The Sports Info Business

When I worked for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, now known as the Anaheim Ducks, part of my responsibilities included overseeing the community relations team for the hockey club.

The CR department had several goals but part of the responsibilities was overseeing special events and raising money for the foundation.

Recently, I spoke with a friend of mine who was planning a special event for her non profit group (non sports related) — you can see the background story at thesportscalendar blog . It made me think, how are these events valued, internally by a team and what can be done to help improve the results.

Here are a few brief thoughts that crossed my mind.

* Don’t just measure how much money was made.  Also figure out if you are generating more interest in terms of attendance, exposure from media an other variables

* Are you meeting your overall business goals?

* Are you following up with participants post-event — this is easily done via a survey to find out what was good and what can be improved.

* Test new components or twists when doing the same event year over year

* Certainly check for conflicts with other events and which days of the week have events performed the best.

* Don’t settle that you must continue to do things the same way as they have been done in the past

December is here and the holiday rush to buy presents is on.  In a related move, I recently posted a one question poll and asked, would you consider purchasing a comprehensive 2010 event schedule with a focus on sports?  The overwhelming majority, 66% said, yes, there is an interest in this solution.

Since then, I have been hard at work creating something that would fit everyone’s need.  You can visit it here at SportsCalendarPro.com

First, I created a master sports calendar.  It has every major sports event in the United States.  What did I include?  In no particular order, here is a listing of just SOME of the events.  The Super Bowl, The 2010 Winter Olympics, the 2010 World Cup, College Bowl Games, The Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500, the men’s and women’s college basketball NCAA tournament and Final Four, sports conferences for sports related events like the IEG Sponsorship Summit and the 2010 World Sports Congress.  There are about 100 sports events in all.

As a sports executive and dedicated sports fan, I want and need to know what is happening and when it is happening.  It would be nice to find everything in one place for the enter year.  I am tired of searching for the Next event.  It is also great for planning events.  Not a sports fan, but you may be involved in major life events like getting married or you are just planning major events like fundraising dinners?  Then this is ideal for you as well.  I cannot remember how many times a major golf event or fundraising dinner collided with a major sports event and either a TV was wheeled in an event or continuous updates were given to keep people informed.

Belowis a snap shot of the calendar for two weeks in April.  If you click on the image you can see it in a full screen view.

If you want additional details of the event itself, you can click on say The NCAA Frozen Four dates and you will see this

At SportsCalendarPro.com, I created the site where you can view it online via a gmail account and from there, you can easily download this or sync it with Outlook and iphone.  I did it and it now runs as event dates on my master calendar.

The second option is to purchase the 2010 Master Calendar.  This includes not only al of the sporting events, but also includes the 2010 Entertainment Calendar, the 2010 Technology Calendar and major U.S. holidays.  For example, want to know when the 2010 Academy Awards take place or the ESPYs?  Maybe you want to visit the Sundance Film Festival, CES in Las Vegas or Macworld?  Then, this option is for you.

Last, which you won’t find on the home page but you will find on the ordering page, is the 2010 Custom Calendar.  It includes all of the above and allows you to add four (total) sports team schedules to the mix. For example, say you live in New York or the Boston area.  You can add the 2010 schedule for the Yankees, Mets, Nicks and Islanders in one place.  Hate NY teams but love Boston sports?  Then you can choose the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics schedules.

You write a sports related blog?  This allows you to preview the event since you know what is coming up.

Okay, it is the first time I have blatently plugged a product in the year I have been writing this sports business blog, but it is my product and I really believe in it.

Please, visit the site, Re-Tweet and Post this onto facebook or Digg for others to see.

Consider purchasing this unique holiday gift for the sports fan or event planner in your life.

The good folks at Anschutz Entertainment Group, better known as AEG, asked me if I would post information to their career Fair and Workshop, which is slated for mid-November.  This is not the traditional method for entering the sports management business.  By traditional, I mean enrolling in an accredited college or university or a practical internship, but if AEG is hosting the event, there must be something to it.

They do have thousands and thousands of employees around the world so there is opportunity.  No question about it.

Here is the information as promised.  Happy job hunting.

LA Kings & AEG host the Sports & Entertainment Career Fair & Workshops

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at STAPLES Center

Have you always dreamed of working in the sports and entertainment industry?

