New York City receives award for being top sports host city in the world – USA TODAY
New York City has received the 2016 SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City Award as the top sports host city in the world, according to NYC & Company, New York City’s marketing organization.
The announcement was made at the annual SportAccord Convention in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ten finalists were chosen from a field of 150: Auckland, Calgary, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, New York and Tokyo.
“I am proud that our city has been named the 2016 SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City. Being home to some of the world’s most iconic sports arenas and home to some of the most dedicated sports fans, this award is well-deserved,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “I want to thank all the players, all the venues and all the fans for getting us to this point.”
Speaking about the award, head judge and founder of Ultimate Sports Cities Rachael Church said in a statement, “New York City is a well-deserved winner of the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City title, triumphing this year after its previous best place of 4th in 2012. When it comes to its major events strategy, New York really is a city that never sleeps, balancing a bursting portfolio of high quality annual events against a wide variety of one-off events of national and international significance. The Big Apple scored highly in many categories, winning Best Public Support/Tourism in recognition of its high level of attendance at sports events such as the US Open Tennis Championships, and reflecting the wide range of extra-curricular activities available for visitors to sports events in the city.
“Furthermore, New York is a city that raised its sports destination profile through the 2012 Olympic bid, an ambitious effort that spurred a development boom that is now a part of what’s being called the ‘New’ New York City. Those factors combined with a strong city brand and imaginative marketing prowess mean that New York City truly is the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City of 2016.”
Criteria for the award included the size and volume of the events each city hosted and will host between 2012 and 2020 as well as consideration of venues, transportation, infrastructure, accommodations, event strategy, government and public support, legacy, quality of life, security and marketing/promotional ability and branding.
For New York City, some of those events include U.S. Open tennis, the New York City Marathon, Five Boro Bike Tour, NBA Draft, Super Bowl XLVIII (2014), NBA All-Star Game (2015) and MLB All-Star Game (2013).