SportsPro Magazine - February 2013 Edition by SportsPro Media

THE 25 STORIES THAT SHAPED THE YEAR www.sportspromedia.com

February 2013

FEBRUARY 2013 | Issue 51

BRAD DREwETT

His first year in the chair at the ATP AUSTRALIA: Inside sport’s most competitive market Page 56 BASKETBALL: The Celtics’ guide to season after season sell-outs Page 68

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SOCCER: Alexey Sorokin forges a new path for Russia 2018 Page 72

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CONTENTS | FEBRUARY 2013 - ISSUE NUMBER 51

Contents

56 Cover story 38 Diary of a President: Brad Drewett Brad Drewett is executive chairman and president of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the top level of men’s tennis. During a busy period at the end of the 2012 tennis season, he gave SportsPro a seven-day snapshot of his life and a behind-the-scenes tour of his working world.

Insights 24 Insight Uefa confirms multinational Euro 2020 26 25 stories that shaped the sporting year

Special Report: Tennis 46 A head of the game Romanian maverick Ion Tiriac has transformed the Madrid Open into one of the biggest events on the professional men’s tennis tour. With a skin so thick it’s almost impenetrable to criticism, he remains hell-bent on shaking up the tennis world. 50 Girls on film Eurosport is one of the most prolific tennis broadcasters in the world. As its deputy head of acquisitions Geraldine Filiol explains, it has done more than most in recent years to develop coverage of the sport, and the women’s game in particular.

Brad Drewett 52 Unlimited potential The commercial opportunities of the tennis boom have cascaded from the top-ranked players on both tours to a tranche of players just below. It is up to agents like Lagardère Unlimited’s John Tobias to make the most of them.

Features 56 In the driving seat Former Fox Sports executive David Malone has spent 12 months patrolling the pit-lanes of Australia, learning the intricacies of V8 Supercars. With the series on the cusp of a host of changes, he is a chief executive with plenty on his plate as the 2013 season nears.

60 Playing by the rules Gill McLachlan, chief operating officer of the Australian Football League, and media rights advisor Colin Smith analyse a unique Australian market where the new challenge is avoiding congestion. 64 Making hockey stick The International Hockey Federation has set itself the target of having fully integrated its new World League product into a fresh commercial structure and a crowded calendar by 2014. 68 Gotham’s city Boston Celtics president Rich Gotham keeps his team contending by ensuring the business operation is flush. His magic formula: plain old ticket sales.

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CONTENTS | FEBRUARY 2013 - ISSUE NUMBER 51

Contents 72 A road less travelled It was clear when Fifa chose Russia to host the 2018 World Cup that there would be plenty of work ahead. Russia 2018 chief executive Alexey Sorokin is relishing the task. 78 Between the developer and the deep Black Sea Sochi staged its first Peace and Sport International Forum in November. For many delegates, it was the first encounter with the host of what promises to be an unusual winter Games. 84 Safe and sound The International Centre for Sport Security has established itself as a global hub of expertise. Its executive director, Helmut Spahn, sets out his rigorous guidelines to putting on a secure event.

104

90 Growing a culture The owners of Sporting Kansas City, Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers, and Major League Soccer’s marketing director Howard Handler describe how the league’s future is being met with ambition and handled with care. 96 Ramming it home St Louis Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff is the man tasked with liaising with the club’s owner, Stan Kroenke. He insists the franchise remains firmly rooted in St Louis, for now. 100 Taking the Bulls by the horns The Bradford Bulls rugby league team were on the brink of liquidation before Omar Khan rescued them. He explains how and why he did it. 104 Keeping it in the family The Sauber Formula One team is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013. With Peter Sauber’s son Alex heading up marketing operations, Formula One’s family business is remaining just that. 108 State of the Union Marc Audrit is taking cause marketing to a new level by making it the core focus of Western Union’s new headline partnership with the Uefa Europa League.

Back Story 112 The Lloyds account Lloyds TSB has given SportsPro access to its Programme Evaluation Report, an internal document telling the story of the bank’s London 2012 tier one domestic partnership. Written by Lloyds Olympic executives Sally Hancock, Gordon Lott and Stuart Beaver, this extract offers a revealing insight into the strategy of the first domestic partner to sign up with Locog.

Company Profile 119 Media Action Sports: Roll on 2013

Columns 6 8 9 12 14 15 16 18 22 126 128 130

Editor’s Letter Notes and Observations The Martyn Ziegler Column Digest Thought Leader - John Wallace Premature Facts Movers and Shakers Gallery SportsPro World Index The Last Word Jottings

Deals Directory 120 Sponsorship Deals: Nov/Dec 2012

SportsPro (ISSN 1756 5340), ( February 2013 edition) is published monthly by SportsPro Media Ltd and distributed in the USA by Mail Right Int., 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Periodicals Postage Paid at Piscataway, NJ and additional mailing offices POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SportsPro, SportsPro Media, C/o 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway NJ 08854