You can learn more by attending the Sports and Entertainment Career Fair! This unique event will include Workshops, a Speakers Panel with industry leaders, and the opportunity to speak with representatives from the sports and entertainment industry in a Career Fair. Then watch the LA Kings take on the Philadelphia Flyers

immediately following the event. If you see a career in sports and entertainment in your future, this is an event you won’t want to miss!

Only $30 per Person!

Your Registration Includes:

• Admittance to the Sports & Entertainment Career Fair & Workshops
• Ticket to LA Kings vs. Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 18^th at 7:30 pm*

Optional upgrades available: 100 Level – $75 or 200 Level – $45

REGISTER BY NOVEMBER 4^th AND SAVE $5!

TIMELINE OF EVENTS:

2:30 – Check-In Begins

3:00 – 3:30 – Workshop Session 1

3:45 –  4:15 – Workshop Session 2

4:30 –  5:30 – Speakers Panel

5:30 –  7:30 – CAREER FAIR

7:30 – LA Kings vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Workshops Include:

• Resume Building & Interviewing Skills
• Getting the Job
• Marketing & Selling a Team
• Getting into the Entertainment Industry

To register and for an up-to-date list of companies attending please visit www.lakings.com/careerfair

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With the Dow passing the 10,000 mark for the first time in a year while unemployment is still hovering near 10 percent, there are many things that do not make sense to me right now.  Here are a few other things in sports that have also made me think

* Is anyone outside of Southern California talking about a possible World Series between the Dodgers and Angels?

* Was A-Rod’s breakout playoff series vs. the Twins (.455 BA with 2 HR and 6 RBI) a blip on the map or a trend for the 2009 playoffs?

* Will Notre Dame football break a recent trend vs. USC this weekend?  While the Irish still lead 42-33 in the 75 times the two teams have played, USC has won seven consecutive meetings and owns this decade.

* I am not living in Canada and make my home on California’s Coast, so I have not heard that much talk from people about the NHL hockey season yet.  Lots of pro football, college football andbaseball talk.  What the puck?

* Phillies and Dodgers Series starts tonight.  Rematch of last year’s MLB NLCS when Philadelphia won it going away in five games.

* Some college basketball teams officially began practicing last night with a tradition of “Midnight Madness.”  Most of the rest get underway this weekend.

* I like the story line in the Phillies and Dodgers series:  The Phillies have two former Dodger pitchers in Pedro Martinez and Chano Ho Park. They are trying to get back to the World series in consecutive yrears while the Dodgers are trying to get there for the first time since winning it all in 1988.

* Speaking of the Dodgers sad news in the media this morning.  Reports that owners Jamie and Frank McCourt have split up.  Isn’t this something that should be kept out of the media?

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A look ahead: Tomorrow we preview a new school that offers a sports management degree

I desperately needed a new cell phone.  The old Verizon phone worked okay but had been abused by years of bad hands and visiting the asphalt up close and personal.  While I was happy with the reception I got from Verizon, it was tough to respond to text messages.  I think each short message I responded to took about five minutes to complete.

My wife once again took matters into her own hands and surprised me with an Apple iPhone.  Like everything else I have come to expect from Apple, I was surprised by its functionality, light weight and plethora of gadgets.

Ah, yes, the gadgets.

It did not take long to get hooked on all of the gadgets that have been created for this mobile device.  Here I will review some of the free and paid sports applications.

Top 10 Paid Sports Apps according to Apple

According to statistics on the iPhone, Madden NFL 2010 is the top grossing app currently listed.  It costs $9.99 but fans rated it 4/5 stars out of five so they must know what they are talking about.  If you click on the photo to the left, iPhone provides the top 10 paid sports apps.  It is not a surprise that the leader in this category is Fantasy Football 2009.  A related app, ESPN Fantasy Football, at $4.99, is rated fourth on the list of top 25 top grossing apps (there is a difference in categories) and Golf shot GPS, with a $29.99 price tag is listed in the number nine slot.

I have not tried any of these applications nor been invited to test or write about them so I cannot tell you how good they are.  If you look down to the right, I have also provided a picture of the top 10 free apps which again is a Fantasy Football app from Yahoo!

