The SportsTravel Awards honor the best events, venues and hosts in the sports-event industry. Winners of the awards will be announced at TEAMS ’23, October 2–5, in the Palm Beaches of Florida.
About the Awards
Criteria:
For events to be nominated, they must have occurred between August 1, 2022, and July 31, 2023. 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.
2023 SportsTravel Award Categories:
Best Amateur Sports Event
Best Collegiate Sports Event
Best Professional Sports Event
Best New Sports Event
Best New or Renovated Venue
Best Sports-Event Host City
The deadline for nominating is Friday, August 4, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Congratulations to the 2022 Winners
BEST AMATEUR SPORTS EVENT:
2022 TFN Run 4 Roses
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.
BEST COLLEGIATE SPORTS EVENT:
2022 College Football Playoff National Championship
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.
BEST PROFESSIONAL SPORTS EVENT:
2022 World Athletics Championship
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.
BEST NEW SPORTS EVENT:
2022 USA Volleyball Salt Lake Showdown
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.
BEST NEW OR RENOVATED VENUE:
The Podium
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.
BEST SPORTS HOST CITY:
Raleigh, North Carolina
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.
Past Winners
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
BEST PROFESSIONAL SPORTS EVENT:
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, France
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.
BEST COLLEGIATE SPORTS EVENT:
2018 Army-Navy Game, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Best Collegiate Sports Event was the 2018 Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, won by Army for the third consecutive year. More than 70,000 people attended the annual game, which featured a 17–10 victory by the Golden Knights. It is the second time the event has won this award, winning previously in 2013.
BEST AMATEUR SPORTS EVENT:
2019 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships, Orlando, Florida
The Best Amateur Sports Event was the 2019 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida, which featured 2,800 boys and girls teams with more than 45,000 competitors, 10,000 coaches, 600 college coaches and 100,000 spectators. It is the second time the event has won this award, having won in 2017.
BEST NEW SPORTS EVENT:
2018 SuperPower 5K, Toronto, Ontario
The Best New Sports Event was the 2018 SuperPower 5K in Toronto, Ontario, which combined the sport of running with gaming and cosplay to extend the scope of FAN EXPO Canada.
BEST NEW OR RENOVATED VENUE:
Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minnesota
The Best New or Renovated Sports Venue was presented to Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, the new home of Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United FC. The stadium hosted an MLS playoff game and also landed a CONCACAF Gold Cup match and spot on the United States women’s soccer team victory tour. It is the first MLS team to win an award.
BEST SPORTS HOST CITY:
Las Vegas, Nevada
The Best Sports Host City award went to Las Vegas, a city that opened a new Triple-A baseball stadium, was the host for the NHL and NASCAR award ceremonies, debuted the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces and hosted "The Match: Tiger-Phil," all while continuing preparations for the arrival of the Raiders in 2020.
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