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EDITOR’S LETTER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Cushnan EDITOR James Emmett SUB EDITOR Eoin Connolly DIGITAL EDITOR Tom Love STAFF WRITER Michael Long EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Ian McPherson ART DIRECTOR Stuart Wright CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Graham Fudger PHOTOGRAPHIC AGENCY Action Images MEDIA PARTNER Press Association COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nick Meacham COMMERCIAL CONSULTANT Richard Partridge BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERS Jon Abraham, Bobby Hare, Kishore Gaus, William Dobson, Josh Carmody SUBSCRIPTIONS Bhav Sahota BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER Yéwandé Aruléba Official recruitment partner:

SportsPro magazine is published by: SportsPro Media Ltd Trans-World House, 100 City Road, London EC1Y 2BP, UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 549 3250 Fax: +44 (0) 207 549 3255 Email: info@sportspromedia.com Web: www.sportspromedia.com (SportsPro Media Ltd is part of the Henley Media Group Ltd - www.henleymediagroup.com) NOTICES: February 2013 Issue No 51 SportsPro Magazine (ISSN 1756-5340) is published monthly on the ﬁrst Thursday of the prior month to the cover date. Printed in the EU. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available at a cost of UK£149 US$249 €170 and delivered anywhere in the world at no extra charge. Back issues are available to subscribers for UK£10 US$17 €11 and available to non-subscribers for UK£20 US$34 €22. Subscriptions are available by logging on to www.sportspromedia.com EDITORIAL COPYRIGHT: The contents of this magazine, both words and statistics, are strictly copyright and the intellectual property of SportsPro Media. Copying or reproduction may only be carried out with written permission of the publishers, which will normally not be withheld on payment of a fee. Article reprints: Most articles published in SportsPro Magazine are available as reprints by prior arrangement from the publishers. Normal minimum print run for reprints is 400 copies, although larger and smaller runs are possible. Please contact us at: info@sportspromedia.com

aving had the good fortune to live through what was an extraordinary year of sport in its epicentre here in London, there is a stronger tendency than usual to look at this year, an odd one, as a comparative sporting abyss. Like money, however, the sports business never sleeps. A scan of the horizon through a sports industry periscope reveals a panorama of activity, of political manoeuvring, of landmark votes, life-changing decisions, and infrastructural and organisational preparations that have the potential to shape sport for years to come and to transform nations in the process. There is no mega-event to look forward to this year – no Olympics and no Fifa World Cup – but perhaps it is better to look upon 2013, or any odd year for that matter, in classic, arable crop rotation terms. Every so often the plot must lie fallow for a season, the sporting soil must be tilled and repaired, in order for it to be inordinately more fruitful the next. There are, of course, plenty of major sports events to be staged in 2013, but this looks set to be a year in which much of the crucial action takes place behind the curtain. Needless to say, SportsPro will be there, rummaging behind the scenes to bring you the inside line on, to cherrypick a few examples: the race for 2020, as three cities, seven sports and at least three presidential contenders vie for Olympic votes at an IOC showdown in Buenos Aires in September; the commercial debut of Uefa’s new ‘in-house’ agency, CAA Eleven, as it aims to make good on the guarantees European soccer’s governing body has made to its composite national bodies; the NHL lockout as it inches ever closer to a full-season wipeout; Team Oracle and the America’s Cup organisers as they rip up the coverage status quo and attempt to shape the commercial future of top-class sailing; the rising

2013, unlucky for some role of the full-service sports network in the US and the shifting sands of the broadcast landscape elsewhere; the inside-out upheaval of world cycling; the slightly gentler upheaval of European rugby; the continued attempts of ‘minor’ sports to launch their own short-format ‘T20’ versions; and the varyingly frantic preparations of a host of new-market major event organisers, including the executive teams at Qatar 2022, PyeongChang and Russia 2018, Rio 2016, Brazil and Sochi 2014. It is on the latter event that we focus elsewhere in these pages. The organisers of the Sochi Olympics have worked hard to remain open and transparent about their ground-up preparations for Russia’s ﬁrst winter Games, even to the point of allowing SportsPro senior writer Eoin Connolly loose with a camera and a pen on their construction sites. The results are impressive, and work is fairly well on track, even if it is still hard to imagine the world’s largest winter sports event taking place in a city that shares a line of latitude with Monte Carlo. That forms one half of something of a Russian special in this issue, and in the sporting decade. So far at least, the organisers of the Fifa World Cup in Russia in 2018 have shared their Sochi compatriots’ accommodating communication strategy. Theirs, though, is an entirely different challenge, with security and logistics issues likely to play an increasingly prominent part in their thinking as they build towards what will be the most diffuse World Cup in history.

