Thanks to the sales and marketing groundwork that has been laid by our Meet Minneapolis team and our community partners over the past few years, we have a bevy of diverse events set for the rest of 2018 that will allow us to sustain the strong start to the year.

I have noted some of the key events for the remainder of 2018 below, however, I would like to further illuminate some of those.

The National Education Association was originally confirmed for Minneapolis in 2009 due to its sheer size and difficulty in securing a destination that can meet all of its needs. We anticipate 16,000 attendees. With the national focus on teachers and with 2018 being a midterm election year, this should be an exciting event.

ESPN’s X Games will be back for year two of its four year run at U.S. Bank Stadium. With the many hours of live network and cable coverage, we will be able to really tout our community’s “cool factor.”

The America Legion will hold its centennial event here in August. It is fitting that we host them again as we were also the site of their very first convention.

Working with our University of Minnesota Athletics partners, we have had considerable success in securing NCAA championship events. The 2018 Division I Women's Volleyball Championship is the latest example. That will take place in Minneapolis in December.

So, we are excited that our partners and stakeholders will be able to benefit from these and other groups coming for the rest of 2018. Stay tuned for a midyear review of our 2018 key performance indicators in the near future. I know you will be pleased with the work our team has done so far this year in making sure we will have more to celebrate in years to come.

As always, thank you very much for your partnership.

6/30 – 7/5
National Education Association – 2018 NEA Annual Meeting

7/19 – 7/22
ESPN Original Entertainment – 2018 Summer X Games

7/26 – 7/28
Women’s National Basketball Association – 2018 All Star Game

8/3 - 8/7
American Correctional Association – 2018 Congress of Correction

8/24 - 8/30
The American Legion – 2018 National Convention

9/3 - 9/7
National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. – 2018 Annual Session

9/21 - 9/22
Delta Vacations – 2018 Delta University

9/22 - 9/27
International Association of Assessing Officers 2018 – 84th Annual International Conference on Assessment Administration

10/18 - 10/20
Society of Women Engineers – 2018 Annual Conference

11/14 -11/17
National Associations for Gifted Children – 2018 Annual Convention & Exhibition

12/13 - 12/15
NCAA Women's Volleyball – 2018 Division I Volleyball Championship

*Photo credit: Garth Milan with ESPN Images