How Bentonville Turned Unreasonable Hospitality Into A Sports Advantage

Join our conversation with Amy Springer, sports sales manager at Visit Bentonville, to explore how a hometown kid helped shape a destination that wins over event owners and fans alike. From elite turf complexes and ESPN-ready gyms to walkable hotel-to-field access, Amy explains why Bentonville converts first-time visitors into repeat partners.

We dig into the nuts and bolts of sports tourism: prospecting the right events, elevating existing tournaments, and delivering “unreasonable hospitality” that goes beyond swag. Think team pizza deliveries that fuel connection after the final whistle. Amy shares a standout case study—how Bentonville stepped in after a hurricane canceled collegiate mountain bike nationals, and then pulled off a full championship in just three and a half weeks. 

Looking ahead, Amy is targeting niche sports with dedicated traveling audiences—pillow fighting, hobby horsing, USA Yoga—and placing them in unexpected venues to expand the calendar without overloading fields. With traditional sports already driving millions in economic impact and cycling pushing totals even higher, the focus is smarter growth and memorable experiences. If you’re a coach, organizer, or governing body, you’ll hear exactly how Bentonville partners on trainers, permits, meals, banquets, and creative touches that make your event stand out.

A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.  

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Transcript

Beth Bobbitt 0:02

Welcome back to a new American town. I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt, and today I'm with Visit Bentonville Sports Sales Manager, Amy Springer. Amy, welcome to the podcast.

Amy Springer 0:13

Thanks, Beth. Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Beth Bobbitt 0:16

Tell us a little bit about yourself. You are a Bentonville native and sort of went away and came back, as the story goes. Walk us through your journey.

Early Career In Parks And Sports

Amy Springer 0:26

Absolutely. So I was born and raised here in Bentonville from the time I was five till all the way through a senior in high school. I went to Bentonville Public Schools, kind of started my journey in outdoor recreation working for Bentonville Parks and Rec.

Beth Bobbitt 0:41

Okay.

Amy Springer 0:42

Went to college at the University of Arkansas, where I got my degree in recreation and sports management.

Beth Bobbitt 0:48

Done.

Amy Springer 0:49

And while I was there, I did a couple different things. I worked for Fayetteville Parks and Rec for a couple of years, then moved to the private baseball academy space and worked for Perfect Timing until they sold to Maruchi Midwest Academy. Managed that academy here in Springdale while I was in college. And then my senior year got the opportunity to go to Oklahoma City and work for USA softball.

Beth Bobbitt 1:12

Okay.

Amy Springer 1:13

Yeah.

Jump To USA Softball And Return

Beth Bobbitt 1:14

And then what brought you back?

Amy Springer 1:15

This opportunity popped up out kind of out of nowhere. Um, I've known Kaylee in a really long time. So of course I left my job with USA and was just kind of gonna figure out like I'm in my early 20s, what I want to do with my life. And she called me on a Monday. We moved back on a Saturday, and I started on a Wednesday. So like everything happened in a week. It was the craziest week ever.

Beth Bobbitt 1:40

She's very convincing.

Amy Springer 1:41

Yes, yes. But she called and asked if I would contract in the outdoor recreation role for six weeks just to help get Visit Bentonville through bike week. I told her jokingly, I was like, I don't even own a bike, Kaylene. And like, I don't know if I'm the right person for this. And she was like, but you know events, you understand events and you understand sports and you come from that background. So I was like, okay, I'll try it. You know, it's a six-week contract, and six weeks turned into a 10-week contract, which turned into I've been here a year and a half now.

Beth Bobbitt 2:12

So yes, yes. Sounds like a familiar story.

What A Sports Sales Manager Does

Amy Springer 2:15

Yes.

Beth Bobbitt 2:16

For those who don't know, what does a sports sales manager position entail?

Amy Springer 2:22

Yeah. So I was one of those people that didn't know. I didn't even know much about a DMO before I started with Visit Bentonville. But really, my job is to bring sports events here, elevate the sports events that we already have in the city, and kind of build those relationships with tournament organizers, sporting event organizers, work with them on how we can elevate their tournaments to keep those visitors coming back.

