DBT40 Honoree: Ryan Wolfe

Title: Sports Sales Leader

Ryan Wolfe | DBT PHOTO BY LUIGI CIUFFETELLI

Workplace: Delaware Tourism Office

Age: 35

Ryan Wolfe has spent the last four years working regional and national conferences to help draw sports events of all types to Delaware, mainly targeting the multi-million dollar youth sports tourism industry. In his first year on the job, he helped plan Delaware’s blueprint for COVID-19 mitigation efforts, allowing teams to return to the field during the pandemic. Wolfe’s efforts with the Delaware Tourism Office helped put the state on the map, working to land major events such as the PGA Tour, the BMW Championship, which brought 125,000 people to the First State in August 2022. Wolfe helped create the groundwork to draw in more events which, in turn, brought in more visitors and $100 million in economic impact to the state.

Since the sports tourism industry relies on partnerships between the public and private sector, Wolfe has been instrumental as serving as a bridge between the tourism industry and event organizers. To support the state’s growing interest in sports tourism, he has helped manage the state’s first Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund which awarded close to $12 million to four venues this year alone. 

Out of the office, Wolfe helped lead his Leadership Delaware class in 2023 raise more than $30,000 for Easterseals Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore as part of the annual volleyball challenge. The challenge includes working with 29 people to plan events throughout the state that would draw attention to the nonprofit. 

Wolfe likes to say the stars aligned when he met his wife. The pair met when he was one of twenty candidates who was interviewing for a job. He did not get the job that time, but he did meet his wife-to-be again months later.