James Emmett Editor

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NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

Treasured possessions Eoin Connolly

eaders outside the UK might not be aware of the Isaac and Ishmael story of English soccer clubs MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, both created in the last decade from the remains of former Premier League side Wimbledon FC. A heavily abridged version goes something like this: beleaguered, homeless Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes in unprecedented and hugely contentious circumstances in 2003, and were subsequently bought out and rebranded by the stadium consortium that had brought them there. In a righteous fury, the rump of the club’s support back in south-west London formed AFC Wimbledon, who subsequently stormed the lower reaches of the English game before claiming a place in the Football League in 2011. The two clubs – now separated by just a single division – had their inevitable ﬁrst meeting on 2nd December at Stadium:MK in the FA Cup. League One MK Dons beat their League Two visitors 2-1 but the result was almost incidental. The context was everything. AFC fans typically treat the club they call “The Franchise” not so much with disdain as complete disregard, and there was a long and earnest discussion about a boycott of the match – a notion which was ultimately dropped. Overwhelmingly, English soccer has chosen sides. AFC Wimbledon’s euphoric rise up the league pyramid has been cheered at every step. The milder successes at MK Dons, such as the club’s work in the local community, the sensibly modelled stadium, and the recruitment of promising young players and managers, are met with grudging respect at the very best.

For MK Dons supporters this game was a chance to define the club by its merits rather than its origins and the actions of outspoken chairman Pete Winkelman. A sizeable chunk of the comparatively youthful fanbase in a young town – Milton Keynes, known for its concrete cows, was constructed whole in the 1960s – knows the relocation only as an indistinct childhood memory. In a sense they are doing what good football fans are supposed to do: supporting their local team. English soccer may never see another franchise but understanding the tale of the two Dons is more vital now than eight years ago. The ownership of European soccer clubs is approaching a moment of truth as money pours in from wider, more obscure sources. Fan protests across the continent have assumed something of the character of the Occupy movement: their aims can look vague or self-contradictory but they are born of a valid sense of disenfranchisement and discontent. As the scale of investment multiplies the methods needed to make clubs successful become further removed from the values that shaped them in the first place. It is a delicate problem for even the most skilful and well-meaning of owners. It is a strange coincidence that the Wimbledon fixture should happen in a period where Spain’s Real Oviedo have been saved by a global search for small investors and the supporters’ trust at long-suffering English side Portsmouth is poised to complete a takeover. But fan ownership is not a universal panacea, either, and for some clubs it is out of reach. Manchester United fans eager to relieve themselves of the Glazer family might need to rustle up a couple of billion dollars, a figure some way beyond the scope of the post-match pub whip-round. In Germany the problem is met through regulation, with majority private ownership impossible, but not every country enjoys its economic advantages and it is hardly true that all big external investment in soccer is frivolous or ill

directed. The UK£1 billion being spent by Manchester City’s owners on the Etihad Campus regeneration, for example, may well make the club a greater part of its community in the proper sense. An increasing number of supporters’ groups have at least been able to buy a portion of their clubs – giving them a legal voice – but in any circumstances there needs to be an understanding in the business of soccer that fans have a stake. Many are not consumers, but partners. After all, one day even those following MK Dons may mobilise to save a history that is ‘theirs’.

Underexposure

If an England batsman scores a recordbreaking century and no one is around to take a picture, will it create an image? Tortured metaphysics aside, of course, it will – just not on the front or back pages of British newspapers. The BCCI’s decision to withhold accreditation from photo-only news agencies for England’s historic tour of India – ostensibly to promote the use of its own imagery – prompted the UK press not to run photographs from the series. That inspired some joyfully creative solutions but, with lead UK broadcaster Sky Sports already barred from Indian grounds in a separate dispute, the whole affair raises fresh questions about the grossly indulgent conduct of cricket’s lone financial superpower. Its recklessness could have ramifications beyond upsetting the media and short-changing sponsors. International cricket has reached a curious impasse where its potential for unprecedented expansion is threatened by structural problems that could force it into retreat. There are solutions but finding them will need thoughtful, even selfless leadership from powerful stakeholders. It would be a far greater shame than a few missing snaps if self-interest were to fatally undermine cricket’s future and wreck memories of its glorious past. Twitter.com/eoinfconnolly

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THE MARTYN ZIEGLER COLUMN

Chief Reporter, Press Association Sport Martyn Ziegler

ne burning question remains over the shock decision of Mohamed Bin Hammam to quit football, only to be banned for life anyway: did the former Fifa presidential candidate sacrifice himself in order to protect Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup? Bin Hammam’s decision to resign from all football activities seemed a strange one. The 63-year-old Qatari had already spent vast sums on lawyers during a 20-month legal battle, he had already had one lifetime ban overturned in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and only the week before his resignation Fifa had confirmed that it was no longer pursuing a case against him for bribery during the presidential campaign against Sepp Blatter. So what changed? Friends of Bin Hammam say he took the decision to protect those close to him. Bin Hammam’s resignation letter – a copy of which I have seen – alludes to this. He states in the letter: ‘These decisions are based on the fact that there have been developments and events in the past months which have caused considerable disappointment to me and to the people who supported me and that I nonetheless wish to let the organisations concerned move forward.’ Which people and organisations is he referring to? Certainly they include his old allies in Fifa, but remember this is the man who almost single-handedly secured the 2022 World Cup for his country. Qatar’s rulers and 2022 organising chiefs have been dismayed by Fifa’s new ethics investigator saying last month he would probe fresh corruption allegations made about the bid. The turning point appears to be an official visit by Blatter to Qatar on 11th December during which he met the rulers of the emirate. The discussions included talks on the ethics committee investigation into the World Cup bid, and the case against Bin Hammam. It appears that as a result of those

