CINCINNATI (June 4, 2020) – Sports ETA, the trade association for the sport events and tourism industry, announced today that it will postpone its 2020 in-person Annual Symposium to April 26-29, 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama. The largest annual gathering of sports events and tourism professionals was originally scheduled to be hosted in Kansas City for August 2-5, 2020. Kansas City will host a future Annual Symposium to be announced at a later date.
As a supplement and significant member benefit enhancement to its on-going robust programming, Sports ETA will offer SportsBiz XChange, a month-long schedule of industry networking opportunities for its members and sports events rights holders. Virtual attendees will have numerous appointments with key decision-makers in sports tourism events and access to dozens of new and updated RFPs throughout the month of August. Registration will open later this month at SportsETA.org.
“As the COVID-19 developments continue to evolve, and in collaboration with our Kansas City event partner, we have mutually decided to move our largest gathering of Sports ETA members and business partners to 2021 while introducing a virtual program option to keep our members connected to decision-makers in the sports events tourism industry,” said Al Kidd, President and CEO of Sports ETA. “I would like to thank our extraordinary hosts at VisitKC and the Kansas City Sports Commission for their guidance and assistance in moving the dates in such a quick turnaround.”
“These are unfamiliar and complicated times for all of us,” said Kathy Nelson, President & CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation. “Although I’m disappointed, I believe the decision to postpone is the prudent one. The time will pass quickly and – before we all know it – we will be gathering next year to network, share, learn and socialize with each other. This experience is sure to provide additional valuable topics for our industry of sports events and sports tourism to discuss.”
About Sports ETA
As the only trade association for the sport tourism industry, Sports ETA is the most trusted resource for sports commissions, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), and sports event owners. Sports ETA is committed to the success of more than 850 member organizations and 2,400 sports event professionals. Our promise is to deliver quality education, ample networking opportunities and exceptional event management and marketing know-how to our members – sports destinations, sports event owners, and suppliers to the industry – and to protect the integrity of the sports events and industry. For more information, visit SportsETA.org.
