The NSF offers an extensive three-day program featuring best practice sharing, networking opportunities, and discussions with industry-leading sports executives.

Check out the tentative 2019 NSF Agenda below!

Click the links below to show more information.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Day 1 of the 2019 National Sports Forum

9:00 am

2019 Budweiser Gala at T-Mobile Arena

Hosted by the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena

9:00 pm

After Hours at the Official Bar

Losers, located in the MGM Grand Hotel will serve as the official bar of the 2019 NSF!

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019

Day 2 of the 2019 National Sports Forum

8:30 am

Newcomer's Breakfast

10:00 am

Opening Ceremonies

10:30 am

Opening Keynote - Fireside Chat

TBA

MODERATOR

Abe Madkour

Executive Editor

Sport Business Journal/SBD

PANELISTS

Lawrence Epstein

Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

UFC

11:15am

Coffee Break

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Breakout Session Block 1

The first set of breakout sessions on Monday, February 11, 2019

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Sponsorship

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Marketing: "Off the Couch and into the Stands: How to Improve the Event Experience"

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Ticket Sales: The Ultimate Fan Engagement Playbook to Enhance Ticket Sales

Communicating with your fan base is crucial for increasing engagement and revenue. Today’s audience expects a conversational message at the right time and through the right channel. Learn about the current state of communication, the best practices for connecting with your audience, and how to effectively and compliantly implement tactics to help your ticketing team improve sales & retention. Don’t just contact your fans, connect with them.

SESSION LEADER

Ken Richard

Senior EVP, General Counsel

Ytel

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Senior Management: "New & Improved: Insights from the Newest Stadiums & Arenas"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Molly Wurdack-Folt

Director, Marketing Strategy

Detroit Red Wings/Olympia Entertainment

PANELISTS

Greg Kish

VP, Ticket Sales and Service

LA Stadium & Entertainment District At Hollywood Park Project - Legends

Todd Pollock

Vice President, Ticketing & Suites

Las Vegas Golden Knights

Dustin Vicari

VP, Sales & Service

Las Vegas Stadium

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Inside Sales: "Why Wouldn't You Take My Call? Keys to Getting Deals Done"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Jason Klein

President & Founder

88 Marketing

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Business Development: "Maximizing Sales Revenues in a Competitive Market Place"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Mark Faber

Sr. Vice President of Global Partnerships

AEG/T-Mobile Arena

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Technology: The New Sports Experience for Fans: A Mixed Reality

11:45am - 12:45 pm

Non Traditional Revenue: "Sacked: Challenges of Operating a Special Event Business in Sports"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Lynnette Camacho

Special Events Sales Director

Philadelphia Eagles

12:45 pm

Lunch in the Trade Show

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Breakout Session Block 2

The second set of breakout sessions on Monday, February 11, 2019

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Sponsorship: Top Brands in Sponsorship: Which Have the Most Effective Portfolios in Sports?

– Which brands are receiving the most value from their sponsored properties
– Best Practices for getting more value from sponsorships
– Performance-based sponsorships
– Campaign optimization
– Leveraging influencers

SESSION LEADER

Scott Tilton

CEO & Founder

Hookit

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Marketing

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Ticket Sales: "Millennials, GenX and Beyond: Engaging All Generations to Create & Sustain a Successful Sales Culture"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Jake Vernon

VP, Ticket Sales & Service

Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Senior Management: "Be a Fan of Others: Success Starts with Being a Great Teammate"

The business of athletics attracts talented and driven professionals. However, this can often lead to organizations with an unhealthy amount of internal competition causing a lack of communication and collaboration. This powerful presentation features a unique look at how the top coaches/performers in sports – and leaders in business – create positive and successful environments that bring out the very best in other people. Audience members are introduced to time-tested models of performance and leadership which produce championship results for individuals and teams in business – and life. Whether you lead others or are called upon to be a top producer of your organization, this “Be a Fan of Others” mindset and culture leads to success for you and your team.

SESSION LEADER

D.J. Allen

President

Xs & Os of Success

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Wild Card: "The Six Best Ideas You Should Be Doing NOW!"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Ron Seaver

President

National Sports Forum

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Fan Entertainment: "The Art of Story Telling: Behind the Scenes with the Golden Knights"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Jonny Greco

VP, Entertainment Production

Vegas Golden Knights

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

E-Sports: "Traditional Sports vs Esports: Getting on the Same Team"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Craig Levine

Global Chief Strategy Officer

ESL

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Non Traditional Revenue: We Are Family: One Vision, One Team

3:30 pm

Afternoon Snack Break

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm

"What's Next" Super Panel Presented by BRC Imagination Arts

Brian Gainor will lead an all-star panel in a discussion about upcoming trends and hot topics during the “What’s Next” Super Panel. In a rapidly growing sports industry, new technologies and trends are constantly emerging allowing organizations to become more innovative with their campaigns and advertising. This Super Panel will include several organizations who continue to capitalize on these opportunities and are eager to share their insights on what we expect to see in 2019 and the direction they see the sports industry heading.

MODERATOR

Brian Gainor

Vice President, Innovation

4Front

PANELISTS

Mark Shearer

Chief Revenue Officer

Oakland Raiders

Scott Butera

President of Interactive Gaming

MGM Resorts International

Michelle Wilson

Co-President

WWE

5:45 pm

Opening Night in the Trade Show

Dinner and drinks will be served while you learn about some of the hot new technologies within the sports industry

9:00 pm

After Hours At The Official Bar

Losers, located in the MGM Grand will serve as the official bar of the 2019 NSF!

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Day 3 of The 2019 National Sports Forum

9:00 am

Opening Remarks & 2019 NSF ADchievement Award Presentations

The final day of the 2019 NSF. The presentations of the 2019 NSF ADchievement Awards will take place where the best advertising campaigns will be awarded!

10:00 am - 11:00 am

“What Keeps You Up at Night?” Super Panel

Picture this: You’ve left the office, the day is over and as you try to fall asleep at night you lay there in bed… and you’re thinking… and thinking… and thinking. What keeps some of the best minds in the business up at night?

As a long-standing tradition, the NSF will begin the final day of the 2019 conference with the “What Keeps You Up at Night?” Super Panel. This gathering of top notch executives will tell us exactly what they’re losing sleep over.

This panel of top executives will navigate through a discussion on the issues that consume their thoughts post-game and year-round.

MODERATOR

Lisa Woodward

Manager, Sponsorships

Anheuser Busch

PANELISTS

Kerry Bubolz

President & Chief Operating Officer

Vegas Golden Knights

Desiree Reed-Francois

Athletic Director

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

Marc Badain

President

Oakland Raiders

Chris Powell

President & General Manager

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

11:00 am

Coffee Break

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Breakout Session Block 3

The first set of breakout sessions on Tuesday, February 12, 2019

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Sponsorship

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Nick Kelly

Director, Experiential Marketing - Sports

Anheuser - Busch

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Marketing: "The Death of Sponsorship"

Welcome to the ‘Partnership Revolution’, where relevant brand integration is table stakes, and campaigns that are rooted in the brand’s strategy, with creative tactics, and measurable performance indicators, are required to unlock significant marketing investments.
We will use this session to explore how Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, & the Toronto Argonauts), have disrupted the marketing landscape in Canada via creation of an internal Strategy Team within their partnerships group. Join us to learn how we’ve evolved to dig deeper into client needs, develop strategic insights that reach and engage fans in unprecedented ways, and drive business results that set new global standards for some of the world’s largest and most influential organizations, such as: Google, Unilever, GoDaddy, and McDonald’s.

SESSION LEADER

Aalum Jaffer

Manager, Global Partnerships

MLSE

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Ticket Sales: "Amplify Your Sales: Mimosas & Social Selling with Fevo"

“Fevo is a peer-to-peer marketing and sales amplification tool that integrates directly with your ticketing system. Come grab a mimosa (literally!) and find out how teams are leveraging Fevo to drive incremental revenue across their sales and marketing campaigns. Turn your fans into sellers by layering-in social and providing a mobile-first buy-flow. Hear from Fevo’s best partners as they dive into different use cases for the platform, successes they’ve accomplished, and how you can replicate their strategies in your own market.”