talks Bin Hammam agreed he would resign his position and withdraw his legal challenges. Sources close to him say he did so believing that he would be able to walk away with his reputation intact, and to protect Qatar’s World Cup hosting. On 15th December, four days after Blatter’s visit to Qatar, Bin Hammam sent a letter of resignation. In it, he also promised not to appeal against any decision of the ethics committee in his personal case. It is fair to say he expected a degree of leniency for his actions. Instead on 17th December, just two days later, Fifa’s ethics committee convened at short notice and issued a lifetime ban for Bin Hammam – notwithstanding the fact he had already resigned. Those close to Bin Hammam say he was stunned by Fifa’s announcement, feeling it was the ultimate act of vindictiveness for having dared to challenge Blatter in 2011. The ethics charges this time were not bribery, but concerned payments made while he was president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The written decision of Fifa’s ethics committee, a copy of which I have also seen, says Bin Hammam displayed a ‘systematic and constant disrespect of the Fifa code of ethics’ and ‘in particular substantial and repeated payments of large sums of money involving Mohamed Bin Hammam creating grave and multiple violations of Article 19 (conﬂ ict of interest)’. Sources close to Bin Hammam admit that some of the personal payments involved would not have satisﬁed modern governance practices but insist they were well-intentioned; for example, payments to the family of a footballer who had died on the pitch, and to cover the travel expenses of the family of a Fifa colleague who had suffered a heart attack. But Bin Hammam does not even know the exact offences for which he has been sanctioned. Fifa’s ethics committee has not sent him the detailed grounds of the

Mohamed Bin Hammam and Sepp Blatter in 2011

decision, saying in its ruling that he has ‘waived his right to obtain a motivated decision’ by his undertaking not to appeal. It is a bizarre situation and one worthy of Catch-22. The ethics committee appear to saying, “We won’t tell you exactly what we are punishing you for because you have said you won’t appeal.” Fifa and Blatter will be hoping the ruling draws a line under two turbulent years that have seen the world governing body struggle to deal with its murky past and move towards meaningful reform. In fact, the ethics committee decision to sanction Bin Hammam for conflicts of interest may open up a new can of worms. For example, is there a conflict of interest in Fifa awarding numerous contracts to Infront Sports & Media, the Swiss company headed by Philippe Blatter, the nephew of the Fifa president? Why have Fifa members Nicolas Leoz and Issa Hayatou and honorary Fifa president João Havelange, all named in court documents as having received payments from ex-marketing company ISL, not been suspended pending investigations? The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a reprimand to Hayatou, who is also an IOC member, more than a year ago yet Fifa have so far done nothing. Blatter may be feeling he has finally triumphed in his personal battle with Bin Hammam, his one-time supporter who first bankrolled his own election to the Fifa presidency, but the reality is there are a whole new raft of questions to answer. Bin Hammam may have bitten the bullet in a bid to protect Qatar, but the pressure on Fifa to change will continue to escalate.

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DIGEST | FEBRUARY 2013

GAUGE Vendée Globe

Sailing series are ten a penny but this race seems to be the daddy of them all; upmarket sponsors, check; compelling personal stories, ditto; and a genuine grasp of how to drive the sport forward through digital.

D-Backs business cards

Next month in SportsPro The March edition of SportsPro will include our annual focus on the world of winter sports, the federations that drive the industry, the brands that fund it, and the venues that make it happen. Elsewhere, Uefa’s European Championship director Martin Kallen assesses the lessons learned in Poland and Ukraine last year and looks forward to the next edition in France in 2016. And as Jacques Rogge prepares to hand over the reins of the IOC, we run the rule over the candidates looking to assume the presidency.

Nations to have hosted the Uefa European Championship Countries to have hosted once Countries to have hosted twice

Arizona D-Backs chief Derrick Hall has made it his personal mission to ﬁll his team’s ballpark over the entirety of the jam-packed MLB schedule. His business card alone entitles the bearer to two free tickets.

The European Games concept Baku will stage the ﬁrst European Games in 2015, a multi-sport event along the lines of the extant Asian and Pan American Games. A new opportunity for sponsors and broadcasters to sink their teeth into, but scheduling will be tricky.

Sports industry moustaches

Following the runaway success of the Shad Khan cover on the previous issue of SportsPro – the ‘Movember edition’ – it’s only fair to point out that Ion Tiriac has raised the (handle) bar this month (see p.46).

Gary Bettman

The NHL commissioner doesn’t seem to be much of a dealmaker. It’s one thing to lock out your league, quite another to be so consistently unsatisﬁed with the last deal you made to have to do it three times on your watch.

