Sports Organizations

Randy Bernard has been appointed CEO of the Indy Racing League (IRL). Bernard spent the past 15 years as CEO of Professional Bull Riders Inc. He succeeds Tony George, who founded the IRL but stepped down last June amid a family feud that resulted in his resignation from several positions within the family’s business empire.

The U.S. Olympic Committee has made several new appointments. Alan Ashley, who was previously a team leader in sport performance, has been promoted to managing director of sport performance. Jack Favro, who was director of the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center, has been promoted to acting managing director of Olympic training centers in Lake Placid, Colorado Springs and Chula Vista. And Patrick Sandusky, the USOC’s acting chief communications officer since last October, has been appointed chief communications officer.

NASCAR has promoted four members of its executive team to senior vice-president: Steve Phelps, chief marketing officer, Steve O’Donnell, vice-president for racing operations, Gary Crotty, general counsel, and
R. Todd Wilson, chief financial officer. The four—along with senior vice-president Paul Brooks, president of NASCAR Media Group, and NASCAR president Mike Helton—make up the company’s key management team.

Lee Johnson has been named senior director of marketing at USA Gymnastics. Johnson’s background includes developing marketing programs for brands and universities in the U.S., including Red Bull North America, Sprint, and the University of Kansas Athletic Department.

Hall of Fame Golfer Annika Sorenstam has been appointed as the honorary chairwoman of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, scheduled for July 4–10, 2011, at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Sorenstam will help with promotions and will host an exhibition during the week of the tournament. Sorenstam won her first U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor in 1995.

The International Olympic Committee has launched a “visual identity” for the first Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to take place August 14–26 in Singapore. The new  “YOG-DNA” label is intended to represent the attitudes and freedom of young people and is featured on the YOG website (olympic.org/yog) and will be integrated into digital and social media.

USA Water Polo has announced its Victory 2012 Campaign, a fundraising initiative to support the national water polo teams as they train for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Donors to the campaign will receive priority ticketing for national team events, the Olympic Development newsletter and an invitation to an exclusive event with players and coaches from the national teams. They will also be listed among USA Water Polo patrons in the annual report and on the website.

Hosts & Suppliers

The Buffalo Niagara (New York) Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced the establishment of the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission, which will lead the effort to host amateur athletic events in Erie County. The strategic direction of the sports commission will be overseen by an advisory council consisting of 36 members of the community with sports backgrounds, including Jonathan Dandes, president of Rich Baseball Operations and a member of the CVB’s board, who will serve as advisory council chairman. Day-to-day operations of the commission will be managed by the CVB’s sales department under the supervision of Dottie Gallagher-Cohen, the CVB’s president and CEO.

The Peoria Area (Illinois) Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Bob Marx president and CEO. Marx served most recently as opening general manager for Fairfield Inn & Suites in Gadsden, Alabama. His background also includes serving as director of marketing for the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau and president and CEO of the Bakersfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.

George Linley has been named executive director of the Palm Beach County (Florida) Sports Commission. Linley was formerly the sports commission’s event manager and has also served as marketing sales executive for Roger Dean Stadium, a Major League Baseball spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida, and home to minor league baseball’s Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals.

David Monahan has been appointed CEO and general manager at the Las Vegas Hilton. Monahan was senior vice-president of Colony Capital, a real estate investment firm that owns the Las Vegas Hilton. Before that, he held executive jobs at ITT Sheraton and InterContinental Hotels Group.

Aradia Zenobia has been appointed executive director of the newly formed New River Valley (Virginia) Convention & Visitors Bureau, which represents Montgomery County, Blacksburg and Christiansburg. Zenobia most recently served as the acting president of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Karrie Burns has been appointed executive director of the Monroeville (Pennsylvania) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Burns was general manager of the Monroeville Courtyard by Marriott. She succeeds Donna Bour, who was filling in after the bureau’s former executive director, Sandra Rice, left the bureau in 2008.

Kemp Gallineau has been promoted from senior vice-president and general manager of Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center to senior vice-president and chief sales officer for Gaylord Hotels. Gallineau joined Gaylord Hotels in 2001. Before taking his post at the Palms, he was vice-president and general manager of Gaylord Opryland.

The Hilton/Salt Lake City Center has named Jeff Protzman general manager. Protzman spent 20 years with Doubletree, serving most recently as general manager for the Doubletree Anaheim/Orange County in Southern California. He also was general manager for Southern California’s Doubletree Guest Suites/Santa Monica and Doubletree/San Pedro.

