SportsTravel Podcast

Nashville Superspeedway reopened in June 2021 and was on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule for the first time this past season. Leading the track’s renaissance both within the Nashville and NASCAR communities is Erik Moses, a longtime leader in mid-Atlantic sports and entertainment circles with an extensive background in sports tourism as senior vice president at Events DC for more than a decade, He also worked as CEO of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission and as president of the XFL's DC Defenders. SportsTravel Senior Editor Matt Traub talked with Moses during the Sports ETA Annual Symposium about building back Nashville Superspeedway’s reputation, planning a NASCAR weekend in the midst of the ongoing pandemic and the sport’s diversity efforts with Moses being the first Black executive of a track.

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Greg Sankey has been the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference since 2015 and is generally regarded as one of the more powerful people in collegiate athletics, given the SEC’s dominance over college football. But Sankey’s career spans multiple regions and divisions across the NCAA, from working in Central New York as the director of intramural sports at Division III Utica College to the Southland Conference, where he was named commissioner in 1996 before joining the SEC in 2002. Though college athletics has experienced changes throughout the decades, this current period may rank among the most volatile ever. Between the debate about name, image and likeness, and the NCAA’s future, expansion of the college football playoff and more, Sankey and the SEC are at the center of it all — including the earth-shaking news in college sports this summer when it invited powerhouse programs Oklahoma and Texas to join the SEC, making it a future 16-team superleague. SportsTravel Senior Editor Matt Traub talked with Sankey at the Sports ETA Symposium in Birmingham, Alabama, about conference expansion, name image and likeness, the future of the NCAA and much more.

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The San Francisco 49ers were one of the few NFL teams that did not have fans at a single home game last season because of the pandemic, finishing the season with its last two scheduled home games being played in Arizona. This year the 49ers have been able to play to capacity crowds at Levi’s Stadium while also opening a new club space and unveiling an innovative food and beverage program for season-ticket holders. As general manager of the stadium, Jim Mercurio has seen and just about done it all for the 49ers in his three decades with the organization, dating to the days of Candlestick Park and now the past several years at Levi’s Stadium, which has hosted not only the 49ers but a Super Bowl, CFP National Championship Game and WWE WrestleMania among other major events. SportsTravel Senior Editor Matt Traub talked with Mercurio about health and safety at Levi’s Stadium this season, making sure event workers are up to speed on the latest protocols, preparing the stadium for an enhanced and updated fan experience, and much more.

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Greg Cruse is no stranger to surfing. He’s been participating in the sport since he was middle school-aged and was on one of the original high school surf teams in Huntington Beach, California, that was part of the genesis of the National Scholastic Surfing Association. He later became active in the administration of the sport for years, reorganizing Surfing America into USA Surfing when the organization earned national governing body in stats in 2017 in the lead up to the Tokyo Games. Surfing was one of several sports to make its Olympics debut in Tokyo but it’s of course not new to the sporting world. The question for surfing, though, like other new entrants to the program such as skateboarding and climbing that have their own unique cultures, is how the sports would adapt to the international requirements that the Olympics demand. The answer is that is adapted very well. Carissa Moore earned gold for the U.S. women, becoming the first athlete to win gold the sport at the Games. And while there were early concerns about the surf itself, it turns out the waves were just fine for competition. Getting to that point however was another challenge entirely, one that involved real estate negotiations for the camp that the U.S. team called home and logistics that included converting a shipping container into a pizza kitchen and even sending a Jacuzzi for Team USA athletes to use once they were in Japan. In this conversation, SportsTravel Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz talks with Cruse about how all of those logistics went down, how cities can get involved in hosting more events even if they aren’t near an ocean, and how the sport intends to capitalize on its new wave of momentum.

