Sports Illinois

28/01/2024

We are excited to hear from John on the latest trends and growth in sports tourism at the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism. We’ll see you at the session. Sports Events & Tourism Association Sports Illinois Enjoy Illinois

John David, President and CEO of the Sports Events & Tourism Association, joins us at for a breakout session on the Power of Sports Tourism.

As the only trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, Sports ETA is the most trusted resource for sports commissions, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), and sports event owners. Prior to joining Sports ETA, John was the Chief Strategy Officer of USA BMX, the world’s largest sanctioning body for the Olympic sport of bicycle motocross racing (BMX). During his 23-year tenure, John helped the association double its membership and more than triple its revenue. He also produced two Olympic Trials, co-coordinated the unification of the sport in the USA, and spearheaded the campaign for the creation of the new USA BMX headquarters, arena, museum, and Hall of Fame in Tulsa, OK.

Discover Peoria Peoria Civic Center

09/01/2024

Happy New Year from Sports Illinois! We're excited to announce our 2024 Sports Illinois Huddle will be hosted in Chicago Southland this Spring. Keep an eye on sportsillinois.com and stay tuned for further details about rights holder registration!

06/10/2023

That’s a wrap! What a great week with some amazing Sports Illinois team members. Can’t wait to see what sporting events are secured in Enjoy Illinois! The sports tourism market is as strong as ever. Great sessions and conversations about many important topics such as safety in youth sports, changing economics, adaptivity, diversity and so much more. Thank you to TEAMS Conference & Expo and our gracious host Discover The Palm Beaches. We are grateful for your hospitality. Work hard play hard!

04/10/2023

Are sports events truly recession proof? How is inflation impacting events? How can you prepare events for potential economic uncertainty? Industry leaders discuss the trends they see when it comes…

07/08/2023

Check it out - I spy some Sports Illinois team members on the cover and in the award announcements, do you? Hint: Page 15 and 16 🤩Sports Events & Tourism Association Enjoy Illinois

30/07/2023

Here’s your chance 🐻 fans. Sold out Bears training camp! Let’s go. Chicago Bears Enjoy Illinois

! Calling all Chicago Bears fans: want to attend this year's SOLD OUT Training Camp in Lake Forest? We are giving away pairs of tickets to
lucky winners 🏈 🐻 here's how to enter:

1) Follow
2) Like this post
3) Tag your fellow Bears fans in separate comments below with the date you'd like to attend

Available dates include:
August 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 14th!

Entries are open now through 11:59P CST on July 31, 2023. We'll randomly select and contact our winners via direct message on Tuesday August 1st. GOOD LUCK!

24/05/2023

Sports fans check out this opportunity- Can’t win if you don’t try! Let’s go 🏁 An amazing weekend in store for the whole family. Good luck! Enjoy Illinois

12/05/2023

Another successful Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium in the books. Lots to brag about. Congratulations and well deserved recognition to our very own Visit Quad Cities for winning Event Partnership of the year and Igor Bakovic of Discover DuPage for the rising star award! Thank you to Great Rivers & Routes for their incredible activation and hand painted canoe auction that supported the sports legacy fund. We are fortunate and proud to have you as our partners. Thank you Visit KC for being such great host, we love your city. Thank you Melissa's Second Chances for the puppy ❤️ and last but not least thank you to all our partners for the amazing work you do for Enjoy Illinois! 🏆 🥇

08/05/2023

Proud to again sponsor a wonderful cause. Prepped and ready for our furry friends! Stop by booth 323 this week, relax, hang with us for some cathartic 🐶❤️. 2023 Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium - Enjoy Illinois Melissa’s Second Chances Animal Rescue

19/04/2023

We finished the 2023 Sports Illinois Huddle strong with great education, panel discussions, appointments and an inspirational message from Jackie Joyner-Kersee! We can't wait to welcome many new sports events to Illinois! Enjoy Illinois Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity

18/04/2023

What a great first day at Sports Illinois Huddle! We heard from Chicago Sky, received a VIP tour of Wrigley Field & did some batting practice at the stadium! Looking forward to day two! Enjoy Illinois

17/04/2023

Just one more night sleep, if we can! The 2023 Sports Illinois Huddle starts tomorrow! 🙌. We are so excited to showcase why Illinois is a leader in the amateur sports market! An amazing few days of business, education, world class speakers and networking opportunities as we welcome sports event rights holders from across the country! Enjoy Illinois ICCVB

17/03/2023

Race fans you do NOT want to miss this! Let’s go! 🏁
Enjoy Illinois World Wide Technology Raceway

The 2nd annual Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter is fast approaching! Don't miss out on this race weekend SPECTACULAR!

Lock in your NASCAR experience now at wwtraceway.com! 🔥🎟️

03/03/2023

Congratulations Joan Kranovich! Well deserved. We are so proud of you 👏 Grateful for your leadership as chair of Sports Illinois.