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LETTERS / DIGITAL POSTBAG Follow SportsPro on Twitter @SportsPro_Mag - www.sportspromedia.com

SOCIAL MEDIA REMARKS

Green 4 Solutions Great to see our video feature on Seattle Sounders #FanLoyalty on the @SportsPro_Mag website!

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I thought this brand went belly up @SportsPro_Mag Pacers guard signs with AND1

Scott Bowers

Spend a week with @SimonBazalgette in the latest @SportsPro_Mag... Well obviously not literally. It’s a diary of a CEO, not a competition!

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@SportsPro_Mag wish I’d taken up the awesome offer the nice guy from sports pro mag recently offered via phone for subscription

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Moët & Chandon unveil Roger Federer as new ambassador

Emma Louise Layla Good brand ﬁt.

Juventus land Samsung sponsorship

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If you can’t beat them, join them ;) Liverpool: How Warrior Football hit a ‘home run’ with record-breaking deal

Ferg Hamilton

All very good for Liverpool but I live in Ecuador and you can’t buy a Liverpool top here for love nor money. Chelsea and Manchester United shirts, on the other hand, are ten a penny. Something is wrong with the way Liverpool are marketing because I saw the same thing all over in South East Asia as well. ESPN Star Sports buys Russian soccer rights from IMG

@SportsPro_Mag Hi, do you have an iPad version? SportsPro @StuHooper Not yet, we’re working on it though!

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FROM THE WEBSITE

Schalke becomes Viagogo’s tenth Bundesliga partner

Liverpool sponsor talks up “incredible” Fellaini

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If you had to pick the best world starting 11 team - this guy would be in it! Great pro, he makes the game look easy and is going to win trophies (but not at skint everton). Kinetica signs Bradford deal

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fantastic news.if you havent bought a ticket for the new season of super rugby, buy it now before they are sold out. my old stand seat was sold before i renewed but managed to get a seat behing the old one

Awesome - now i can enjoy both Spanish La Liga and the Russian top ﬂ ight! Some say this league is as strong as the BPL!

ihateviagogo

I hope that Schalke look after their fans and that they don’t have to take Viagogo to court like the RFU did in the UK. Editor’s note: The new SportsPro tablet edition will be available in the coming weeks.

WHAT COMMERCIAL CHANGES CAN FORMULA ONE EXPECT? Letters should be addressed to James Emmett, SportsPro Media, Trans-World House, 100 City Road, London, EC1Y 2BP or via email to editor@sportspromedia.com

Mary Wittenberg CEO, New York Road Runners

oshihiko Seko. Naoko Takahashi. Mizuki Noguchi. Their names are part of the marathon’s history and they highlight Japan’s prominence in the sport. Seko, the 1981 and 1987 Boston Marathon champion, also won the Chicago and London titles in 1986. Takahashi was the 2000 Olympic marathon gold medalist; Noguchi took the gold in 2004. Their legacy, combined with the grassroots strength of long-distance running throughout Japan, the strong involvement of the Japanese corporate community, widespread media coverage of the sport in Japan, and the growth of the Tokyo Marathon since its debut in 2007, make that race the logical choice to be the first addition to the World Marathon Majors (WMM) series. The Tokyo Marathon will enter the WMM on 24th February and will be the first race in the 2013-2014 Series. The WMM was founded in 2006 by the Boston, Berlin, Chicago, London, and New York City marathons to unite the world’s premier races in an effort to raise awareness for our athletes and the professional sport, and to bring best practices of timing, medical support, and more to the industry. Each year, a twoyear cycle concludes with the awarding of a US$1 million prize, split between the men’s and women’s WMM champions. The addition of Tokyo opens doors to the Japanese and other Asian corporate and media markets; it brings the WMM series to many thousands of Asian recreational runners, and it gives our professionals greater incentive to run in a country that has always held the marathon in the highest regard. Tokyo officials have been eager to join the WMM to solidify their race’s position as one of the world’s best. These complementary goals make it mutually beneficial for the WMM and the Tokyo Marathon to join forces. We welcome our new partner and anticipate the beginning of an enhanced and exciting WMM series. SportsPro Magazine | 13 12

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THOUGHT LEADER | LAW

Taking Le Tiss: Will Guernsey’s new image rights legislation catch on or be a one-season wonder? John Wallace

att Le Tissier is widely regarded as Guernsey’s greatest sporting product, but the British dependency’s recently enacted image rights legislation has the potential to eclipse his iconic status. The goal? To enable individuals to register a huge array of image rights, prevent the unauthorised commercialisation of the same by others and allow for greater tax efficiency in the exploitation of those rights. The Image Rights Ordinance 2012 (IRO) came into force on 3rd December 2012. The IRO allows high-profi le individuals, addressed in the statute as ‘personnages’, to register their ‘personality’ – their celebrity profi le. The personnage can register ‘images’ that are connected with their personality that go beyond what one could expect to protect under UK law. An image could be David Beckham’s nicknames, ‘Becks’ and ‘Golden Balls’, Robbie Keane’s acrobatic goal celebration or Marouane Fellaini’s haircut. Under UK law, where image rights are not expressly legislated

