Sports Business Daily/Sports Business Journal held its annual Business Awards presentation tonight in New York. Several sports teams, leagues, networks, executives and businesses were nominated in 15 categories. We have the details in the press release below.
The NHL, Target Field and George Bodenheimer Among the Winners Of the 2011 Sports Business Awards
San Francisco Giants Honored as the Professional Sports Team of the Year
Billie Jean King Recognized with a Lifetime Achievement AwardNew York, N.Y. – The best in sports business were honored Wednesday night with the fourth annual Sports Business Awards.
The awards, which recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in the sports industry for the period from March 1, 2010 through February 28, 2011, were presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, the two leading publications on the business of sports. The Sports Business Awards were presented at a live ceremony held Wednesday, May 18 at the New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square.
“We are pleased to honor the visionaries who are driving the sports industry with our fourth annual Sports Business Awards,” says Richard Weiss, publisher of the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. “The winners and nominees being honored tonight are pushing innovation with smart thinking and creative approaches.”
Awards were presented in 15 categories. Winners were chosen by a committee of outside panelists and members of the editorial staff of the SportsBusiness Journal/Daily. Selected from 73 nominees, the winners included:
Lifetime Achievement – Billie Jean King
Sports Executive of the Year – George Bodenheimer, President, ESPN/ABC Sports
Athletic Director of the Year – DeLoss Dodds, University of Texas
Professional Sports Team of the Year – San Francisco Giants
Professional Sports League of the Year – National Hockey League
Sports Event of the Year – 2010 New York City Marathon
Best in Sports Media – ESPN
Best in Sports Television – ESPN Networks
Best in Digital Sports Media – Turner Sports
Best in Talent Representation and Management – CAA Sports
Best in Corporate Consulting, Marketing and Client Services – GMR Marketing
Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services – AEG Global Partnerships
Best in Sports Event and Experiential Marketing – The Marketing Arm
Sports Sponsor of the Year – Subway
Sports Facility of the Year – Target Field
Best in Sports Technology – DaktronicsPlease visit the web site for articles on the winners and nominees – www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/05/09/Events-and-Attractions/2011-SBA-Nominees.aspx.
Lifetime Achievement Award
One of the most prolific tennis players in history, Billie Jean King has made as big an impact off the court as she did on court, as a champion for social change and equality. The winner of 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles tennis titles, including a record 20 titles at Wimbledon, King was one of the leaders in the formation of the Virginia Slims Tour (1971) and Women’s Tennis Association (1973). Her victory over Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes in 1973 helped empower women and educate men in a match remembered for its effect on society and its contribution to the women’s movement.In 1974, King co-founded World TeamTennis, a groundbreaking league that paired men and women on the same team, and founded the World TeamTennis Recreational League, one of the most popular recreational tennis formats in the U.S. She founded the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974, Women’s Sports magazine in 1974 and co-founded GreenSlam, an environmental initiative for the sports industry in 2007.
Named one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life magazine in 1990, King was further honored in 2006, when the National Tennis Center, home of the U. S. Open, was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in honor of her contributions to tennis, sports and society both on and off the court. Additionally, in 2009, King was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama, in ceremonies at the White House.
King received her Lifetime Achievement Award from fellow champion Chris Evert, the winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, including 6 U.S. Open titles, and the number one ranked woman tennis player for seven years. Named one of the “Top 50 Athletes of the 20th Century” by ESPN in 1999, Evert founded Chris Evert Charities in 1989 to help children at risk due to drug abuse and alcohol addiction. The host and organizer of the Annual Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic, Evert serves on the board of the WTA, USTA, the Women’s Sports Foundation, President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, International Tennis Hall of Fame, Florida Sports Foundation, Palm Beach County Sports Authority, United Sports Fans of America and Fitness magazine.
The previous recipient of the SportsBusiness Journal/Daily Lifetime Achievement Award was longtime sports business executive Peter Ueberroth in 2009.
That will do it.