I have started to download a few items, both sports and non sports related, so I can review and speak to these a bit.  The ESPN app is a cool and allows you to find the scores of major sports very fast.  The value of apps is that information is pushed directly to you, extremely fast.  The need for visiting a web site to receive specific information like sports scores is over.  I have loaded the ESPN app MLB scores, NFL scores, NBA scores, men’s and women’s tesnnis singles scores and NHL scores as well as PGA tour updates.

Top 10 Free Sports Apps according to Apple

MLB.com has a free app called At Bat Lite. It willl give you the line score of the games and you can easily move to the standings and the latest baseball video.

Nike teamed with iPod to offer a great application for anyone that likes to work out.  The app will sync with selected music you have and play the exact song you need when the time is right.  The program offers categoeis which include a basic mode (open ended workout), timed, distance and a calorie counter.  I am ashamed to say I have not tried it out yet.

This review is just trying to give you a taste of what is out there.  When I went to iTunes and then to the sports section of the apps available, there more 109 pages of apps.  Each NFL team for example, has a free app which lists the 2009-10 regular season football schedule.  The apps are endless and I must say a bit mind boggling.

While these apps are sports related, I have also reviewed other non sports related applications on my business blog.  It includes things you would expect like facebook, LinkedIn and Skpye but also some that you may or may not know about like Bump and Shazam.

You can see this review by going to www.coast2coastexperts.com and clicking on the link to the blog section, which is located at the top of the page.  These apps are more practical for every day life.  If you don’t have an Apple iPhone, some of this might seem a bit foreign to you.  Just to give you a taste, here is a link to a video on one of the Bump app.  Enjoy.

This week’s version of new sports job opportunities includes positions the NFL the NBA and NHL.  The Clippers and the Nashville Predators and Washington Redskins are all advertising internship opportunities.  There is also a listing for a Assistant Athletic Director for Business Operations in college.  Don’t forget that I have posted links on the web site, right hand rail to executive sports recruiters and other industry wide links which will hopefully help you moving forward.

2009-10 LAC Game Night Internship–Fan Relations – Los Angeles Clippers (Los Angeles, CA)

Applicants must be detail oriented, have customer service experience, strong communication and organizational skills and have an outgoing personality. The ability to handle multiple tasks efficiently and in a timely manner, work well in a team environment, perform under tight deadlines and exhibit sound judgment on a consistent basis is required.

Individuals selected must also have a flexible schedule that includes availability starting at 3:00pm Monday through Friday and all day on weekends. (ONLY APPLICANTS THAT MEET THE SCHEDULE REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS NEED APPLY) Internships will begin in the last week of September 2009 and run through May or June 2010, averaging two to three games per week. Game night interns will be required to attend all home games and special events.

Who We Are…

The Fan Relations Department is the fan’s link to the ultimate NBA experience! Our primary goal is to provide extraordinary service and exclusive opportunities for our valued Season Ticket Holders. Understanding the importance of fan retention is essential for this department.

We are dedicated to a year-round relationship of benefits to maximize the value of being a Clippers MVP.  Interns will gain an understanding of ticket sales/service responsibilities and how it is the backbone of any professional sports team. Interns will walk away with valid NBA sales, service and event planning experience, including contacts that will advance the pursuit of a career in the sports industry. Our department seeks passionate, fan-friendly individuals who enjoy coordinating special events and connecting with Clipper Nation. Excellent communication and conflict management skills, enthusiasm and ability to multi-task are favored!

Intern Job Description

Public Relations Internship – Atlanta Thrashers (Atlanta, GA)

The Atlanta Thrashers are currently looking for a Public Relations Intern for the 2009-2010 season. This is a temporary position (September – May) with full-time hours (averaging 40 per week) that are dictated by the team schedule. This is a great opportunity for a motivated individual to begin a career in professional sports in an exciting and challenging atmosphere.

This position is responsible for the organization’s credentialing process, including both full season and individual games; assisting with the production of game notes and statistical information and overseeing press area set-up and game day media relations functions. In addition, this position will assist with team publications (media guide, review guide, yearbook) and in the writing of press releases, media advisories and other written communications. Other responsibilities include capturing and preparing audio/video content for the web site, compiling media updates for team players/prospects, and other tasks as assigned.

Full Job Description

Redskins.com Marketing Intern – Washington Redskins (Ashburn, VA)

The Washington Redskins are seeking qualified individuals to join the Redskins.com Department as an Intern. The right individual will be able to work as part of a team or individually.

