NYC & COMPANY ANNOUNCES THAT NEW YORK CITY HAS WON THE PRESTIGIOUS 2016 SPORTBUSINESS ULTIMATE SPORTS CITY AWARD

4/20/16


NYC & COMPANY ANNOUNCES THAT NEW YORK CITY HAS WON THE PRESTIGIOUS 2016 SPORTBUSINESS ULTIMATE SPORTS CITY AWARD


New York City (April 20, 2016) — NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization, announces that New York City has received the prestigious 2016 SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City Award as the top sports host city in the world.


The announcement was made at the annual SportAccord Convention in Lausanne, Switzerland. The final ten cities out of an original list of 150 that were considered for the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City of 2016, in alphabetical order, were Auckland, Calgary, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, New York City and Tokyo.


Upon hearing that NYC won the award, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio stated, “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. I want to thank all the players, all the venues and all the fans for getting us to this point.”


“The Ultimate Sports City award underscores New York City’s reputation as one of the world’s leading sports capitals,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company. “We are so gratified to be bestowed with this incredible recognition by SportBusiness. From beloved hometown sports teams to world-class sporting events and modernized venues, the City has all the ingredients that make us a continuous draw for sports enthusiasts.”


The award of overall SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City 2016 to New York City represents the first time that the American city has won the award.


Speaking about the award, head judge and founder of Ultimate Sports Cities Rachael Church said, "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 the U.S. Open, 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).


About NYC & Company:
NYC & Company is the official destination marketing organization for the five boroughs of New York City, dedicated to maximizing travel and tourism opportunities, building economic prosperity and spreading the positive image of New York City worldwide. For more information, visit nycgo.com.













About the Awards:
The SportBusiness Ultimate Sports Cities Awards are the internationally recognized and longest established rankings of the world’s top sports hosts, and have been held every two years since 2006 when they were founded by head judge Rachael Church.



For the first time since the awards were launched in 2006, the shortlisted cities were able to upload submissions which were assessed by the judging panel using specialist cloud-based software developed by SportBusiness Group’s measurement evaluation partner PerforMind™. Over 1,100 fields of data were uploaded covering the following categories: hosting, venues, transport and infrastructure, accommodations, event strategy, legacy, quality of life, public support/tourism, security, and marketing/promotional ability and branding.



 



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Contact: NYC & Company / Chris Heywood 212-484-1270