Beth Bobbitt 2:48

Yes. And for those listening that may not know DMO destination marketing organization. So very actively seeking out these sports teams and conferences and things to bring here to recruit. So, yeah, what does that look like on a day-to-day basis? Who are you actively recruiting right now?

Niche Sports With Loyal Audiences

Amy Springer 3:11

I think one of my favorite parts about this job is that, and any of my jobs in sports really have it's that no day ever looks the same. Like I could be at a desk one day prospecting, bringing new events in. Um, and then the next day I'm at the fields, I'm hands-on, I'm setting up water coolers and tents and delivering lunches. So I think that's one thing that I really love. I'm such a busy body. I need every day to look different. So right now we're in kind of like our prep for, you know, a crazy awesome 2026 and looking ahead to 27 and 28. So a lot of what I'm doing right now is prospecting unique events. So from things like pillow fighting, which did not know that was a professional sport, but I need to hear more. Yes, and hobby horsing. Have you heard of hobby horsing?

Beth Bobbitt 4:03

I have heard of that. Yes.

Amy Springer 4:04

So we want to exciting them so badly.

Beth Bobbitt 4:08

Who's who's the audience for these sports?

Amy Springer 4:11

Oh my gosh. I feel like these are such niche sports that their audience is such, like, they're so committed to traveling. Yeah. They don't get the opportunity. Like, you know, with softball tournaments, there's a hundred thousand of them every single weekend across the country. With hobby horsing, there's like five. So I think their audience is so unique and they travel so well for these events. Like it's just such a niche fun, like out-of-the-box experience to bring to Bittenville.

Beth Bobbitt 4:37

Oh, you have to keep us posted on that.

Amy Springer 4:39

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Why Bentonville Competes And Wins

Beth Bobbitt 4:40

So, what makes Bentonville so competitive in this space?

Location, Access, And Visitor Experience

Amy Springer 4:44

Yeah. So I think the first thing is our world-class facilities. Um, from Memorial and Phillips Park, Phillips Park was just a $1 million contribution from Visit Bentonville to returf it, kind of adjust the way the fields are laid out, new batting cages are coming soon, a new pavilion, like just absolutely beautiful facilities from our city parks, as well as our high school facilities are comparable to some smaller, like mid-major D1 schools, and honestly, as nice, or if not nicer, than a lot of Division II colleges. So people come when I say, like, oh, we have a high school field, they're like, high school? And I'm like, no, trust me. Yeah. We have a high school field. So um, there are beautiful complexes as well. Like our our both of our high schools have turf softball and baseball facilities. Our basketball gyms are set up to host, like we hosted ESPN for a game when I was there in 2015, I believe. So we have the the full setup to host all different types of events with our venues. And people come and they're they're really just like these are insanely beautiful. So I think that's the first part. I think the second part is our location. Um we're right seated right in the middle of the country. You know, we're halfway between the West Coast, halfway between the East Coast. We're situated perfectly between Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Dallas, which is where we see a lot of our sports markets come from. Are a lot of these audiences driving? Yeah, I would say a lot more driving than flying, at least for our youth sports tourism side. That makes sense. Um, our spectator sports, we see more like air travel, international travel. But having like our location as a city and then how connected we are with our hotels and our venues. Like when I was growing up, sometimes we would have to stay at a hotel 45 minutes from the venue. Here, you're five minutes from your venue. Like you could walk with your gear over to your um facility. And I think that's really special. And then we also have all these great restaurant opportunities close by. So I think if you were flying in, you wouldn't need a car to get around, you know. And so I think there's lots of unique things about how we're positioned.

Unreasonable Hospitality In Practice

Beth Bobbitt 6:56

And we hear from Visit Bentonville and others this phrase, unreasonable hospitality. What does that mean for you and organizing these events? And what does that look like for a tournament? You know, like how what is the white glove treatment in terms of sports tournaments?