Qualifications

– Excellent communication skills required, both written and verbal.

- Photoshop, HTML, and Internet Experience strongly preferred.

– Above average computer skills are required.

– Proven experience to appropriately work with and around confidential information is necessary.

– Ability to work independently or as part of a team and ability to take direction is a must.

All internship candidates must be eligible to receive college credits. A proof of credit letter from your College or University is required. If you wish to become a part of this dynamic, fast-paced organization and you meet the requirements listed above, please apply online.

Link to job

The University of West Georgia

This position will direct the business and budgetary operations of the Athletics Department. Major responsibilities include developing and monitoring operation and scholarship budgets for 11 intercollegiate teams, Athletics Administration, and Sports Medicine. This position supervises departmental purchasing, reviews and approves individual and team travel expenses, and NCAA financial reports. The Assistant Athletic Director acts as liaison with vendors and university financial aid, business, and human resources offices concerning departmental business matters. This position is responsible for securing and coordinating the effective use of the department’s student athletic injury insurance coverage and supervises the game-day business operation for football and men’s and women’s basketball games and post-season tournaments. Candidates must be able to work effectively in a diverse university environment. Duties include work at night, on weekends, and some overnight travel.

Link to job

Marketing and Promotions Specialist

Lamar University

An entry level marketing and development position, working with the Assistant Athletic Director for Development, the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing, and the Coordinator for Development and Corporate Relations in the implementation of athletic events and activities. Strict adherence to established NCAA, Southland Conference, Lamar University and Texas State University System rules and regulations. A violation of these rules and regulations can lead to disciplinary action including termination.

Link to Lamar

The demand remains high for people wanting to work in the sports industry.  make sure to check back here for new sports job opportunities.  If you have a job to list, feel free to send it in and we will consider it.

Assistant Editor — Ultimate Fighting

The Assistant Editor is responsible for supporting the Zuffa edit staff in their daily needs, facilitating the duplication of the Zuffa tape library and supporting the needs of outside production vendors in their needs for content. This position is also responsible for trafficking promos and creating event PR reels along with convention DVD content loops. This position does not travel and remains at Zuffa headquarters. Due to space and the availability of equipment, this position generally works the swing shift.

• Digitizes content for use by editors

Arena Event Manager — AEG China

The Event Manager will develop, instruct, maintain, implement and manage all events at specific AEG venues in China. The Event Manager will act as direct liaison between the building and outside promoters hosting events at AEG’s China facilities.

Fan Development Executive — LA Kings

Los Angeles Kings is seeking an energetic individual who would like to gain experience in a fast-paced production environment. We are currently in need of an intern to assist in production and post-production at our offices in El Segundo. Candidates should be interested in the creative process behind Internet development. Interns will have the opportunity to experience all facets of development and production and work closely with the current team in place. This is a great opportunity to get into the industry with a great organization while enhancing your production skills!

Director – International Marketing Solutions ESPN

Scope of Responsibility:
Manage the development and execution of custom multimedia advertising and marketing solutions (TV, Digital, Audio, Mobile, Print, Events) for ESPN International’s advertising customers throughout the US, Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Act as lead partner with the International advertising sales team and regional marketing directors to drive revenue and off-channel support for ESPN properties. Interact directly with influencers and decision makers at the agency and client level. Collaborate with other ESPN divisions including programming, production, events, wireless, hospitality, consumer products and legal. Create fans of ESPN International Marketing Solutions among the international client base.

National Accounts Marketing Coordinator — Callaway Golf

This position is responsible for coordinating and execution of various marketing support activities for National Accounts.  This includes, but is not limited to, coordination and communication with account contacts to maintain current, consistent and accurate Callaway Golf brand information in all communications, supervision of production and implementation of custom fixtures (club and printed material holders) and printed point of sale (POS) (slip sheets, posters, banners…) materials, ongoing oversight of customer web sites, and coordination of materials needed for sales contests, brand promotions and other special events.   Responsible for working with, and fulfilling the marketing needs of the National Account Managers and assisting in preparation and delivery of presentations for various account meetings. Maintains marketing calendars for National Accounts.

Internship Opportunites – Seattle Seahawks (Seattle, WA)

We have a current internship opening in our Digital Media department. Specific and detailed job descriptions for each position will be provided to the selected intern once the final candidates have been determined.

