Sports Sales & Event Manager

Sports Sales & Event Manager – Ocala, FL

Salary 60-70k base plus commission structure

Location: Ocala, FL

Our client is seeking a highly motivated and relationship-driven Sports Sales & Event Manager to drive business development and revenue growth for an expanding sports portfolio.

This role is focused on proactively identifying, recruiting, and securing regional, national, and international sports tournaments, corporate events, and multi-field facility rentals
.

The Sports Sales & Event Manager will maintain ownership of the client relationship from initial prospecting and contract negotiations through successful on-site event activation
.

This is an exciting opportunity to join during a significant period of expansion, with the position helping develop the sales pipeline and market positioning for additional multi-sport indoor facilities and entertainment spaces
.

• Proactively identify, prospect, and secure youth sports associations, competitive leagues, governing bodies, tournament operators, and other sports organizations.
• Generate new business through outbound sales efforts focused on regional, national, and international tournaments and events.
• Manage the full sales cycle, from lead generation and presentations through negotiations, contracts, booking, and event activation.
• Maintain a structured, data-driven sales pipeline within the CRM, ensuring accurate tracking, forecasting, and follow-up.
• Develop compelling presentations and sales strategies that position the destination's sports facilities, hospitality offerings, and overall guest experience.
• Qualify prospective events to ensure programming aligns with the organization's premium brand standards and facility requirements.
• Maintain end-to-end ownership of sports client relationships while coordinating additional hospitality needs through established internal teams.
• Partner internally to support athlete accommodations, team room blocks, event banqueting, and other hospitality requirements associated with booked sporting events.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for contracted sports and event partners.
• Oversee on-site event activation, ensuring program logistics, brand requirements, and operational expectations are successfully executed.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with sports organizations, event operators, industry partners, and key decision-makers.
• Represent the organization at trade shows, industry events, networking opportunities, and client meetings.
• Support commercial positioning, pre-sales efforts, and pipeline development for future sports facilities and expansion initiatives.
• Maintain accurate client information, contracts, sales activity, and pipeline data within CRM and internal systems.

• Bachelor's degree in Sports Management, Business Administration, Marketing, or a related field preferred.
• 3+ years of successful sales or business development experience within sports tourism, tournament procurement, premium venue booking, convention sales, or high-end athletic event recruitment.
• Experience with outbound sales, prospecting, pipeline development, contract negotiation, and relationship management.
• Experience navigating youth sports organizations, tournament pipelines, event operators, trade shows, and sports-related business development preferred.
• Understanding of the relationship between sporting events, venue utilization, hotel room volume, and hospitality revenue is preferred.
• Strong presentation and storytelling abilities with the ability to sell a complete premium destination experience rather than simply facility space.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong understanding of CRM platforms and experience maintaining an organized, measurable sales pipeline.
• Proficiency with cloud-based file management and enterprise project management tools.
• Foundational knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, including InDesign and Illustrator, is a plus.
• Self-motivated, proactive, solution-oriented, and highly organized with exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends, to support tournaments, client hosting, and active event execution.

Our client is a premier hospitality, entertainment, and sports destination known for delivering exceptional guest experiences and high-quality events.

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