Snapshots of events, conferences, parties and announcements from across the sports business industry.
04.20.2026
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PLAY EQUITY SUMMIT The Play Equity Summit, hosted by the LA84 Foundation
and Play Equity Fund, convened dozens of prominent
leaders from around the world at the JW Marriott L.A. Live
on April 2: Renta Simril, LA84 Foundation president/CEO and Play
Equity Fund president, opened the summit with a keynote
address on the legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. (Leroy Hamilton/LA84 Foundation)
PLAY EQUITY SUMMIT The Play Equity Summit, hosted by the LA84 Foundation
and Play Equity Fund, convened dozens of prominent
leaders from around the world at the JW Marriott L.A. Live
on April 2: Panelists Kathryn Schloessman, Los Angeles
Sports & Entertainment Commission president/CEO and
Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee CEO; Larry
Freedman, LAFC co-president and Los Angeles World
Cup Host Committee co-chair; Stephanie Wiggins, LA
Metro CEO; and Dalila Wilson-Scott, Comcast EVP/chief
impact and inclusion officer and Comcast NBCUniversal
Foundation president, discussed why community impact is
a business imperative. (LA84 Foundation)
A TASTE OF GOLD Indianapolis Colts safety Jonathan Owens, 11-time
Olympic medal winner Simone Biles and Dallas Trinity
FC midfielder Lexi Missimo celebrated the grand
opening of Taste of Gold, a café themed around Biles’
many achievements, in Terminal A at George Bush
Intercontinental Airport on March 24 in Houston. (Renee Fernandes / Athlete Playmaker Group)
STINGRAYS ROCK THE RETRO The Washington Capitals’ ECHL affiliate, the South
Carolina Stingrays, hosted Rock the Retro Night on April
4 at the North Charleston Coliseum, honoring the 2001
Kelly Cup Championship team. Dave Seitz hoisted the
cup during the pregame ceremony as 11 players from
the championship team, along with head coach Rick
Adduono, assistant coach Jason Fitzsimmons, and
former majority owner Anita Zucker were honored. (Laurel Plexico)
SPORTS ETA WOMEN’S SUMMIT Jay Parry (left), president/
CEO of the Arizona
Sports & Events Alliance,
and Women’s Sports
Foundation CEO Danette
Leighton discussed
leadership, resilience
and influence across
the sports and events
industry at the Sports ETA
Women’s Summit on April
3 in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Sports ETA)
GAME DAY GALA Team IMPACT’s 14th annual Game Day Gala
on April 11 at The Encore in Boston raised $3.5
million in support of its mission to connect
college athletic teams with children facing
serious illness and disability. From left: Team
IMPACT co-founder Jay Calnan; NCAA President
Charlie Baker; and Team IMPACT CEO Krissie
Kelleher and co-founder Dan Kraft. (Team IMPACT)
AUGUSTA AFTER DARK Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Hart gathered with business partners
and Authentic Brands Group executives at the DraftKings and Sports
Illustrated Augusta After Dark event in Augusta, Ga., on April 8: (from
left) Corey Salter; O’Neal; Dylan Salter; Tyler Salter; and Hart. (Authentic Live, a division of Authentic Brands Group)
Please submit photos for review of industry conferences, parties, product launches and openings showcasing the people and personalities at the event. Include the event date, location, names/titles of those featured along with credit information. The photo specifications are as follows: 300dpi, tiff, jpeg or eps color images. Submit digital photos for review at: photo@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
