Playeasy’s 2022 Sports ETA Symposium Wrap Up
Last week, Playeasy team members travelled to Fort Worth, Texas for the 2022 Sports ETA Symposium from May 2-5. It was an eventful, successful week reconnecting with our partners in person, meeting new faces and sharing about the new wave of Playeasy. Here’s a wrap up of Sports ETA’s Symposium:
(Left – Co-founders Ryan Quigley & Kerri Shields, Top Right – Playeasy Destination Team Mike Flaherty & Christy Flaherty, Bottom Right – Playeasy Co-founder Sean Flaherty speaking in an education session)
What is The Symposium?
The Sports ETA Symposium is the annual meeting of the Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA), the non-profit trade association for the sports events and tourism industry since 1992. Throughout the week, sports destinations meet with hundreds of decision-makers responsible for organizing sports events.
Grow professionally, exchange ideas, and drive more business at one of the largest gatherings of top executives in the sports events and tourism industry.
What Others are Saying
“I had an amazing time meeting, networking, and learning from the Sports ETA conference at Fort Worth. Making new connections and having the opportunity to learn from the sports industry is incredible. I am excited to continue to learn and help shape the future of sports!“
Christy Flaherty, Playeasy
“Sports ETA always does a fantastic job presenting relevant and dynamic education sessions. The 2021 program was no different and I’m leaving Symposium with more resources to help my partners in the future!”
Suzanne Cecil, HBC Event Services
“Education is always one of my top highlights at Symposium. It was rejuvenating to spend the week sharing best practices and learning with and from my industry colleges. This piece is truly what makes the sports events and tourism industry so strong.”
Jerrine Lee, Sports Richmond, VA
“When it comes to the advancement of education in the industry, Sports ETA always provides value that drives innovation and meaningful conversations.”
Mathew Ratner, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
Who Attended
1,000+ attendees were present at the Sports ETA Symposium, including over 100 sports events planners. The Playeasy team had a wonderful time connecting in person with Destinations and Event Organizers on the platform, as well as creating new connections at the event.
From Left to Right (Indiana Sports Corp, Firefighter Challenge, Myrtle Beach)
Hosts
The Fort Worth Sports Commission successfully played host to the weeklong event. The Fort Worth Convention Center, boasting over 250,000 sq ft of space, was the perfect venue for the symposium’s impressive booths and broad attendee list. Our team was excited to spend time in the heart of downtown Fort Worth and get a taste of the Texas experience.
Highlights
Opening Party – After getting settled on Monday, the Playeasy team headed to the 2022 Sports ETA Symposium Opening Party at Billy Bob’s Texas, “The World’s Largest Honky Tonk”. It was lots of fun seeing familiar and new faces to kick off an eventful week. The team enjoyed cowboy hat fittings, live music, a live rodeo and more!
Education Session with Sean Flaherty: “Designing the Future of Sports Tourism” – Playeasy Co-Founder & CEO Sean Flaherty took the stage on Wednesday to present on the future of sports tourism in the digital age. His presentation covered the digital transformation our industry is experiencing, how we can learn from other industries that have gone through this, and how we can work together to design a future through technology and innovation that makes us more connected and efficient than ever before. We were grateful to open a conversation and chat with industry professionals on the topic.
“Another incredible Sports ETA experience in the books. Big thank you to our hosts Sports ETA and the city of Fort Worth. It was great to see old and new faces and the excitement around Playeasy. I loved hearing how Destinations and Event Organizers found our platform useful to communicate their needs and questions prior, during, and post conference. Looking forward to continuing the connections from the event going forward!”
Ryan Quigley, Co-Founder at Playeasy
To all of our partners who we connected with throughout the event, it was great to see you! We can’t thank you enough for all of your kind words on how Playeasy is helping drive efficiency in the industry. Special thanks to Sports ETA and Fort Worth for having us. See you all next time 🤠
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