Orlando Magic — Administration/General Management:

The Corporate Office Administrator will manage the day-to-day office administration for the Office of the President/CEO, Chief Operating Officer, and the DeVos Families.

JOB RELATIONSHIPS
• Reports To: Chief Operating Officer
• Indirectly Reports To: President/CEO (based in Grand Rapids, Michigan)
• Supervises: Event Planner

Lawrence Cohen is currently President and Founder of Beyond the Arc Sports Consultants, a sports marketing firm established to assist non-sports entities in utilizing sports assets to grow their business.

Before launching his own firm, Cohen served as Vice President of Sales for the Philadelphia 76ers. During his tenure with the 76ers, Cohen introduced multiple key ticketing initiatives including All You Can Eat tickets, Guys Night Out, Family Packs, Buzzer Beater Club, Club 76, and secondary ticketing (Ticket Rebound) that generated nearly $2 million in annual sales.

As the sports management industry continues to change, I thought it was about time to feature a consultant, in the sports management business.  Lawrence is the feature for our 10 questions with a sports executive this week.

1. Tell Us What Your Average Week is Like?

Now that I am a consultant, my week is very different than when I worked for a team.  I spend a lot of time networking with people in the industry, either via phone, in-person or e-mail.  I also spend a lot of time developing proposals.  Finally, I have to do the work I promised!

2. Tell us about your Career Path, including your Current Job.

I started as an intern at a company called Spectacor Management Group, where I was hired following the conclusion of my internship.  At SMG I worked as both a consultant on public assembly facility projects and as a marketing manager, coordinating our RFP responses, presentations, and presence at tradeshows.

After about 5 years at SMG, I decided to return to school and got my law degree.  I thought this would help me in my career, as I had spent a considerable amount of time reviewing legal documents.

Upon completing law school, I was recruited by Disney Sports to assist with their integration of the Anaheim Angels (Disney owned the Ducks at that point).  I held several positions while with Disney Sports including Director of Ticket Sales and Customer Service, Director of Advertising Sales and Broadcasting, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

After Disney Sports, I joined Tickets.com, where I was responsible for managing the company’s baseball portfolio, including both Major and Minor League baseball teams.  Ultimately, Tickets.com was purchased by MLBAM.

Prior to going out on my own, I served as Vice President of Sales for the Philadelphia 76ers.

3. What was the best advice you ever received and let us know if you follow it today?

The best advice I ever received was “don’t be a chicken.”  I have adhered to this concept throughout my career, as each position I accepted was not a “safe” job.  Always be willing to accept new challenges, no matter how daunting they appear.

4. What are your top sports memories you are most fond of telling others?

My memory is going to make me sound like a washed up high school jock!  But, here goes.  In High School, we were playing for the league basketball championship.  I was assigned the unenviable task of guarding the other team’s center, who was 6’7” and 200 lbs. (by comparison, I was 6’3” and 150 lbs soaking wet!).  Well, I fought this kid tooth and nail the whole game.  Fought him for position in the post, boxed him out, and generally frustrated the heck out of him.  We ended up winning the game and one of my teammates scored 25 points.  In the locker room after the game, the coach asked who should get the game ball.  Of course, all of my teammates said the player who scored all of the points.  Coach yelled at them and said “Larry should get the game ball!”  He then went on to sing my praises about how my determination to shut down their center was the reason we won the game.

Lesson learned:  It is the little things that will make you successful in life.

5. Describe the areas of opportunity for growth for the rest of 2009.

I think there will be continued growth opportunity in the social media space.  I don’t know that anybody has in sports has really figured out how to monetize this yet, but somebody will and therein lies the opportunity.

6. For someone still in college, do you suggest experience with internships or going on to Graduate School and Why?

I suggest a combination (sorry!).  I think someone in college should gain experience through internships and even work for a couple of years.  Then, go back to graduate school.  I think the practical experience and maturity you gain by working before returning to school make the graduate school experience that much more rewarding.

7. Name a Few Mentors you have had and Why They’ve Had an Impact

Father – Always tells it to me straight and has had my best interest at heart.

Tony Tavares – Provided me great opportunities to grow in my career.  Constantly challenged me.