for, but protected by an aggregate of statute and common law, protection of such auxiliary rights is more difficult. One of the benefits of the new regime is that the personality and image rights can be licensed, assigned and dealt with in any way. For example, the statute recognises agreements assigning future image rights – Sachin Tendulkar recently sold his future image rights for a reported UK£22 million, it is big business. The alternative to dealing in those rights would be to continue to hold them but through offshore entities, whether directly held by the individual or through a trust. This would enable the individual to defer the receipt of income, which in a sportsman’s case would be advantageous given their short career span, and possibly to make profits in tax advantageous jurisdictions. The recent negative press coverage associated with Starbucks’ UK corporation tax liability and comedian Jimmy Carr’s income tax scheme may put off highprofi le sportsmen from doing this. In the end it all comes down to

damages. Whereas traditional trademark disputes can lead to orders for damages based on the negative economic loss of the plaintiff, account of profits and loss of royalties, the IRO regime enables claimants to recover damages equal to ‘the actual prejudice the plaintiff suffered as a result of the infringement’, taking into consideration ‘all relevant factors’ where a defendant knew or had reasonable grounds to know that at the date of infringement the right was registered. Importantly, the Guernsey court has the power to award ‘such additional damages as the justice of the case may require taking into consideration the flagrancy of the infringement’ and any benefit to the defendant. Guernsey image rights will only be infringed by unauthorised use on the island. That would still cover global broadcasting, satellite transmission, the internet and other electronic communications. However, there may be a techy quick-fi x to simply block access to online material by IP addresses based in Guernsey. Whether it offers any protection in respect to offl ine breaches that occur outside Guernsey is doubtful. The success of the Guernsey regime will be largely dependent on courts in other jurisdictions enforcing Guernsey court judgments and awards that may be out of kilter with normal awards in those jurisdictions. It is likely that risk-averse sportsmen and their advisers will be waiting for the first test case before jumping whole-heartedly into the Guernsey regime. In the meantime, image rights management using the existing UK legal framework could be complemented by the registering of the same under the IRO. Registration fees under the IRO are likely to be relatively low and any registrations could simply be used as another layer in the trifle of image-right mechanisms already in place. John Ogier, Guernsey’s Registrar of Intellectual Property, has suggested that young sports stars could be tempted to register their rights as a form of “hope insurance”; whether this happens in reality remains to be seen. John Wallace is a director at sports agency DBW and a solicitor at sports law firm McFaddens LLP.

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PREMATURE FACTS

The year of the bid

he sports construction industry might not have as many shiny new venues to build but Uefa’s decision to stage Euro 2020 in as many as 15 cities across the continent, following a full selection process, is at least good news for bid consultants and agencies. Throw in what is set to be a multi-city race to stage the 2024 Olympics – probable bids from Doha and the US, renewed interest from the likes of Paris and Rome and the possibility of wildcards like Dubai – and 2013 seems set to be the year of the bid strategists.

UK Sport dunks on British Basketball

Platini’s cunning plan

Crossing the line

n the surface, there’s not much that’s cunning about Uefa president Michel Platini’s (above) plan to stage Euro 2020 across Europe instead of in a single country. But the timing of the tournament, and Platini’s strong links to Qatar, open up the intriguing possibility of a European Championship game being played outside of Europe for the ﬁrst time. Once the traditionalists have acclimatised to Platini’s self-admittedly “zany” idea, why not get a bit zanier and use an early round Euro game as a test event for Qatar 2022? If the pesky issue of moving the World Cup tournament to the cooler winter months is still around, then what better way to prove that it is absolutely necessary than by playing a competitive tournament game in stiﬂing summer conditions two years earlier?

ournament format pioneer he may be but Platini remains unmoved by calls for goal-line technology. In a November Ouest-France interview, the Frenchman said it would cost €32 million to introduce GoalRef or Hawk-Eye in European club competition for one year, and €54 million for five years’ use after that. He called on broadcasters to stump up – but most already have three-season deals in place. So if Platini ever acquiesces, we know the figures on Uefa’s ‘official goal-line technology sponsor’ tender…

ritish basketball, at least at the national level, has improved immeasurably in recent times and 2013 was meant to be its year. The Euroleague’s Final Four touches down in London in May, its arrival hailed as the boost the British game so dearly needs, before the GB men’s team contests its third consecutive EuroBasket in September. But with UK Sport having now pulled the sport’s elite funding altogether for the lead-up to Rio 2016, British basketball’s pre-London bubble appears to have well and truly burst.

