CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Like most organizations, Sports Events & Tourism Association found itself exploring options to hold their annual Symposium, planned for Kansas City originally in April, and then postponed to August. The Symposium typically draws over 1,000 attendees and is a highlight for members. However, as COVID-19 restrictions expanded, it became rapidly apparent to organizers than even the August postponed dates were not going to be feasible. “Not only were we dealing with very real legal restrictions on holding large events,” shared Sports ETA CEO Al Kidd, “but we also knew that many of our member organizations were dealing with budget cuts and travel restrictions.
”Even if legal restrictions to meet were lifted, we wanted to respect the
Even if legal restrictions to meet were lifted, we wanted to respect the situation our members were experiencing and offer real solutions.”
situation our members were experiencing and offer real solutions.”
Sports ETA reviewed various options for moving forward. Post-Symposium surveys conducted every year emphasize that the most critically valuable element of the Symposium are the business-to-business marketplace appointments. Event owners, faced with postponing or
10
PUSH MAGAZINE