Amy Springer 7:15

Yeah. So that's where I get to be kind of creative. It it differs from every sporting event. I think the first thing I love to do is talk to the organizer, understand what they're already doing, then I can pitch my ideas of like maybe this is how we can elevate this. Um, so one of you know the things that we do for pretty much all of our sporting events are welcome backs, which doesn't sound crazy, but a lot of cities don't do that.

Beth Bobbitt 7:40

Yeah.

Amy Springer 7:41

We do our dining discount card program, which is participating restaurants say, Hey, we want to give a discount. We put them on a card for the year. We're working on our 2026 cards right now. And then everyone who participates in those tournaments gets a dining discount card. So it's like encouraging even the locals to go eat at the restaurants after games. And so that's like our basic unreasonable hospitality. But we also do things like we have Alvy Early uh Memorial Tournament, which there's a podcast about. You want to know? Um, that's coming up in a couple weeks. Kaylene started this years ago, but we actually deliver pizzas to every single team. Oh, no way. So, yes, we I have a pizza intake form that gets sent out. They sign up, they tell me when, they tell me where, they tell me what they want, and then I deliver those pizzas to the team and visit Bittenville covers that cost.

Beth Bobbitt 8:33

So that is unreasonable hospitality.

Amy Springer 8:36

I love it. That one's pretty cool.

Pulling Off Collegiate Nationals In Weeks

Beth Bobbitt 8:38

I'd love to hear a story or an example of an event where Bentonville really showed up in a memorable way from your perspective or the organizer's perspective.

Amy Springer 8:47

Yeah. So I think the first one that comes to mind for me is last, or I guess 2024 now. Time flies. When I was initially contracted in the outdoor recreation um side of sports. So we're split. We have our sports sales manager, myself, and then Jeff Nicholas, who just joined our team as the outdoor recreation sales manager. He handles a lot of the cycling events because it's so big in our community. But before we had kind of both of those roles, um when I was contracted, I was managing the cycling. So the first six weeks were bike week in Bentonville, which is pretty legendary. And then the last four weeks was a mom had reached out to Kayleen on Facebook and said, Hey, the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Collegiate National Championship has been canceled due to the hurricane in North Carolina. Can you host this?

Beth Bobbitt 9:39

Oh my gosh. Trial by fire.

Amy Springer 9:41

Literally. Kaylene was like, you know, I'll reach out to USA Cycling and see. And she sent a message and they said, Can you do it in three weeks? And she said, How about three and a half? So we pulled off a collegiate national championship in three and a half weeks. Wow. But we went above and beyond that level of just like, let's host the tournament.

Beth Bobbitt 10:04

Sure.

Amy Springer 10:04

We did an opening ceremony with our partners at the amazing so that the college kids could actually come and feel like kids for the night and hang out at the amazing. We had great food. And then we did a closing party at the end of the uh race. And I think it was like four or five days long. And then we did the closing party at the end. We had Brothers Barbecue sponsored that, donated all the barbecue. And it was great. And we actually had one of the student athletes come up to us and she said, This is the best championship I've ever been a part of. This is my senior year. Thank you so much. It like makes me emotional.

Beth Bobbitt 10:39

Yeah.

Amy Springer 10:39

Um, thank you for hosting this because she wouldn't have gotten to compete her senior year. That's pretty special. Yeah. Yeah. It's so rewarding.

Beth Bobbitt 10:46

I have to ask, do you own a bike now?

Amy Springer 10:49

I do. I own two. They suckered me into it and I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. In a matter of time. It was. It was.

Growth Goals And Unique Venues

Beth Bobbitt 10:57

Okay. So what are your goals for 2026 in terms of sports sales? What types of events or growth are you targeting?