Sport for all

Europe’s low-hanging fruit

port sells but – surprise, surprise – it turns out sport also costs. The ﬂurry of major regional rights deals currently being negotiated across the United States is being cited as the primary cause of an anticipated 40 per cent rise in monthly cable and satellite bills there over the next three years. Providers paying a premium to be a platform for national and, increasingly, regional broadcasters – ESPN gets US$5 per subscriber per month compared to MTV’s 40 cents – suggests nothing fuels the US media quite like sport. But what often gets overlooked is the nonsports fan. With regional providers increasingly packaging up expensive sports channels with non-sports programming, viewers are facing no option but to pay through the nose, even if they have no interest at all in watching the next dunk, touchdown or home run.

ecember’s news that TF1 was poised to sell a signiﬁcant stake in Eurosport to US group Discovery Communications signals a renewed faith in the European media advertising market and is perhaps a sign of things to come. Compared to other continents, Europe’s recovery from economic woe is painstakingly slow, and despite the slight uplift in advertiser interest, the ﬂoodgates could now be open for foreign media giants to start cherry-picking their European counterparts.

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Movers and Shakers: November/December 2012 Annamarie Phelps

Annamarie Phelps has been elected as British Rowing’s new chairman. Phelps, a former Olympic rower who is the organisation’s current representative on the National Paralympic Committee, succeeds Di Ellis, who had held the position since 1989.

João da Costa Alegre

Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) vice president João da Costa Alegre has been elected as the International Canoe Federation’s (ICF) second vice president. Da Costa Alegre, who defeated incumbent Richard Fox by a vote of 52 to 40 at the 34th ICF congress in St Petersburg, will serve in the role for the next four years.

Gideon Sam

Paul Lemon

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ (Locog) ticketing and hospitality manager Paul Lemon has become head of business development at Prestige Ticketing. Lemon joins Prestige, who provided ofﬁcial in-venue hospitality at London 2012, having previously worked with rights holders and sponsors at Fifa World Cups and IRB Rugby World Cups.

Nick Eastwood

Aviva Premiership rugby union side London Wasps have announced the appointment of Nick Eastwood as their new chief executive. Eastwood, who joins the English club after a 12-year spell at the Rugby Football Union (RFU), replaces interim chief executive David Thorne in the role.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has re-elected Gideon Sam as president for an additional four-year term. Sam, ﬁrst elected in 2008, ran unopposed during SASCOC’s quadrennial general meeting in November.

Edwin van der Sar

Former professional goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has joined Dutch soccer club Ajax as marketing director. The 42-year-old former Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United player has joined his former club along with Michael Kinsbergen, who takes the role of managing director.

Liu Shilai

Chinese entrepreneur Liu Shilai has been appointed to the board of directors at English soccer club Leicester City. The 40-yearold assumed the position of vice chairman alongside Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn, son of chairman Vichai Raksriaksorn, on 1st December 2012.

Phil Holden

Phil Holden has been appointed as the new chief executive of New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL). Holden, formerly the chief executive of Wellington-based charitable organisation The Lion Foundation, replaced Jim Doyle at NZRL in February 2013.

Mike Watts and Fahri Ecvet

Wasserman Media Group global chief operating ofﬁcer Mike Watts is to take a leading role in the agency’s London-based soccer operation following the departure of Sam Rush. Former group legal counsel Fahri Ecvet has also been promoted to a position handling the day-to-day operations of the soccer management business.

Dave Smith

The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), the recently established single controlling body of rugby league in Australia, has appointed Dave Smith as its new chief executive. Smith assumed his new position in February 2013, effectively replacing David Gallop, who stepped down as chief executive of the National Rugby League (NRL) in June 2012.

Shiny Fang

China’s Shiny Fang has been appointed as the new general secretary of the UIPM, the world modern pentathlon governing body. Fang has been promoted from liaison for international affairs at the UIPM, a post she has held since 2008. She replaces Joël Bouzou in the secretary general’s chair.

Stephen Vaughan

Stephen Vaughan has been appointed as the new managing director of English Aviva Premiership side Gloucester Rugby. Assuming the role on 17th December, Vaughan replaced former managing director Ken Nottage, who left the club in August 2012.

Ivan Gazidis

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has been appointed by the European Club Association (ECA) as its representative on Uefa’s primary policy-making body, the Uefa Professional Strategy Council. The appointment means Gazidis will take up a seat on the ECA Executive Board, effectively replacing Manchester United chief executive David Gill. Having recently been appointed as vice chairman of the FA, Gill opted to step down ahead of the elections for the Uefa executive committee in May.

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In association with:

Julie Fabsik-Swarts

USA Synchro, the national governing body for synchronised swimming in the US, has appointed Julie Fabsik-Swarts as its new executive director. Fabsik-Swarts, who has previously held positions with charitable organisations EducationWorks and YMCA, started her new role on 1st January 2013.

James Strong

V8 Supercars has announced that James Strong will become its new non-executive chairman. The former chairman of Woolworths and chief executive of Qantas effectively replaces executive chairman Tony Cochrane, who announced his retirement in September 2012.

Guillaume Cossau and Florent Marty

International sports marketing agency Sportﬁve has announced that Guillaume Cossau and Florent Marty (left) have both been recruited to the role of director of client strategy. As such, Cossau and Marty will both join the Lagardère Unlimited subsidiary’s Paris-based marketing team and will report to director of marketing and strategic planning Cedric Girard.