8. In the last 6-9 months, the Economy has changed the way we do business? What are the biggest changes you have seen?

From the sports side, we all became reliant on corporate dollars to feed our need for more revenue.  As a result, we lost our way with “true” fans (based on the definition of fan).  Now, with corporate dollars drying up, I see many teams trying to re-connect with fans’ passion.  I think this change will be permanent and necessary for the survival of sport.

9. Executives always talk about passion in your job.  What are you passionate about and why.

I am addicted to sold-out buildings.  The electricity in the air is what makes sports so much fun for me.

10. If I had it to do all over again, I would change the following things about my path…..

Not a thing!

Nicole Allison is entering her 5th season with the National Hockey League.  Nicole has worked in the Club Consulting and Services Department where her main responsibility is to work closely with member Clubs on all facets of the business- ticketing, sponsorships and marketing. Nicole previously worked for the Phoenix Coyotes for two (2) years as Director, Sales and Service where she was responsible for all ticket sales as well as the relocation to Glendale Arena.  During the lockout, Nicole worked as Director, Community Relations and Fan Development.

Prior to working for the Coyotes, Nicole worked at the Philadelphia Flyers for five (5) years as Director, Sales and Service.  Starting as an intern in the Public Relations Department, she then moved into the Sales and Services Department as a Manager.  In this role, she oversaw all aspects of Season Ticket/Partial Plan renewals and sales as well as all individual game promotions. Nicole attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH where she received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Journalism.  She received eight varsity letters during her tenure, playing field hockey and lacrosse.

1. Tell Us What Your Average Week is Like?

In Club Consulting, we meet with NHL Clubs to review ticket sales, sponsorships and anything else they need to discuss.  We also have many phone calls (whether individual or conference calls) to work with Clubs on getting information that could help them either sell more tickets or secure more sponsorships, analyze reports to see trends in the business, set up conference calls in regards to ticketing and sponsorships, plan regional meetings based on certain topics (Retention Meetings, CRM, etc).  Depending on travel/season my work week can run anywhere from 45-70 hours.

2. Tell us about your Career Path, including your Current Job.

After college I became a PR Assistant/Intern at USA Basketball for about 6 months and then became an intern at the Philadelphia Flyers in their PR department.  After completing that assignment, I volunteered at Comcast SportsNet and then was an assistant to the VP, Operations for a few months until I was offered the position as Manager/Director, Sales and Service at the Philadelphia Flyers. That position was responsible for overseeing all renewals, individual game sales, marketing promotions as well as planning all events for ticket holders.  After 5 years at the Flyers, I was offered a position as Director, Sales and Service for the Phoenix Coyotes.  After working for a traditional and “sold-out” Club, I had wanted to try working for a non-traditional market and get more experience selling tickets in addition to growing the fan base in Arizona.  After the lockout, I took a role at the NHL in the Club Services Department.  Here we work with all the Clubs on all league initiatives as well as assist Clubs with ticketing and sponsorship best practices and analysis.  Moving forward I will be working in the Partnership Marketing Department.

3. What was the best advice you ever received and let us know if you follow it today?

Its all about people.  Make sure you have the right people in the right spots and take care of them.  Work should be a family of sorts and if your people are happy and growing professionally, the work and their efforts will show it.  I also make sure to never ask someone to do something I either haven’t done or wouldn’t do myself.  Can’t be “too big” for any task.

4. What are your top sports memories you are most fond of telling others?

My favorite sports memory (in the business) is with the Philadelphia Flyers.  It was after 9/11 and the Flyers were playing the NY Rangers in a pre-season game.  The President spoke on national TV that night to announce that we had just gone to war in Afghanistan.  We played the interview on the jumbotron (was during the 2nd intermission).  My boss at the time, Ron Ryan who was the President at the time, came down to the bench to speak with the Rangers.  They called the game.  Both agreed it was not the right thing to play a hockey game after an announcement like that.  The teams shook hands.  When I got home, it was the top story on Nightline.

5. Describe the areas of opportunity for growth for the rest of 2009.

In a nutshell- data capture/analysis and retention efforts.  We are all moving towards different means to reach people- so data capture is important.  Taking the data received and analyzing it is so much more important.  Clubs will need to be more strategic in how they attack ticket sales and sponsorships (whether new or old) and be able to show ROI- not only to corporations (sponsors and suite holders) but to season ticket holders.  There are so many events/activities families can do now that we need to show them the money is well spent and be as flexible as they need us to be.  Companies are holding back and will only put their money where they think will help them grow THEIR business.

