How York County Became Basketball's Destination with Andy Clinton and Jeff Goodman

What does it take to turn a conversation that started six years ago into an original event that fills hotel rooms and earns hundreds of thousands of views? On this episode of the Destination Marketing Podcast, Adam Stoker talks with Andy Clinton of Visit York County (Rock Hill, South Carolina) and Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 Media Network about how a DMO and a media company built a sports tourism event from scratch, and how they structured the partnership, funded it, and proved its value.

Andy and Jeff get into the real mechanics: who owns the event, who pays for production, how a small DMO team of seven manages a high-effort event, and why they scaled in phases instead of all at once. They also explain how the event doubles as a media buy, with broadcast visibility, commercials, and signage that put the destination in front of an engaged audience, and how they measure it through hotel room nights and earned media value.

What DMO and agency leaders will learn:

- How to turn a long-term relationship into a funded, DMO-backed event

- How to measure event ROI two ways: hotel room nights and earned media value (the first year's three games drew 700,000+ views, per a Sports ETA earned media report)

- How to structure a DMO and media company partnership: ownership, production costs, hotels, and logistics

- Why phased growth (three games, then six) protects your staff, budget, and partner relationships

- How to treat event content as a media buy that earns real attention, not passing impressions

- Why a small DMO team should lean on outside partners for strategy and new ideas while keeping execution manageable

- How to build community buy-in by involving a local university and inviting city and county council members to see the impact firsthand

- How to plan future growth, including a youth component aimed at doubling room nights

Also in this episode, Adam announces DMO Jam, a new application-only mastermind for destination marketing professionals, with monthly cohorts of 10, quarterly all-cohort sessions, an annual in-person retreat, and twice-yearly one-on-ones with Adam. Apply at dmojam.thebrandrevolt.com.

Who should listen: DMO and CVB marketing leaders, destination marketing agency executives, tourism marketers, sports commission and sales professionals, and anyone working on event development, sports tourism, economic impact measurement, destination media strategy, or DMO partnerships.

Guests:

Andy Clinton, Visit York County: LinkedIn (Andy Clinton)

Jeff Goodman, Field of 68 Media Network: @GoodmanHoops on X

Enjoying the show? Leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠!

The ⁠⁠⁠⁠Destination Marketing Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a part of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Destination Marketing Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Brand Revolt. If you are interested in any of Brand Revolt’s services, please email ⁠⁠⁠⁠adam@thebrandrevolt.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thebrandrevolt.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thedmpn.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you are interested in joining the network, please email ⁠⁠⁠⁠adam@thebrandrevolt.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Adam's Destination Discourse agency recap

00:49 Why 80% of DMOs have an agency of record but no one defends theirs

06:57 Shared objectives, the crisis of relevance, and paying for strategy

08:52 Guest reactions: why DMOs should rely on agency brains, not hands

14:23 How Visit York County and Field of 68 started the partnership

16:20 Building a media company and an event from zero

17:53 Scaling from three games to six: phased growth

19:54 From idea to execution: funding, production, and staffing

24:59 Measuring ROI: hotel room nights and earned media value

28:29 Broadcast visibility vs. paid media, plus the DMO Jam announcement

32:01 Promoting the event and the sales challenge

34:15 Partnership structure: ownership, costs, and responsibilities

36:54 The team behind it: sales, hotels, venues, and the local university

38:38 Future vision: new formats to extend stays and visibility

43:31 Adding a youth component and doubling room nights

46:36 Final takeaways for DMOs

49:59 How to connect with Andy and Jeff