Tim Schneider: Roots of a Travel Powerhouse: How Sports and Esports Move People
Episode #39
Posted On: May 28, 2021 By :
Tim Schneider, the chairman of the Sports Division at Northstar Meetings Group, is the founder of SportsTravel magazine, the TEAMS Conference and Expo and the EsportsTravel Summit. In this conversation with SportsTravel Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz, we talk with Schneider about the origins of SportsTravel and the sports-event industry itself, the growth of sectors such as esports and the role that sports-related travel will play in the nation’s economic recovery. It’s a wide ranging conversation that holds many lessons that still apply today for professionals who are involved in the organizing and hosting of sports events at all levels.
Among the topics discussed in this episode:
- The launch of SportsTravel magazine (5:12)
- The beginnings of the sports-event industry (7:04)
- Launching of the TEAMS Conference (9:45)
- The learning curve for the conference’s growth (11:02)
- The early evolution of CVBs embracing sports-related tourism (12:07)
- The introduction of esports to the industry and the next generation of visitor (13:48)
- The 11- to 24-year-old market (15:40)
- How esports event organizers are learning about the hospitality industry (16:48)
- How cities can take the initial leap into hosting esports events (18:17)
- Sports wagering as the next industry pivot (20:15)
- Perspective on the challenges the industry has faced in the past year (24:07)
- The role of sports event in the nation’s economic recovery (27:00)
- Partnering with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (29:48)
- Schneider’s background as a child with sports (32:19)
- The most memorable sports event he’s attended (36:10)
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This episode is sponsored by:
