LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2012 — The TEAMS Conference & Expo, organized by SportsTravel magazine, announced that TEAMS '12 will be held in Detroit. TEAMS — Travel, Events And Management in Sports — is the world's largest gathering for the sports-event industry. Hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission and the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau in partnership with Michigan Sports, TEAMS '12 will be held October 1-4 at the Cobo Conference & Exhibition Center.
"We are pleased to be selected as the host city for this year's TEAMS Conference," said Dave Beachnau, executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission. "TEAMS will allow us to showcase our city to event organizers from all types of sports organizations and to leverage the tremendous success of our sports commission."
Detroit, the first city in the nation to establish a convention bureau, also has a long tradition as an American sports mecca and is home to teams from all four of the top professional leagues.
"Dave Beachnau and his team at Detroit Sports have been stalwarts among the sports commissions in the country in establishing 'The D' as a sports-friendly destination," said Timothy Schneider, publisher of SportsTravel. "As an event organizer, there's an automatic comfort level with a city that's hosted the Super Bowl, the Final Four and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game — all since 2005."
Sixty percent of the U.S. population lives within a 90-minute flight of Detroit, which has been experiencing a resurgence with the recent successes of the Big Three automakers headquartered there and initiatives to grow the green tech and medical research industries.
"The city of Detroit is built on the themes of renewal, reinvention and renaissance and we look forward to embracing those themes at this year's TEAMS Conference," said Lisa Furfine, associate publisher of SportsTravel and manager of the TEAMS Conference & Expo. "Our attendees can expect to experience Motown's musical culture as well as its incredible sports and events infrastructure."
The Cobo Center, a 2.4 million-square-foot facility, is managed by long-time TEAMS sponsor SMG. The Cobo Center, which recently completed the early phases of an extensive expansion project, is the site of the annual North American International Auto Show. Earlier this month, the Cobo Center earned its certification from the Michigan Energy Office as a green venue — the largest facility in the state to earn the certification.
"We look forward to welcoming the TEAMS '12 Conference & Expo to Cobo Center," said Thom Connors, SMG regional vice-president and general manager of Cobo Center. "It will be a tremendous opportunity for us to educate event organizers about the transformation that's occurring at Cobo Center and in Metro Detroit."
Additional information on the TEAMS Conference & Expo is available at http://www.TEAMSconference.com or by calling toll-free (877) 577-3700.
TEAMS, SportsTravel and Association News are registered trademarks of Schneider Publishing Company, Inc. For further information on advertising or sponsorship opportunities, please call Tim Schneider toll-free (877) 577-3700 or +1 (310) 577-3700 if calling from outside the U.S.A.
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