The founder and CEO of NEXTyouthsports is David Preece, a marketing and tourism veteran of more than 25 years.

  He is the former President and CEO of the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau which serves as the destination marketing organization for the Northern Illinois region.  

    Prior sports tourism experience includes serving as VP of North America for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, where in addition to marketing the Islands to the US and Canada, he worked with the PGA Tour to create the “Aloha Season” and with the NFL on marketing the Pro Bowl.

   Tourism annually brings $300 million of economic impact to the Rockford Region, and during his tenure at the RACVB, David restructured and refocused the team, launched a new regional brand platform (www.littlecitybiglife.com), instituted a sophisticated strategic communications approach, and introduced a variety of innovative tourism marketing programs that grew the market—and which maintain a residual positive effect on Rockford’s visitor industry.

  In addition to promoting visitation to Rockford, David led many initiatives with public and private entities to upgrade and expand tourism experiences for visitors. This product development role spanned the range from adviser for attractions, to project manager for sports-related developments, to planning elements of a downtown/riverfront renaissance.

   Another key RACVB initiative was collaborating with the Rockford Park District to expand  the sports event tourism sector and its impact on the local economy. Sports events account for 25% of room nights, and David tightened focus and accelerated the business development efforts of the sales team.

  The result was maintaining steady growth in major segments like soccer and softball, and expanding the attraction of events in other sports such as baseball and wrestling.

  David is also a faculty member of the Business Management and Tourism departments at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He teaches marketing, communications, business strategy, and tourism destination management/marketing.

  According to the National Alliance for Youth Sports, there are more than 44 million children ages 7-17 who participate in organized youth sports programs, many of them in multiple sports. This number has increased 34% since 1997, and growth is expected to continue despite current economic uncertainties.

  This point was echoed by Don Schumacher, consultant and director of the National Association of Sports Commissions, when he said, “Sports tourism is nearly a recession-proof industry…and for the athletes’ [families], those tournaments become mini vacations.”

  NYS partners with sporting communities to generate economic growth with events and programs that make a difference. This is maximized with an integrated strategy built on four pillars of recreation: Competition. Education. Wellness. Business.

  We consult on strategy, conduct research and feasibility studies, we create and operate events and programs, and in the process we help communities realize their sports tourism growth potential.  It’s all about leveraging Big Life Sports.