Honoring the events, venues and hosts that define excellence and drive the business of sports forward.
The SportsTravel Awards recognize the best events, venues and host cities across the sports-event industry.
From amateur and collegiate competitions to professional events and new event launches, these awards celebrate the organizations delivering exceptional experiences, measurable impact and lasting value.
This is where excellence is recognized—and where the industry looks to define what’s next.
Elevate Your Brand — Gain recognition among the industry’s most influential decision-makers
Stand Out — Differentiate your event, venue or destination in a competitive marketplace
Earn Industry Validation — Be recognized by peers who understand what excellence looks like
Drive Future Business — Position your organization for new opportunities and partnerships
2026 SportsTravel Awards Nomination Form
For events to be nominated, they must have occurred between July 1, 2025, and July 30, 2026. In the case of an event series, at least one event of the series must have occurred during the eligibility period; in the case of a new or renovated venue, the venue must have opened or reopened during the eligibility period; in the case of a host city, events hosted must have occurred during the eligibility period.
When making a nomination, please provide any relevant background information to support your nomination, including details of the event, venue or host based on the criteria described below.
Only one nomination form may be submitted per email address; however, you may nominate events in multiple categories.
The deadline for nominating is Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Winners of the awards will be announced at TEAMS ’26, October 26–29, in Birmingham, AL.
Congratulations to the 2025 Winners
Over the course of 10 days, more than 6,000 athletes from across the country competed. The event attracted over 11,000 total attendees and generated an estimated $10.7 million in estimated economic impact for the city. USA Fencing worked closely with the Wisconsin Center District and Visit Milwaukee to coordinate scheduling, load-in logistics, hospitality services and athlete support across nearly 300,000 square feet of exhibit space. This was the first major sports tournament to take place inside the recently expanded Baird Center.
Past Winners
2024 Winners
2023 Winners
The largest regatta to date in USRowing history welcomed over 4,000 athletes, 1,000 coaches and 225 clubs spanning across the country with a record-breaking 5,000 spectators in attendance.
With over 18.9 million broadcast views, the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final Four was the most-watched women’s college sporting event in history. The championship had an economic impact of over $40.3 million as LSU beat Iowa in the championship game, two days after Iowa’s historic upset of unbeaten South Carolina.
The “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing” pitted 55 of the world’s best bass anglers for the title of Bassmaster Classic Champion. The event reached 4.5 million viewers across the two days of TV coverage and broke records for engagement on the web and social channels The largest Classic ever saw a total attendance of 163,914 throughout a weekend of events in Knoxville.
More than 200 teams came to ESPN Wide World of Sports with teams of players ages 4–17 from four countries and 32 states. The championship games were aired on ESPN3 and it was largest youth flag football tournament of its kind ever held, with more 10 million views on social media.
A $47 million renovation that took five years to complete provided a new expanded, fully World Aquatics-compliant pool and a new World Aquatics-compliant diving pool and tower with platform levels at 1M, 3M, 5M, 7.5M, 10M, 20M, and 27M (only the third venue in the world with such a height). The renovation also included new spectator seating, restrooms, concessions and a ticket office, as well as site improvements.
In 2023, Salt Lake welcomed the world with the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2022, Sports Salt Lake welcomed over 60 events to the area. In 2022, the organization hosted its inaugural Sports Tourism Summit to create more buy-in from community leaders, municipalities, venues, local rights holders and hospitality partners on sports tourism, attracting close to 200 attendees.
2022 Winners
2022 TFN Run 4 Roses in Louisville, Kentucky, for Best Amateur Event. Hosted at the Kentucky Expo Center, the girls basketball tournament brought together 40,000 athletes, coaches and spectators, representing 48 states, Canada, Australia, Chile and Puerto Rico. The tournament was held under one roof on 68 courts.
2022 College Football Playoff National Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana, for Best Collegiate Event. This was the first time the game was held in a cold-weather city and Indianapolis went all out to not only make it an incredible experience for fans, but also to spread a lasting impact around the community as Georgia ended up champions by beating SEC rival Alabama.
2022 World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon, for Best Professional Event. The first World Championships in track and field held in the United States were staged at the University of Oregon’s renovated Hayward Field with athletes from 179 nations. The event saw three world records and 13 meet records. More than 146,000 tickets were sold, with several evening sessions sold out.
2022 USA Volleyball Salt Lake Showdown in Salt Lake City, Utah, for Best New Event. The Salt Palace Convention Center hosted more than 70 courts over a two-week period and created an estimated economic impact of over $15 million with 30,000 attendees — the largest volleyball tournament ever hosted in Utah.
The Podium in Spokane, Washington, for Best New or Renovated Venue. The Podium boasts seating for 4,237 and a 75,000-square-foot competition floor that features a 200-meter banked hydraulic indoor track. With the addition of this new venue, Spokane Sports has been able to host the USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships and the USA Karate National Championships and Team Trials.
Raleigh, North Carolina, as Best Host City. The Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance in the past year hosted the NCAA Men’s College Cup, NCAA Women’s Basketball First Four and First/Second Rounds, an NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regional, the NCAA Division II National Baseball Championship, Spikeball College Nationals, the 2022 Apex Legends Global Series Championship and dozens of regional youth tournaments.
2020 Winners
NBA
By launching and executing a successful end to its 2019–2020 season in a bubble environment in Orlando, Florida, the NBA led the way for professional sports organizations to return to the field of play. The league also helped advance new forms of COVID testing to ease the way back for players.
Texas Amateur Athletic Federation
With its state games event canceled due to COVID, TAAF donated its unused medals to people who performed good deeds in their communities such as donating blood, non-perishable foods or money to a foodbank.
MGM Resorts Foundation
The MGM Resorts Foundation raised more than $7 million for its Employee Emergency Grand Fund and helped with the delivery of more than 500,000 meals and 100,000 masks for community health needs during the early stages of the COVID pandemic.
The Giving Games
With the 2020 Olympic Games being postponed, an effort to raise money for U.S. national governing bodies allowed people to donate to specific sports and see their names appear on the virtual podium as the highest donors. The fundraising effort helped many NGBs stay on their feet during a difficult and challenging year.
2019 Winners
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, won by the United States in thrilling fashion over the Netherlands, was named the Best Professional Sports Event after being staged in nine cities across France. It was the second consecutive World Cup championship for the United States and fourth overall. This is the second time the Women’s World Cup has won this award, previously winning in 2015.
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