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In only a few months, it will be the 20th anniversary of the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, one of only three destinations in the United States to have hosted the Winter Games. The 2002 Games was Utah’s introduction to the world and was held under high security with 9/11 having happened less than six months before the Opening Ceremony. The Games ended up turning a huge profit that led to the creation of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, which continues to this day, and every venue that was used in the 2002 Games remains operational. With that in mind, Salt Lake City will be bidding to host the Olympics again, either in 2030 or 2034. In this episode, SportsTravelSenior Editor Matt Traub sat down with Fraser Bullock, the chief operating officer for the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and current president and chief executive officer of the Salt Lake City–Utah Committee for The Games that is bidding again to discuss the legacy of the 2002 event and Bullock's hopes for a future Games.

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USA Rugby has gone through a lot during the past year-plus. Not only was it dramatically affected by the pandemic like every other national governing body in the Olympic movement, it had to file for bankruptcy protection last year. Having come through the process with a streamlined operation, USA Rugby now looks ahead to the Olympic Summer Games, where it has men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams competing in Tokyo. USA Rugby has also announced it will move forward with proposals to host either the 2027 or 2031 men’s World Cup, along with the 2029 women’s World Cup. SportsTravel Senior Editor Matt Traub talked with USA Rugby’s Chief Executive Officer Ross Young, about the state of rugby throughout the United States, the planning process toward bidding for a World Cup and more.

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There have been many books written about sports. But not many books have focused on the fans themselves. In his new book “Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Understanding,” author Larry Olmsted details scientific studies that are proving the benefits of following sports not just on the health of the fans themselves, but on the communities that host those events. In this episode of the SportsTravel Podcast, SportsTravel Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz sits down with Olmsted to discuss the findings of these recent studies, learn why it is that sports fans in general are more happy, and what destinations and venues can take away to make the case for why the events they host are so important to the health of the community at large.

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Cal Ripken, Jr. is baseball's all-time Iron Man. He retired from the game in 2001 after a career that spanned 21 seasons. While he's best known for his incredible streak of 2,632 consecutive games played, he also redefined the position of shortstop before being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. In his post-playing career, one of his passions has been growing Ripken Baseball, a youth baseball organization that manages a group of sports complexes in Maryland, South Carolina and Tennessee, hosting a series of Ripken Experience events. Ripken Baseball will bring its Ripken Experience tournament play to The Legends Showdown in Round Rock, Texas, in partnership with Ryan Sanders Sports & Entertainment. Charged with leading Ripken Baseball’s growth is Mike Kenney, a seasoned industry professional with experience with the Harlem Globetrotters and Comcast Spectator. SportsTravel Senior Editor MattTraub talked with Cal and Mike recently about expanding the Ripken brand into Texas, how Ripken Baseball has dealt with the past year-plus during the pandemic and stay true to its organizational mission, trends for youth baseball participation, Cal's thoughts on the state of Major League Baseball and much more. 

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Scott O’Neil spent eight years working as the chief executive officer at Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, best known as the owners of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Under O’Neil’s leadership, HBSE grew into a sports and entertainment franchise that spans two professional teams, an esports business, the owner and operator of the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, along with the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex, the Sixers Innovation Lab and becoming one of the partners in Elevate Sports Ventures, a sports and entertainment agency. After nearly a decade of growth and innovation and almost more awards than one could list, O’Neil also released his first book, "Be Where Your Feet Are," in June. Those successes made it all the more surprising when at the end of June, O’Neil announced that he would be leaving HBSE. Two days after that announcement was made, he joined SportsTravel Senior Editor Matt Traub on the SportsTravel Podcast to discuss what went into the decision, his new book and more about the sports industry.

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Jimmy Johnson coached the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories and the University of Miami to a national championship. In August, he’ll be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But he knows more than football. His pro fishing tournaments have become some of the biggest purses in the sport and are now expanding to new locations. This year, the Jimmy Johnson Quest for the Ring fishing tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey, will mark the first of his events to be held outside the state of Florida. In this conversation with SportsTravel Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz, Johnson discusses his love of both fishing and football. We also discuss some of the issues facing the league today and his upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame. Also, learn what it’s really like behind the scenes each week on “Fox NFL Sunday.”

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