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ATA eNewsletter March 2009 Meet Bryan Sperber, One "Advocate of the Year" Three 2009 Advocates of the Year have been selected to be honored at the 5th Annual Arizona Tourism Unity Dinner, to be held April 15, 2009 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa. In the months leading up to the Dinner, the ATA has been providing a brief spotlight on each of these three Advocates. This series will allow the industry to meet each Advocate and provides a snapshot of the enormous contributions each Advocate has made to the Arizona tourism industry. Meet our second highlighted Advocate, Mr. Bryan Sperber of the Phoenix International Raceway. Pictured Above (Left to Right): Bryan Sperber and Kyle Petty
With 19 years of motorsports experience – more than half of which have been spent leading a NASCAR Sprint Cup venue – and a personal background in the racing hotbed of Daytona Beach, Fla., it’s safe to say Phoenix International Raceway president Bryan Sperber is well-versed in the field of stock car racing. Beyond that, he is a visionary who has helped push multiple facilities into the new millennium while also serving as a well-rounded community leader and philanthropist throughout his career. In March of 2002, Phoenix International Raceway announced the appointment of Sperber as president of the West’s most historic NASCAR Sprint Cup setting. In his position, Sperber is responsible for the strategic vision and operational management of Arizona’s premier motorsports venue, now an institution which has created a profound impact on the state’s economy. As host to two NASCAR Sprint Cup events annually, PIR welcomes more than 400,000 race fans, a blue chip roster of sponsors, and millions of television viewers to the Valley of the Sun each year. In connection with the annual Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 in November, the track also has the designation of hosting the semi-final stop in the Chase for the Sprint Cup – NASCAR’s version of the playoffs. A 2006 economic impact study by the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University estimated that one season of NASCAR events at Phoenix International Raceway creates over a 12-month period an economic impact of $473 million, including a $445 million boost to the Phoenix metropolitan area. The total figure includes an estimated sum of $160 million in expenditures from out-of-state guests for goods and services within Arizona. Under Sperber’s leadership, PIR was successful in acquiring its second NASCAR Sprint Cup event – the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™. Debuting in 2005, the evening race, broadcast in primetime on FOX under the lights, placed Phoenix International Raceway in select company as one of only 14 tracks to host two Sprint Cup races a year. The event annually contributes approximately $200 million in impact for the state, a key factor in the track’s increased stature within Arizona over the past five years. "Arizona has always been a very welcoming community to new ideas and to people moving here. Just as the state welcomed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing in 1988, I felt at home right when I arrived,” Sperber said. "This state has truly embraced NASCAR and it has especially welcomed our second NASCAR Sprint Cup race in April for five years." In a sign of appreciation for NASCAR’s home in Arizona, Sprint Cup Series drivers named PIR their No. 2 favorite race track in a 2007 Sports Illustrated survey. In 2006, under Sperber’s leadership, then-Governor Janet Napolitano named Phoenix International Raceway as an "Arizona Treasure,” – an honor bestowed upon PIR as a premier tourist destination within the State of Arizona. Another award garnered by PIR under Sperber’s watch is the John F. Long Lifetime Achievement Award from WESTMARC, which honors a person, organization or entity that has exemplified outstanding service by contribution to the lifestyle of Western Maricopa County. Sperber has twice been ranked among the top 5 “Power Brokers” by Arizona Sports & Leisure Magazine – ranking No. 2 in 2006 and No. 5 in 2005. In 2007 he was named to West Valley Magazine’s list of 24 “Movers & Shakers,” and in 2006 he was named to the Phoenix Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list of top executives. Prior to his arrival at PIR, Sperber served as president of Watkins Glen International in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Named to that position at the age of 30, Mr. Sperber became NASCAR’s youngest track president when he was promoted from his previous position as International Speedway Corporation’s Director of Sponsorships in 1997. Mr. Sperber began his career at ISC – parent company to PIR and Watkins Glen – in 1990. Extremely active in the community – both in business and philanthropic sectors – Mr. Sperber is an active member of Greater Phoenix Leadership (GPL), an organization dedicated to improving the greater Phoenix area and the State of Arizona by bringing together talent, resources, and leadership to create action on priority issues. He is also a member of Phoenix’s Young President’s Organization (YPO), and serves on the Arizona State University Foundation’s Board of Trustees. In his philanthropic efforts, Sperber is board president for Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Brandon Webb’s charitable “K Foundation,” and he is a co-founder and board member for Kyle Petty’s Victory Invitational Celebrity Golf Tournament. Sperber and his wife, Lara, reside in Peoria with their son, Aaron. |
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