Travis Gafford, previously with Portland Timbers FC of Major League Soccer, has been named Senior Director of Ticket Sales, Service and Operations for Texas Motor Speedway. Gafford spent the past year as director of the newly formed premium sales and service department for the Timbers. He was the head of a department that was responsible for selling and servicing 1,500 new club seats and 24 renovated suites as part of the Timbers’ $70 million venue expansion. His group was on pace to sell out the premium expansion by early 2019, nearly three months ahead of the completion of the project.
In his new role with Texas Motor Speedway, Gafford will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the ticket office, new business, service and retention, group sales, corporate sales and camping. His department also will handle the premium sales for the Victory Lane Club, The Speedway Club and Busch Restart Bar. “Joining the already stellar leadership team at Texas Motor Speedway was an opportunity that was too good to pass up,” Gafford said. “My family and I are excited to be back, close to friends and family in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I am excited to get to work and take our sales, service and operations departments to the next level.” This marks a return for Gafford to Texas and Dallas/Fort Worth in particular, where he previously flourished in sales for the NHL’s Dallas Stars and NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. He was with the Stars from 2012-16, including the last two years as a senior leader on the club’s premium sales team. The tenure was highlighted by being named the Stars’ salesperson of the year for the 2014-15 season and being an integral part of the organization’s New Business division that was among the NHL’s top five for sales. He moved over to the NBA in 2016 when he was hired by Spurs Sports and Entertainment as manager of inside sales. Gafford spent a year with the organization hiring and training 14 new business consultants as well as prospecting new business leads for reps among his various ticketing responsibilities that consisted of selling across the Spurs, San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League, Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League, San Antonio FC of the United Soccer League and AT&T Center events.
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