, raise the level of professionalism, and promote the value of amateur sports. For more information on the National Association of Sports Commissions, visit www.SportsCommissions.org.

The Greater Columbus Sports Commission was founded in June 2002 to attract professional, amateur, collegiate and youth sporting events to Columbus. Since its inception, the Sports Commission has attracted more than 90 events that have generated more than $90 million in visitor spending. For more information, visit www.ColumbusSports.org.
      
MEDIA CONTACT:
Brent LaLonde                
614-562-0940 (cell)        
BLaLonde@ColumbusSports.org                        
www.ColumbusSports.org                        

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