NATIONAL SPORTS MARKETING NETWORK’S
CHARLOTTE CHAPTER GRAND OPENING SET FOR
JULY 31 AT BOBCATS ARENA

Charlotte Mayor Patrick L. McCrory to Deliver Opening Remarks

Charlotte Sports Business Visionaries Including Jeff Beaver, Ray Bednar, Mark Richardson, H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler and Fred Whitfield To Participate In This First Ever State of the Industry Event

(New York, NY) – The National Sports Marketing Network (NSMN) – the trade organization of the sports business industry - announced that its newly formed Charlotte Chapter will host a Grand Opening event, entitled “The Future of Sports Business in Charlotte” on July 31 at Bobcats Arena. Charlotte is the 11th local chapter to be opened by NSMN, and already boasts a membership of over 400 leading sports business executives from the City.

Headlining the event will be Mayor Patrick L. McCrory who will deliver Opening Remarks and welcome NSMN to the City of Charlotte. What follows will be a first-of-its-kind panel discussion on the state of Charlotte sports business featuring some of the most prominent industry executives in the world including:  Jeff Beaver, Executive Director, Charlotte Regional Sports Commission; Ray Bednar, Senior Vice President & Sports Sponsorship Executive, Bank of America; Mark Richardson, President, Panthers Football, LLC; H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, President, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Fred Whitfield, President & Chief Operating Officer, Bobcats Sports & Entertainment. Charlotte radio personality Chuck Howard will moderate this discussion covering topics related to the business of local teams, new media, naming rights and NASCAR among others.

The Grand Opening is the first production of the Charlotte Chapter Steering Committee, a virtual “who's who” list of industry movers all of whom have aligned with NSMN to provide vision, direction and support in the development of the Charlotte Chapter. NSMN, through coordination with each local chapter Steering Committee, produces regular events devoted to the discussion of critical sports business issues of the day as well as provide a much needed venue for networking and business development for its members.

Members of Charlotte's Steering Committee include:

  • Mike Bartelli, Millsport  
  • Jeff Beaver, Charlotte Regional Sports Commission
  • Ray Bednar, Bank of America
  • Mike Boykin, GMR Live
  • Kyle Caddell, Carolina Panthers
  • Mark Coughlin, Octagon
  • Mark Dyer, Motorsports Authentics
  • Greg Economou, Bobcats Sports & Entertainment
  • Lee Folger, Baseball America
  • Cindy Sisson Hensley, Agency Won
  • Brett Jewkes, Taylor 
  • Dean Kessel, Sprint Nextel
  • Tom Lamb, Lowe's
  • Jim McPhilliamy, The Integis Group
  • John Miller, XCeed Sports Marketing
  • Marcus Smith, Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
  • Trip Wheeler, Velocity Sports & Entertainment

 

Advance reservations are REQUIRED for this Grand Opening event which begins with a 5:30 p.m. cocktail reception followed by the formal program at 7:00 p.m.. For further information, and to make advance reservations, visit www.sportsmarketingnetwork.com.

About NSMN
Founded in 1998 by Karpf, NSMN represents more than 7,000 members with chapters in 11 major markets including Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington D.C. The membership includes the most influential sports business professionals representing a variety of areas such as professional sports leagues, sports marketing agencies, television networks, event companies and agents.

NSMN is dedicated to the advancement of the sports business industry through professional development counseling, networking, and the production of thought-provoking, issue-oriented seminars created to raise the level of discourse on critical sports industry issues. In addition to producing must-attend panel discussions in each market, NSMN produces the Sports Licensing Summit during Licensing Week in New York City each year. For information visit, http://www.sportsmarketingnetwork.com or call 212-227-1300.