Joel Lamp, sports development manager with the Huntsville Convention and Visitors Bureau since 2021, has a lifelong passion for sports and communities.
In his more than 20 years’ experience in sports and entertainment, Lamp helped bring the national spotlight to Northeast Florida when it hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball championship. He oversaw the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2018. He also was senior associate athletics director at Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida. Lamp helped launch the Moe’s Classic, a two-day college and high school lacrosse event at TIAA Bank Field and helped bring the USA Cycling Amateur Road Nationals to Clay County, Florida, in 2021.
Lamp and his wife, Bonnie, are the parents of a son, Steven.
Sporting events in Huntsville gained more than $50 million in 2024. (contributed)
Alabama Living: Sports tourism brought in more than $600 million to Alabama in economic impact in 2024, according to Sports Alabama’s Annual Report. Why do you think this is the case, and why is it important for cities to be interested in developing their towns as sports destinations?
Joel Lamp: For us in Huntsville, sports events in 2024 brought in more than $50 million – the first time we’ve ever hit that mark. The great thing about sports is that any city or town can get into the sports tourism business. All you need is a field, the right support mechanisms and a little bit of vision to get into the game. Youth sports are a great gateway into that. Parents are going to do whatever they can to give their child an opportunity to chase their dreams in sports. It’s one of the lessons learned during COVID. The first tourism segment that bounced back, and somewhat carried the industry, was sports for that very reason.
A lot of cities already have a person in a role like mine. Fourteen different destinations are members of Sports Alabama, each one with a person who is heavily involved in bringing sporting events to their destination. I think that number will continue to grow as more cities across the state invest more in facilities and want to create more usage for their venues by bringing in visitors on the weekends.
AL: What is a typical day like for you?
Lamp: Each day starts early with a trip to the gym at 5 a.m., and I like to be in the office by 7:30. From there, it’s organized chaos – from meetings across the community, trying to promote an upcoming event, as well as chasing the next event that could be years away. Every day is juggling those priorities to make sure that we hit the mark for our clients to have a successful event.
AL: What’s your biggest accomplishment in your position to date?
Lamp: We’ve had a lot of big wins since jumping into this role. We’re building our resume as a college basketball market with the Rocket City Classic in the fall and the Conference USA basketball championships in March. We landed four NCAA championship events in the most recent bid cycle – including Huntsville’s first opportunity to host a national championship in 2027. Bringing a college football game to the home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas was a fun project, but our recently completed Rocket City Softball Showcase – where we took the baseball stadium and turned it into a softball complex – is the one that stands out the most at the moment.
AL: What’s your favorite way to relax; any hobbies?
Lamp: I am an avid golfer, and with my son playing golf in high school, it’s a lot of fun on the weekends when we don’t have events to spend time with him on the course.
This story originally appeared in Alabama Living magazine.
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