SESSION LEADER

Colin Casey

EVP, Partner Development

Fevo

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Technology: Smart Venues: "Using Technology to Drive Sports Business"

This session will host technology leaders in sports and highlight Smart Venues, the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), facial recognition and biometrics, and the role they are playing in revolutionizing the fan experience and driving new business opportunities in sports. The panel will cover how technology and data can be used to drive revenue, lower costs, improve fan engagement, optimize venue operations and enhance team performance. The discussion will be hyper-focused on how Sponsorship, Ticket Sales and Marketing departments can benefit from these technology solutions.

SESSION LEADER

Channing Butler

Sr. Director of Sales

Connect Partnership Group

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Business Development: Found Money: New Sources of Revenue

TBA

SESSION LEADER

John Roberson

CEO

Advent

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

E-Sports

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Jason Lake

Founder & CEO

Complexity Gaming

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Social Media: "Selling Social: Strategies for Social Media Revenue Generation"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Laura Waters-Brown

Tournament Digital Marketing & Analytics

PGA Tour

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Senior Management: "Show Me the Money! How Special Events in Your Venue Can Change Your Bottom Line"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Natalee Anderson

Director of Events & Tours at Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Atlanta Falcons

12:45 pm

Lunch in the Trade Show

TBA

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Breakout Session Block 4

The second set of breakout sessions on Tuesday, February 12, 2019

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Sponsorship: "The Sponsor's Perspective"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Jim Kahler

Executive Director, Sports Administration

Ohio University

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Social Media

TBA

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Senior Management: "Hiring Outside the Norm: Getting Comfortable with Creating a Culture Change"

Hear from senior industry leaders who will share their knowledge and expertise of working for and with companies that are seeking to hire different backgrounds and personalities but with the same goals and values in mind to benefit their company culture. Aside from recruiting and hiring, how do you bring positive change to your existing staff infrastructure, style, personality, and philosophy by celebrating and highlighting the “non-traditional” backgrounds, educations, and skill sets? What are we doing as an industry to find new candidates vs. recirculating the same talent? Once we make those unique hires, how are we encouraging and promoting their growth and strengths within a company? How are hiring managers and HR/talent acquisition professionals making it a priority on job descriptions, during interviews, and at the on-boarding/orientation stages? What are the risks and rewards of an unconventional hire?

SESSION LEADER

Mark Gress, Jr.

Vice President, Recruiting

Prodigy Sports

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Ticket Sales

Dive into the Oakland Athletics ticket sales practices that are bringing new fans to the ballpark experience. Topics include the innovative A’s Access membership ticket program and the implementation of various new heritage/theme nights that drive new groups sales business.

SESSION LEADER

Josh Feinberg

Director of Group Sales

Oakland Athletics

Paris Freeman

Account Executive, Group Sales

Oakland Athletics

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Fan Entertainment

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Business Development

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Wild Card: "Best of the 2019 Tech Tank"

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Josh Keiles

Senior Director of Business Development

National Sports Forum

2:30 pm - 3:40 pm

Inside Sales: Future of Sales Leadership: How to Lead a Sales Team in 2020

TBA

SESSION LEADER

Lance Tyson

Founder & CEO

Tyson Group

3:45 pm

Afternoon Snack Break

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

"That's the Ticket" Super Panel Sponsored By Ticket Galaxy

Ticket sales are the life-blood of sports organizations. As ticketing evolves at hyper speed, it’s essential that sports organizations stay ahead of the marketplace. Technological advancements coupled with the creativity of contemporary ticketing companies are changing the way leagues, teams, venues and sports properties do business. Our moderator will lead this diverse panel in exploring the rapidly changing nature of ticket sales to stay profitable. Come learn some great tips and best practices for increasing sales and filling seats from the MVP’s of the industry!

MODERATOR

Brette Sadler

President

WISE Las Vegas

PANELISTS

Bill Hanni

Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service

Monumental Sports & Entertainment

Chris Giles

Chief Operating Officer

Oakland A's

Sarah Contardo

Vice President, Ticket Sales & Strategy

Churchill Downs

Mike Stanfield

Senior Vice President of Sales

New Orleans Saints

6:00 pm

2019 Closing Reception at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

We will celebrate the close out of the 24th Annual National Sports Forum at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway!

9:00 pm

After Hours At The Official Bar

Losers, located in the MGM Grand will serve as the official bar of the 2019 NSF!