Enjoy Illinois Quad Cities

Genevieve (Genny) Castleberry, CMP Director of Sourcing, Brightspot Incentives & Events, Inc. Positivity, Compassion, Meticulousness Aha Moment: Growing up in Switzerland, I found the tourism industry very appealing. Through a casual conversation with a family acquaintance, I discovered her husband....

28/10/2022

Many of the Sports Illinois team were hard at work this week creating, maintaining relationships and selling Illinois as a premier destination for youth and amateur sports at the 2022 TEAMS Conference & Expo. The amazing work that all of our Sports Illinois partners across the State do day in and day out is so impactful and important, beyond what can be seen and easily taken for granted. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to your regions and our great State and a special thank you to Visit OKC for your gracious hospitality! You have an amazing city! Enjoy Illinois

25/10/2022

We’re ready to talk business at the 2022 TEAMS Conference & Expo. Appointment? Yes or no - We welcome you to stop by the Sports Illinois booth #539 or any of our partners booths in the Illinois aisle (Visit Champaign County, Chicago Southland CVB, DuPage Sports Commission, Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau, Meet Chicago NW, Rockford Area CVB) to experience what Enjoy Illinois has to offer! We’d love to meet you or catch up!

13/10/2022

This 👇 ILL-INI

16/09/2022

Congratulations to our very own Chair, Joan Kranovich! Well deserved, thank you for your leadership. 👏👏

Visit Quad Cities announced today that Joan Kranovich has been named as new Vice President of Business Growth & Director, Sports QC. She has been with the organization since 2009, beginning as…

16/09/2022

🏁🏁 They’re baaack and we cannot wait! Save The Date: Sunday June 4, 2023 World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Illinois 🏁🏁

Enjoy Illinois ILLINOISouth Tourism Great Rivers & Routes

The World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, will host its second annual NASCAR Cup Series Race, the Enjoy Illinois 300 on June 4, 2023.

31/08/2022

Vote for GoRockford!

See Rockford, IL take home an award for 𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 at this year's TEAMS Conference & Expo presented by SportsTravel Magazine!

The GoRockford team booked 91 events that yielded 60,687 room nights and brought in an estimated $36.6 million in economic impact, highlighted by the USA Figure Skating Association Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships, USA BMX Midwest Nationals, Professional Women's Bowling Association - PWBA Pro Tour and multiple regional youth tournament events. 👏👏👏

Click here to vote by Fri., Sept. 9th. 👇
https://www.teamsconference.com/sportstravel-awards

06/05/2022

Congratulations Greg S. From World Table Hockey Association, Inc. (WTHA) on winning the EnjoyIllinois300 prize pack! We hope you enjoy the race and your stay. Thank you Enjoy Illinois, ILLINOISouth Tourism & Great Rivers & Routes for your contributions 🙏🏻

06/05/2022

Thank you for what you do! We were proud to be your sponsor at Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium 🐶 ❤️

04/05/2022

How it started - how it’s going! We appreciate everyone stopping by our booth! But we’re not done so please stop by our booth 825 anytime to talk to our amazing Sports Illinois Team during the Sports Events & Tourism Association marketplace. Our special guests will make appearances Wednesday 1:30-3:30 and Thursday 9:15-11:15 🐶 Enjoy Illinois

02/05/2022

We are ready to do business! Have an event that needs a host and don’t have an appointment? Stop by our booth 825 anytime during the 2022 Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium maketplace and chat with any of our amazing partners. Oh and we’ll have some special guests you won’t want to miss 🐶 Enjoy Illinois

14/03/2022

Let’s go! 🏁 Inaugural NASCAR Cup Race at World Wide Technology Raceway! This is going to be epic! Enjoy Illinois

Get ready to start your engines! 🏁 For the first time ever, the highly coveted NASCAR Cup Series Race is coming to the World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. We're proud to be a title sponsor of the ‘Enjoy Illinois 300’ race on June 5 and can't wait to see you there!

🔗 Start planning your trip: https://www.enjoyillinois.com/

ILLINOISouth Tourism

13/12/2021

Congratulations to all of the National Champions, USA Cycling and our friends and partners Discover DuPage on an amazing event! Enjoy Illinois

08/12/2021

We have known how great the Sports Illinois Huddle is since its inception in 2009. Now the whole state knows it, too. Sports Illinois Huddle was awarded 'Best Cooperative Partnership' for the 2019 event at the Illinois Governor's Conference on Travel and Tourism! We are looking forward to bringing the event back soon as sports tourism continues to drive our economic recovery. Enjoy Illinois Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity

06/12/2021

SPG's State Guide to Sports in Illinois With more than 1,200 sporting venues and state-of-the-art facilities, Illinois hosts everything from PGA tournaments and Olympic trials to college and high school sporting tournaments. Download Issue 2022 Issue Greetings from Illinois! On behalf of all of us h...

28/10/2021

Sports Illinois members have been at the top of their game at the Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium. Thanks to the rights holders & national governing bodies who joined us at Topgolf tonight!