Thomas McCartney has been appointed president of Tropicana/Las Vegas as the property undergoes a renovation. McCartney was president and CEO of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Before that, he spent several years with MGM Mirage.

Tim Ellis has been appointed director of national sales for Carlson Hotels Worldwide, where he will handle the sports, education, religious and fraternal markets. Ellis was most recently director of sales and marketing at Radisson University Hotel Minneapolis. Prior to that, he served as senior sales manager at Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis.

Michael McGilligan has been named general manager of the Hilton/Dallas–Lincoln Centre. McGilli-gan had been general manager for the Embassy Suites/San Diego–La Jolla for three years.

The Crowne Plaza/Anaheim Resort has appointed Danny Sadler sports account manager. Sadler spent eight years with Hilton Hotels, four years in operations and four in sales and marketing. The Crowne Plaza/Anaheim Resort recently completed a renovation that included upgrades to its 28,000 square feet of meeting space.

Sites & Venues

U.S. Youth Soccer’s 2010 Kohl’s American Cup Tour kicks off this month in Boca Raton, Florida, March 13–14. The tournament will be held in more than 30 locations during the spring season. It attracts more than 65,000 participants and 160,000 spectators each year.

The 2010 Amgen Tour of California, a professional cycling race May 16–23, will include two ancillary cycling events called the Breakaway Rides Presented by Specialized. The rides take place April 11 and 25 on parts of the Amgen Tour route. Part of each rider’s fee will be donated to the charitable partners of Breakaway from Cancer, which aims to raise awareness of resources available to cancer patients.

Caracas, Venezuela, is scheduled to host the International Softball Federation’s women’s world championship June 23 to July 2. The event had been awarded to the United States but was relocated because of a date conflict with the Central American & Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico. Venezuelan officials have announced plans to renovate existing facilities for the event, including the site of the 1983 Pan American Games softball competition.

The Kia Classic presented by J Golf, an LPGA golf tournament, is seeking volunteers. The event is scheduled for March 22-28 at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. Volunteer packages cost $50 and include more than $300 worth of benefits, including a round of golf at La Costa for working four or more shifts. For more information or to sign up, visit the tournament's website at www.lpgalacosta.com or call tournament coordinator Danielle Genet at (760) 579-7365.

The International Softball Federation has selected Whitehorse, Yukon, to host the women’s world championship in July 2012. The event will take advantage of the more than 20 hours of daylight that the area has during the summer, with games extending into the evening hours on unlit fields. The event generally involves more than 60 games over 10 days. The exact dates have not been finalized.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has been selected to host the 2010 U.S. Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup July 8–11 at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex. The cup is the culminating event for under-14 through under-17 boys’ and girls’ U.S. Youth Soccer teams that have advanced from the state and regional levels.

The first Eugene Women’s Half Marathon is scheduled for September 5 in Eugene, Oregon. The course will start downtown and finish at the Fifth Street Public Market, where participants can try wine, chocolate, yoga and a spa. Sponsors of the event, which will raise money for the American Cancer Society and the Ovarian Cancer Alliance, include Pepsi, Gatorade, Earth20, GloryBee Foods and Krusteaz.

The New York State Federation Council has awarded its Federation Tournament of Champions basketball tournament to Albany, New York, for three years beginning in 2011. Highlights of Albany’s bid included the convenient location of hotels, restaurants and transportation downtown; a campaign to boost attendance; and the use of the Times Union Center. The Crowne Plaza/Albany will be the host hotel for the tournament, which features champions from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, the Catholic High School Athletic Association and the Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association.

Wichita, Kansas, will host the 2011 USATF Junior Olympic track & field championships. The event is scheduled for July 26–31 at Cessna Stadium. More than 6,500 athletes participated in the 2009 championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, where officials estimated the economic impact at $17 million. The 2010 championships are scheduled for Sacramento in July.

The International Olympic Committee has elected Nanjing, China, to host the second Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014. Nanjing received 47 votes, followed by runner-up Poznan, Poland, with 42 votes. Approximately 3,600 athletes ages 15–18 are expected to compete in 26 different sports at the Games. The 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games are scheduled to take place August 14–26 in Singapore.