Amy Springer 11:04

Yeah. So I think for us, um, we're really looking at those unique sports. We're super, super fortunate because our facilities, our parks facilities, and our high school facilities are so beautiful. They're booked. They're booked all the time. So it's like, how can we keep growing this sports market? We were at 24 million last year with 60 events just in the traditional sports market. I think with cycling, it was around 41 million total with the cycling events, bringing in 113 total events in that kind of sporting category. It's incredible. It's a lot. It's a lot and it's so awesome. But like, how can we keep growing that? Yes. And so I think looking at these unique sports like the pillow fighting, we don't need a basketball gym for that. We could host them at the record. You know, um, USA Yoga, we could host them here at Ledger.

Beth Bobbitt 11:54

Yeah.

Amy Springer 11:55

So um I think there's some really cool opportunities to bring some out-of-pocket sports here at venues that you wouldn't typically think of as sporting venues.

Beth Bobbitt 12:04

Right.

Amy Springer 12:05

And and showcase those to to that industry, that world.

Beth Bobbitt 12:09

I'm looking forward to that. So for coaches, event organizers, or sports governing bodies listening, what should they know about bringing an event to Bentonville?

Amy Springer 12:19

So for those out there listening, bringing your event here will be the best thing you've ever done. We are as involved as you want us to be. We are so hands-on. We will help you from any aspect you need help with. If it's sourcing athletic trainers, if it's having meals delivered, if it's getting permits for venues, we're there for all of it, setting up banquets. We've done it all, we've seen it all, we're here for whatever crazy ideas you want to throw at us. We love to get creative, we love to involve our amazing partners here in Bittenville, our city. Um, one thing I think that USA Collegiate NATS taught me is how ready our entire city is to get on board and get involved with these events. The community really showed up for that. And I think that was really powerful to see our entire community get involved and want to better these experiences for our visitors.

Coming Full Circle As A Local

Beth Bobbitt 13:19

Yeah. Right. So coming full circle as a Bentonville native, and now you're getting to, you know, market your hometown. What does that mean to you personally?

Amy Springer 13:30

I think it's really special. I grew up in the height of this Bentonville evolution. So when I was a kid, Walmart was open 24 hours, and that's what my friends and I went and did. We hung out at the Walmart. Um, and so getting to, I think it kind of started around the time I was in high school, Crystal Bridges was built. We got our first nice restaurants downtown, and we were starting to see a lot of that growth. And then I went to Fayetteville for college, which isn't far, but I really didn't come home often. And then my friends from Texas were like, hey, we keep hearing all this stuff about Bentonville. Like, aren't you from there? And I was like, Yeah, I'll take you guys on a hometown date. And I drove back and I didn't even recognize it. I was like, wait, this is all so new and different. And so what I thought used to be like this like tiny little town with all we had was Walmart, right? Has now expanded into this insane community from the outdoor recreation, from the arts and culture, the food scene. I'm a big foodie. So getting to experience the city like I'm a visitor also is so fun. Yeah. The entire experience of the city has changed, and it's really cool to get to share how that growth is such a positive thing. Because I think sometimes, you know, you can complain about the traffic or, you know, the housing market, but really it's all been positive. The growth is so cool to see, and now I love sharing it with my friends. I'm trying to convince all my friends in Oklahoma City to move here. Sure.

Beth Bobbitt 14:56

Why not?

Amy Springer 14:57

Yeah, it's very full circle moment.

How To Connect And Final CTA

Beth Bobbitt 15:00

Well, Amy, I just appreciate you sharing your story and being here and all the work that you're doing to bring sports to Bentonville. So for organizers hoping to learn more, they can go to visitbittenville.com. There's information there, and they can reach out directly to you. Yes.

Amy Springer 15:14

Yes.

Beth Bobbitt 15:15

Do you have an email address that you can share?

Amy Springer 15:17

It's Amy at Visit Bentonville AMY. Or also my cell phone is 479-270-4818, which is the best way to reach me.

Beth Bobbitt 15:26

Perfect. Thanks so much, Amy. Appreciate you being here.

Amy Springer 15:29

I appreciate you. This was fun.

Beth Bobbitt 15:33

Ready to explore Bentonville? Check out visitbittenville.com for dining guides, event calendars, and trip planning tools. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter. Links are in the show notes. Thanks for listening to a new American town.