Twenty five major sporting events and venues from around the world have made the first round of The Ultimate Sports List, a free social media-based website for sports travelers available at www.tusl.com, as voted on by fans from across the United States.

The website, which launches today, is releasing the Top 150 Sporting Events in the World through June 11 when the Top 10 List will be revealed. The List was accrued by more than 20,000 votes from sports fans.

The Ultimate Sports List, developed by Cincinnati entrepreneur Tom Walsh, provides a number of interactive, social elements for sports fans to engage with their favorite sporting events, venues and teams. 

According to the Sports Marketing 2009 Study*, the sports travel market represents a $44.5 billion industry each year in the United States, second only to the sporting goods industry at $53.7 billion. The U.S. sports market represents $185 billion spent annually. 

“As a sports fan who travels regularly to sporting events, I wanted to create an interactive website for fans to share their experiences and opinions about the events and venues in a social media environment,” said Tom Walsh, creator of The Ultimate Sports List and a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. “Think of TUSL.com as a virtual sports bar where fans gather to rank and discuss the world’s greatest sporting events.”  

The Top 150 sporting events from around the world will be featured on the website with event, travel and ticket information along with insider tips on how to enjoy the venue and activities associated with the event. Sports fans will also have the opportunity to share experiences, photos and videos from their travels.  

The Ultimate Sports List will be unveiled over a two week period beginning June 1. The first week, from June 1-4, the events ranked 51-150 will be released in increments of 25 per day. From June 7-11, the top 50 events will be released each day in increments of 10, culminating, with the release the world’s Top 10 sporting events on June 11.

TUSL.com creates interactive opportunities for sports fans by:

My Passport : Sports fans can check off the sporting events and venues that they have personally attended and receive a rating based on the number and rank of those events.

My Ultimate Sports List: Sports fans can create their own wish list of events they would like to attend or create their list of the world’s top events and eventually, local events.

Great Debate: The website will encourage sports fans to debate and share opinions on their favorite sports events, venues and/or teams in a jovial and fan-friendly manner.

Voting Booth: The website will have its Voting Booth open daily for fans to vote on their favorite events. Once each year, the Top 150 will be updated based on the fan’s voting.

 *Source: Sports Marketing 2009 Study by Richard K. Miller & Associates