The Doubletree Surfcomber Hotel Miami/South Beach temporarily changed its name in February to the Bud Light Hotel South Beach, aiming to become a unique sports celebration destination during the Super Bowl. Bud Light held a series of celebratory events, including concerts and sports exhibitions, and elements throughout the property were rebranded with the Bud Light Hotel logo.

The University of Colorado/
Colorado Springs has opened a new events center. The center can accommodate more than 1,200 spectators with large scoreboards, scoring tables, a floating floor system, and locker facilities for officials and visitors. The center is intended for athletics as well as conferences and special events.

The Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City is slated for renovations aimed at bringing professional hockey back to the city. Improvements include a new ice plant and mechanical room, upgrades to the home locker room, installation of loge boxes, a new kitchen, construction of a lower-level VIP club, a new team store, new lighting and a party deck. The Oklahoma City City Council has approved a lease with Prodigal Hockey, which is expected to operate a hockey franchise in the city beginning this year.

The new Fairmont Pittsburgh is scheduled to open this month in downtown Pittsburgh’s Three PNC Plaza, a mixed-use building. The hotel will have 165 guest rooms and 20 suites with LCD high-definition televisions, iPod docking stations and wireless Internet access; a health club; restaurants; a business center; and 12,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 6,000-square-foot ballroom, three meeting rooms and a boardroom.

The Waldorf Astoria/Orlando, the first Waldorf Astoria built outside New York, has opened on 482 acres in Florida. The hotel is next to the Walt Disney World Resort and has 497 guest rooms, a spa, a fitness center, a pool with private cabanas, restaurants, golf and a business center. Event space includes the 27,376-square-foot Floridian Ballroom, the 8,110-square-foot Grand Ballroom and several meeting rooms starting at 419 square feet.

The 14-story, 216-suite Embassy Suites/Houston–Energy Corridor has opened with 7,000 square feet of meeting space near the area’s major businesses and attractions, including golf courses, shopping and the Houston Zoo. The hotel has a restaurant and lounge, an indoor pool and a fitness center.

Sponsors & Licensing

Visa has extended its sponsorship with the International Paralympic Committee. Visa will sponsor the London 2012 Paralympic Games as the official payment service and will be the only credit card accepted at Paralympic Games venues. Visa will also be a title sponsor of the Paralympic Hall of Fame.

Cartan Tours, a sports travel and tour company, has been named the official travel agent for the Athens Classic Marathon and will be responsible for promoting the event. The October 31 race will celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon and the run by Greek hero Pheidippides from the Marathon battlefield to Athens to deliver the news of Greece’s victory over Persia.

Water sports dealer Overton’s has continued its sponsorship of USA Water Ski through the end of 2010. Overton’s is the group’s premier sponsor and will be recognized as the Official Pro Shop of USA Water Ski and the 2010 National Championship Series of Events. It will also serve as a gold sponsor of the GrassRoots Series and will be an official sponsor of the U.S. Water Ski Teams.

Nature Valley has increased its sponsorship of the Minnesota Bike Festival. The company has been the title sponsor of the festival’s Nature Valley Grand Prix pro stage race for 10 years and will sponsor this year’s entire festival, scheduled for June 11–20. The event will be renamed the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival and will include amateur and professional racing as well as community events.

Louisville Arena Sports & Entertainment Properties has announced that the Galt House Hotel will be the official hotel partner of the city’s new downtown arena, which is scheduled to open this fall. The hotel, next door to the 22,000-seat arena, will be the official hotel partner for five years.

Wasserman Media Group has been appointed by the United Kingdom’s Tottenham Hotspur Football Club to handle the sale of naming rights for its proposed stadium in London. Wasserman has been involved in naming rights for several venues, including Kodak Theater and Staples Center in Los Angeles.

In Memoriam

Larry Bortstein, a veteran sports writer and contributor to SportsTravel magazine for several years, died on January 23 at age 67 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. During his 40-year writing career, Bortstein worked for several news organizations, specializing in horse racing. His articles for SportsTravel included pieces on horse racing, baseball, golf and basketball. “Larry made many important contributions to SportsTravel over the years,” said Publisher Tim Schneider. “He was truly passionate about sports and we will certainly miss him.”

…And Finally

Nikki Stone, the gold medalist in freestyle skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, has written a book, “When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out.” The book is a motivational guide with inspirational anecdotes from Stone and other accomplished figures. For more information or to buy the book, visit the website whenturtlesfly.com.