Joel Koester, Director of Sports Sales for the Tulsa Sports Commission.

Joel is a 12-year industry veteran. Prior to being in Tulsa, Joel was with the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau as their sports sales manager for 8-years. In 12-year Joel has successfully hosted over 400+ youth, amateur, and professional sporting events.

In the 12 years in sports tourism industry, Joel has been bestowed as one of Connect Sports Magazine’s 40 Under 40, the SportsEvents Magazine Readers Choice Award, awarded six separate times for different events, Connect Sports Game Changer award, and most recently Sports ETA Sports Commission of the Year, population over 500,000.

In 4 short years of being in Tulsa, Joel has hosted over 200 sporting events and has attracted the likes of 7+ USA NGB national tournaments, NCAA D1 Wrestling Championships, Big 12 Conference Championships, Major League Fishing, 2025 Sports ETA Annual Symposium, and several professional golf tournaments. In February of 2022, Joel, and the Tulsa Sports Commission in partnership with the City of Tulsa cut the ribbon on the new USA BMX national headquarters, hall of fame, and Hardesty National Track which was a $23 million dollar investment. In just over a year, the facility has had over 30,000 visitors.