Kentucky Sports Alliance: New Name, Expanded Mission

Later this year, the Kentucky Sports Alliance will succeed TEAM Kentucky as the state’s sports tourism agency. The name change and rebranding is intended to better represent the organization’s mission to unite cities across Kentucky in promoting a broad range of sports venues and opportunities to event planners and organizers.   
 

“When it comes to planning events in Kentucky, people may think of Louisville or Lexington, but we have so much more to offer than two cities,” says Brad Knapp, the new president of the Kentucky Sports Alliance; he also is the Senior Destination Services Manager for Louisville Tourism. “We really felt the need to unite and give more opportunities to destinations looking to do events, because there are definitely events that can take place in other communities that can’t take place in Louisville; the ultimate goal is to create an avenue where there are more opportunities for smaller destinations in the state.”
 

To that end, the Kentucky Sports Alliance currently has 14 entities working together for the common good of both their own destinations and the state as a whole. Those entities are:
 

• Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Corbin Tourism Commission

• Elizabethtown Tourism & Convention Bureau

• Hopkins County Tourist & Convention Commission

• Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Kentucky Venues

• London/Laurel County Tourist Commission

• Louisville Sports Commission

• Louisville Tourism

• McCracken County Sports Tourism

• Murray Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Visit Hopkinsville

• Visit Lexington

A new website for the alliance is expected to debut later this year. Meanwhile, the KSA’s mission is spelled out more lyrically in its brand statement:
 

When hosting a sporting event, Kentucky offers more than a unique place. It gives you a one-of-a-kind spirit. It’s the warmth of our people and the smoothness of our bourbon. It’s the beauty of our vistas and the style of our cities. And it’s the sense of being in a place where you’re welcomed like family, whether you’re hosting an event for thousands or for dozens. That’s what sets our state apart. And it’s what makes the Kentucky Sports Alliance the best kind of partner.
 

At the KSA, we’re not just about finding you the right venue on the right budget. We’re about finding you the perfect experience from start to finish. We take pride in that. And we excel at it because we represent venues big and small in locations all across the state. Whatever you’re looking for, we’ll help you make it happen. And leave your team filled with spirit.
 

Kentucky spirit.
 

The alliance’s new logo — a bold blue and red banner with contemporary fonts punctuated by a “K”-emblazoned flag in motion — is inspired by the design aesthetics often seen in updated  logos for professional and collegiate sports teams.
 

“The logo allows us to stake a flag, stake a claim, in the sports tourism industry,” says Elena Blevins, Executive Director of the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, who also is secretary for the alliance. “There’s a team spirit vibe to the logo, so we’ll be able to continue to market ourselves as a state that has a lot of team spirit, as well as bourbon spirits.”
 

KSA officials are quick to note that the rebrand will continue the work of TEAM Kentucky but with a greater emphasis on sports and statewide unity.
 

“Having sports in the name is a greater advantage for us, in that we are being very intentional now,” Knapp says. “Hopefully, by changing names, we will be more recognized in the sports world, which will give us more opportunities and provide event planners more access to our state than ever.”
 

He also cites the importance of expanding TEAM Kentucky’s original purpose when it was founded in 2003. “We are one of, I’d say, seven or eight states to collaborate as a statewide sports alliance,” Knapp says. “We were among the first to do so and present ourselves as a united front to conventions and events. And that’s something we want to continue.”
 

Bringing More Sports to Kentucky

Kentucky is a landlocked state bordered by seven other states in the Midwest and Southwest. It competes for events with many other destinations in those two regions, and it might be best known for its bourbon and its horses; the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville celebrated its 150th anniversary this year. But Kentucky offers a wealth of opportunities for sports event planners in both the indoor and outdoor spaces, for youth as well as adult participants.
 

“We’re not necessarily that big-city state — I mean, we have our metropolitan areas in Lexington and Louisville — but I think our state can host and accommodate a lot of sports in small-town, community-oriented settings that people really enjoy,” Blevins says. “We have everything from equestrian to golf to fishing to water recreation. We don’t border an ocean, but we still have a lot of water. And we also have venues that can handle your traditional sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball, cheer and more.”
 

For example, Kentucky Lake (one of the largest manmade lakes in the eastern United States) recently landed a June stop on the 2025 Bass Pro Tour, which will showcase 65 of the world’s top professional bass anglers competing for millions of dollars in front of a national television audience.
 

Another major outdoor event in the state is the Redbud Ride, which attracts both professional and amateur cyclists to London — a vibrant community of about 8,000 residents in south-central Kentucky. The event will celebrate its 20th anniversary next April.
 

“The alliance helps destinations like mine be more competitive in an industry we otherwise would not have the opportunity to compete in,” Blevins says. “We need the network of the Kentucky Sports Alliance to get us in the door so that smaller destinations like mine can actually have a voice and the ability to showcase our destination. It’s really hard for us to do that on our own, and this new brand and the network we’ve created allows us to do that.”
 

Meanwhile, Louisville continues to be a major state draw. In May, the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club set records for corporate, hospitality and ticket sales, as well as for merchandise, food and beverage sales. And in July, multiple venues in Louisville hosted TFN’s Run 4 Roses Classic, a girls’ basketball tournament that brought more than 27,000 players from all 50 states and nine countries to Louisville to compete on 88 courts at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
 

While Louisville is the ideal destination for the Run 4 Roses Classic, given the size of its convention center, other Kentucky destinations are just as capable of hosting smaller-scale basketball tournaments and other events.
 

“When you’re in a big city, you might not find the personalized attention that a small destination can bring,” Knapp says. “For the Redbud Ride in London, the whole community gets involved, and we want to showcase those kinds of opportunities.”
 

Regardless of which destination hosts which sporting event — and there are many events on the Kentucky calendar for the rest of 2024 and into 2025 — the Kentucky Sports Alliance is focused on bringing more of them to the Bluegrass State. For that to happen, according to Knapp, collaboration among a broad diversity of destinations will be more vital than ever. That’s why KSA is comprised of destinations with fewer than 10,000 residents to those with a population of more than 630,000.
 

“We, as destinations, are all trying to bring in sports events,” Knapp says. “At the end of the day, we’d rather have that business here in Kentucky than someplace else. The team spirit in Kentucky may have a new look, but our mission is the same. And we’ll continue to carry on our spirit of bourbon and hospitality into this new chapter of sports tourism for the Commonwealth!”  SDM