Sports Sales Manager

National Sales Manager, Sports & Events

About the Role: The National Sales Manager, Sports & Events plays a key role in positioning Greater Phoenix as a premier destination for high-impact sporting & cultural events. This role leads national sales efforts to attract tournaments, championships, and marquee sporting events that drive hotel room nights, visitor spending, and national visibility.

Why Visit Phoenix: At Visit Phoenix, our team helps elevate Greater Phoenix on a national and global stage. We value collaboration, creativity, and community impact—and we believe our people are central to our success. Join a dynamic organization where your work directly supports economic growth, tourism, and unforgettable visitor experiences.

• Identify, pursue, and secure sports event opportunities across youth, collegiate, professional, and international markets.
• Support the development and execution of national sales strategies that generate room nights, economic impact, and long-term destination value.
• Consistently meet or exceed annual goals related to event acquisition, room-night production, and economic impact through a strong sales pipeline and strategic outreach.

• Serve as an ambassador for Greater Phoenix during presentations, pitches, trade shows, conferences, and sales missions.
• Cultivate strong relationships with event rights holders, hotels, venues, city partners, and sports industry stakeholders.
• Represent the destination with professionalism, confidence, and a service-first mindset in all external engagements.

• Analyze host requirements, budgets, contracts, and partner contributions to support competitive and compelling bid proposals.
• Coordinate and lead site visits and familiarization (FAM) tours for event organizers, including itineraries, hotel coordination, venue tours, and hospitality experiences.
• Provide servicing and operational support to event organizers, including hotel coordination, logistics assistance, and vendor referrals.
• Support on-site event operations as needed, ensuring a high level of customer service and destination representation.

• Partner with internal teams to develop promotional materials and customized assets requested by event organizers, partners, and vendors.
• Maintain accurate reporting, trip summaries, and follow-up communication using CRM and internal systems.

• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage executive-level stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Relationship-driven sales mindset with a proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
• Highly organized, self-directed, and comfortable managing competing priorities.
• National travel is required for conferences, trade shows, sales missions, and site visits.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel independently required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and CRM systems; familiarity with project management tools preferred. Simpleview CRM a plus.

• Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, Tourism, Business, Marketing, or a related field—or equivalent industry experience.
• 3–5 years of experience in sports tourism, sports event sales, a sports commission, local organizing committee, national governing body, or hospitality/event sales environment.
• Demonstrated success booking, planning, or executing sports events, including championship-level or large-scale events.
• Sports ETA, STS or similar sports tourism certification a plus.

Company: Visit Phoenix