6. What has changed the most since you joined the NHL?

We are much more strategic in what we do and how we go about doing it.  To me, the NHL is only getting stronger.  This past year alone, we surpassed everything we could have hoped for in terms of growing the fan base- between the Winter Classic, Premiere Games in Europe, the Playoffs, and our players’ popularity.

7. Name at 1-3 Mentors you have had Why They’ve Had an Impact

1. Ron Ryan, Former President of the Philadelphia Flyers.  Probably the smartest man I have ever worked with and a great person who cared very deeply for his team and people .  I learned more in 5 years with him than in anything else I have ever done.  To this day, I always ask “What would Ron do”?  2. I would also have to mention Chris Overholt, VP, Marketing Partnerships at the Miami Dolphins.  Have known him since his days with the Toronto Maple Leafs when I was just starting out at the Flyers.  I have a great deal of respect for what he has done and how he does it.  Whenever I need advice, I still bug him.  He always gets it right.  3. Reid Watson- (he’s Mr. Watson to me) my high school history teacher and a lacrosse coach.  Those who know him would agree!

8. In the last 6-9 months, the Economy has changed the way we do business?

Retention and ROI.  More emphasis on both and shift in top categories.  Gone are the days where sports is a privilege, we now need to be better partners to our partners.  We need to show them that we can help them and not vice versa.

9. What are you passionate about and Why.

People.  When it comes to fans, I love to make them happy and fight for their needs.  Its a great release from everyday worries- especially in these times.  When it comes to people in our industry- whats intriguing to me is that everyone (for the most part) starts at the bottom and works their way up- so they know what its like to be in the trenches.  Everyone is there to help each other- no matter what Club/League you are working in.  Makes the long hours much more bearable when you know you are working with great people who not only care about the sport, but also about their colleagues successes.

10. If I had it to do all over again, I would change the following things about my path…..

I would have gone to Business School.  Still might.  But then again, I don’t think I would be where I am today if I had just done that.  For what I do, you need hands on experience.  Although, I’d be much better at Excel.

Everybody loves rankings.  We rank Top 10, top 25 and always fight about “Who’s Number 1″  Today, ESPN The magazine has come out with a ranking of the top 122 professional sports franchises and their respective rankings.

The best to worst sports polls and team rankings has been released.  Here are some of the following criteria used for this year’s poll from online fan voting of 50,000 online participants:  Affordability, Coaching, Ownership, Fan Relations, Title Track, Players and Stadium Experience.

Best Coaches:  Spurs and Patriots tied for the number 1 overall

Players:  Best effort belonged to the Spurs, Cavaliers ranked first on the likeability scale.

The Detroit Red Wings were ranked at the top for getting the most out of the money they spend.  Here are the bottom five-ranked franchises, according to this survey.

BOTTOM FIVE

122. Clippers

121. New York Knicks

120. Toronto Maple Leafs

119. Detroit Lions

118 Cincinnati Bengals

and the top ranked organizations…….

THE TOP FIVE

1. Los Angels Angels

2. Carolina Hurricanes

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Cleveland Cavilers

Some other notable teams and where they ranked

Anaheim Ducks (11), New Jersey Devils (38(, NY Giants (45), LA Dodgers (50), LA Lakers (51), New York Mets (82), NY Rangers (93), LA Kings (95), NY Jets (103), NY Yankees (107) and NY Islanders (115).

If you want to read the entire press release from ESPN with the rankings, here is the link.

In an unnrelated survey, Compete, a TNS Media company, yesterday released the rankings of the top ten sports fan sites for May 2009, based on data from Compete’s panel of two million US-based internet users. Even with the NBA and NHL playoffs underway in May, Major League Baseball (MLB) fans outnumbered NBA fans online more than two to one and NHL fans more than four to one. According to Compete, number-one ranked MLB.com reached more than 12,227,000 sports enthusiasts in May 2009 (up 35% since May 2008), followed by NBA.com with 5,624,776 unique visitors (UVs), Nascar.com with 3,716,636 UVs and NHL.com with 2,899,406 UVs.  Here is a graph to help understand all of the numbers.