Destinations Give Insight into Building Relationships with Rights Holders

The session “Unlocking the Power of Partnership: Navigating Partnership with DMOs” explored best practices for rights holders when developing relationships with destinations during the annual Sports ETA Symposium in Tulsa.

Moderated by Sports ETA’s Glen Schorr, the panel included Ben Snyder, executive director, Greater Grand Junction Sports Commission; Jonathan Paris, executive director of sports tourism, Visit Myrtle Beach; and Jerrine Lee, vice president of sales, Richmond Region Tourism.

Paris does big business in Myrtle Beach, a city that has traditionally been a vacation spot but in recent years has turned into a big-time sports event destination. He looks for the events that bring participants, like large youth events that drive tangible tourism, but also wants his city in the media spotlight.

“We want events that bring media exposure to Myrtle Beach,” Paris said. “The national and international events are bringing large numbers of eyeballs, even if it doesn’t physically bring thousands of people to the city. We see youth and amateur sports events as a way for us to get people to experience Myrtle Beach, and then the goal is to bring them back later for vacation. We want events that have a good community impact, and from a CVB standpoint, keeping elected officials happy means keeping the funding flowing in.”

Lee says Richmond is fortunate to have both a CVB and sports commission, which means more hands on deck. But when it comes to sports events specifically, the CVB has to balance those with non-sports events.

“The CVB is the middle man between the rights holders and destinations,” Lee said. “Our goal is to make sure we find a way for everybody to win, but it can become a challenge because we’re bringing in multiple tournaments, meetings, conventions, etc. There’s a lot of layering to make sure that every event feels special and that it matters to our community. So if you, as a rights holder, really want to be in a destination, being flexible on dates or facilities can help get you there.”

Snyder is in a smaller market than Myrtle Beach and Richmond, as the Western slope city of Grand Junction in Colorado must host events that make sense. He says the first question that should be asked is what the mission and objective of a rights holder is when they come to your city.

“We look at which events could help the development of new venues or user groups within our community,” Snyder said. “We want to generate economic impact, of course, but I take the long-term view, and I want to further our community through the events. Legacy programs, donations to local non-profits — how can we improve our city through the sports events we host, and not just while the events are taking place.”