Top Sports Business Conferences in 2023

As the sports business world prepares for what’s sure to be another year of shake ups and innovation, industry pros from teams, leagues, media, tech, brands and more will gather throughout the year to meet, brainstorm and share their thoughts on the constantly evolving sports industry. Heading into 2023, these are some of the major sports business conferences slated for the year.

National Sports Forum

February 26th-28th | Los Angeles, CA

Every year the National Sports Forum brings together industry professionals from various teams, leagues, agencies, media brands, corporate partners and more. Attendees represent entities across NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, MiLB, Racing, Collegiate sports and more. Areas of focus include Sponsorship Sales & Partnership Activation, Marketing & Fan Engagement, Ticket Sales & Services, Business Development and Diversity & Inclusion.  This year’s NSF event is at Sofi Stadium/Hollywood Park/YouTube Theatre and LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium.

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

March 3rd-4th | Boston, MA

With analytics’ increasing role in sports decision making, the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference creates a space to discuss the ongoing innovation in sports business and performance data analytics. Speakers this year come from several major industry influencers like the NFL, Fanatics, Amazon, FanDuel, NASCAR, the NBA and more. The annual even is hosted by MIT at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

SportsPro OTT Summit USA

March 18th-19th | New York, NY

From Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video to AppleTV’s deal with MLS to the sale of Sunday Ticket to YouTubeTV, the pivot to streaming is the talk of the sports business world right now. SportsPro’s OTT Summit USA will focus on this evolving broadcast/streaming/OTT ecosystem within this year’s themes of Monetization, Content and Technology. Held at the Citi Field in New York, industry pros from across the US and the world will gather to discuss the ongoing evolution of sports broadcasting.

SBJ CAA World Congress of Sports

April 18th-19th | Los Angeles, CA

Sports Business Journal’s premier annual conference for sports business leadership networking and discussion, the CAA World Congress of Sports, is headed back to the West Coast for 2023. League officers, team owners, franchise presidents, corporate sponsors, media executives and agency heads are among the leaders gathering at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles this spring.

SBJ Brand Innovation Summit

June 7th-8th | Chicago, IL

Sports Business Journal’s Brand Innovation Summit brings together the corporate brand partners and marketing executives at the center of innovation for sports marketing and sponsorship. This year’s schedule has not been released yet, but past summits discussed successful brand partnerships and sponsorship strategies across a wide variety of major leagues and industries.

Sportico’s WX3

June 7th | Los Angeles, CA

WX3 celebrates the women shaping the sports industry as well as the future of women’s sports. The conference features female power players in sports, from athletes to execs, and discusses the business and growing popularity of female athletes and women’s leagues.

Hashtag Sports 2023

June 13th-14th | New York, NY

For those in the sports creative community, Hashtag Sports is the premier event to connect with the next generation of content creators, talent and marketers shaping sports media. Part conference, part awards show, part festival, Hashtag Sports is a fun event to celebrate and network with fellow sports creatives.

Esports Business Summit

November 1st-3rd | Las Vegas, LV

Esports is still a relatively new and evolving industry, and the Esports Business Summit is the biggest gathering of the Esports industry for “education, networking, inspiration, and deal-making.” Attendees and speakers include leaders from gaming teams, leagues, brands, publishers, broadcasters, agencies and tech companies. This year’s event is at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this fall.