Unfinished business
Before the pandemic, SEAT was set to head to Minneapolis. Then COVID hit, and the event never happened. It has stuck with me ever since.
“In trying to figure out where we were going to land next after Charlotte, I always wanted to bring closure to what was the COVID event. I wanted to make sure that St. Paul and Minneapolis had its opportunity to be at the forefront.”
My own history is also wrapped up in this. A part of my SEAT origin story runs through U.S. Bank Stadium, so bringing the community back to the Twin Cities feels like closing a loop.
A community worth showing off
The Twin Cities have built something special. Sports organizations there aren’t working in a bubble. They’ve built a technology collective that connects sports with other industries, and our community can learn a lot from it.
“One of the things that I absolutely love is the technology collective they’ve built between sports and other industries. They work with the Mayo Clinic, they work with a lot of adjacent verticals. I wanted to help show off what they’re doing, because I think there’s some absolutely great stuff for us to learn from that.”
And it’s about the people. Folks like John Avenson with the Twins, Matt Johnson with the Vikings, and Justin Butler with the Timberwolves have been longtime members of the SEAT community and longtime supporters of what we do.
“All of these folks have been longtime SEAT community members who’ve supported us, and I just want to show off the cool stuff that they’ve been doing.”
Summer in St. Paul
I’ll say it plainly: I really like St. Paul. I’ve been there half a dozen times, and it’s a great town in the middle of summer.
“One of the cool pieces about this is the 3M Open will actually be taking place right after SEAT completes in July. So that week is going to be a fantastic week. If you’re a golf fan, you can stick around town for the end of the tournament.”
So if you’re planning your trip, consider making it a week.
What’s next
We’ll announce the venue, the program and SEAT City in the coming months, and registration opens soon.
For now, lock in July 19–21 2027 on your calendar.
The best way in: make your organization a member
If you want the most out of SEAT 2027, don’t wait for registration. Become a member now.
Membership is open to everyone today, and it’s where the real value is. What we learned from our post-SEAT 2026 survey was simple: you want more time together, all year long, not just three days in July.
“The biggest learning on our side was that more opportunities were needed to get together with the community. That’s leading into what our membership is moving forward, where there are more times where we’re going to be gathering together.”
Here’s what your organization gets:
- A SEAT 2027 registration included with team, league, venue and education memberships.
- Access to our content library – Every session from SEAT 2026 in Charlotte, available on demand for your whole organization.
- Access for your whole team. One organization signs up, and we connect everyone from IT and venue tech to data, CX, digital and ticketing. Everyone in your team will get access as a member.
- Member pricing for SEAT 2027: one attendee included in membership, but we often hear how much cross-department value there is when your colleagues attend SEAT.
- Monthly roundtables, now exclusive to members.
- Regional get-togethers: morning coffees, lunches and happy hours when RC and I are in your town.
Sign up once at seatconference.com/membership, then reply to your welcome email with who else on your team should have access. Paige Coble, our Member and Event Experience Coordinator, will get everyone set up.
For our partners
Vendors can now join SEAT as members too, which opens the door to the roundtables and to working with the community all year. For 2027, we’re capping vendor tickets at 40% so the room stays balanced and valuable for everyone. Read our Partner Standard, then talk to R.C. Woodson at rc@seatconference.com.
See you in St. Paul
Thank you to everyone who made Nashville and Charlotte what they were. St. Paul has been a long time coming, and I can’t wait to show you what the Twin Cities have built.
See you in July.
Josh Barney
CEO, SEAT