Josh Burack

Dentsu Sports Asia (DSA), a subsidiary of Japanese advertising and public relations ﬁrm Dentsu, has appointed Josh Burack as its new senior vice president, head of television, media and sponsorship. The 42-year-old joins DSA from IEC in Sports, where he served as Asia-Paciﬁc director for nearly 12 years.

Bill Peterson

The relaunched North American Soccer League (NASL), which begins its third season in 2013, has announced that Bill Peterson will serve as its new commissioner. The 48-year-old, who most recently served as chief operating ofﬁcer of the United Football League (UFL), will succeed David Downs as NASL commissioner.

Jimmy Qin

Chinese sports marketing veteran Jimmy Qin has joined Octagon Greater China as vice president. Qin joins Octagon, the world’s largest sports and entertainment sponsorship consultancy, having worked on sponsorship assets including the Olympic Games, the Fifa World Cup, the NBA and Formula One during spells with Coca-Cola, Nike and, most recently, Li Ning.

Tom Manners

The Jockey Club, British horse racing’s largest commercial group, has appointed Tom Manners as its new group brand development director. Manners joined The Jockey Club from UK gambling and gaming company Gala Coral Group on 4th December.

Gabby Logan

Sports broadcaster Gabby Logan has been appointed as a nonexecutive director at digital media agency Perform. 39-year-old Logan joins Perform with considerable experience in sports broadcasting, having worked for Sky Sports, the BBC and Channel 5, among others.

Neil Snowball

England Rugby 2015, the organising committee responsible for staging the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, has appointed Neil Snowball as its rugby operations director. The 46-year-old was previously head of sport operations for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Game (Locog).

David Becker

David Becker, the former head of legal at the International Cricket Council (ICC), has joined specialist legal consultancy services ﬁrm The Sports Consultancy. He continues to operate a private consultancy practice with clients including Nike, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), four-time Olympic sailing gold medallist Ben Ainslie and two-time Major-winning golfer Rory McIlroy.

Ivan Khodabakhsh

Ivan Khodabakhsh has become the new chief executive of the Ladies European Tour (LET). Previously the chief executive of World Series Boxing – the city-based franchise tournament run by boxing’s world governing body AIBA – Khodabakhsh succeeds Alexandra Armas, who left the role after nearly eight years in charge.

Alisher Usmanov

The International Fencing Federation (FIE) unanimously re-elected Alisher Usmanov as its president during the FIE Electoral Congress in Moscow, Russia. Usmanov, who was originally elected to the position in 2008, will now lead the federation for another four years. For daily updates on the movers and shakers in the sports industry, visit www.sportspromedia.com Please email industry appointments to: info@sportspromedia.com SportsPro Magazine | 16 17

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Eliza Byard, John Amaechi and Piara Powar

Delegates await the next talk

Western Union’s Marc Audrit

Carroll, Derrick Brooks, Swin Cash

NBA commissioner David Stern

Jean Afterman

The BA Young Advisory Panel lead discussions

SportsPro Gallery

Nascar’s Brian France with Stern

Stern and Beyond Sport’s Nick Keller

Katalyst’s Kevin Carroll

Delegates take part in a workshop

Beyond Sport marks its territory

Aimee Mullins and Mark Teixeira

Beyond Sport United Leading representatives of many of the major leagues and top teams in US sport made the trip to New York’s Yankee Stadium on 13th November 2012 for Beyond Sport United, a second annual meeting aimed at discussing sport’s potential to deliver social change.

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AS Roma chief executive Mark Pannes

The Ivy Sports Symposium-SportsPro 10 NEXT Class of 2012 take the stage

Rich Gotham with Arizona Diamondbacksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Derrick Hall

NBA International president Heidi Ueberroth

Legendary agent David Falk

Panel sessions ran throughout the day

EA Sports president Peter Moore

InterMedia Partnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Leo Hindery

Bob Bowman of MLB Advanced Media

Circe Wallace of Wasserman speaks

The Ivy Sports Symposium The 7th Annual Ivy Sports Symposium took place at Columbia University in New York on 16th November 2012. Among the highlights was the presentation to the outstanding young executives in the Ivy Sports Symposium-SportsPro 10 NEXT Class of 2012. SportsPro Magazine | 19

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Jérôme Valcke, Gérard Houllier and David Dein

Mario Zagallo and Lucas Moura

England manager Roy Hodgson

Botafogo’s Dutch star Clarence Seedorf answers questions

Ronaldo and Brazil’s sports minister Aldo Rebelo

Fifa general secretary Jérôme Valcke

Delegates crowd into the main lobby

SportsPro Gallery

Carlos Alberto, Deco and the media

Tony Martin, Seb Coe, Carlos Alberto, Duncan Revie

Brazil’s Carlos Alberto Parreira and Juliano Belletti

Soccerex Rio The Forte de Copacabana in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro was the scene of the Soccerex Global Convention from 24th to 28th November 2012. Key figures from Brazilian and world soccer were in attendance as the conference returned to Rio for a third year.

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AD Size Template 2012_v1.indd 1

18/10/2012 16:58:08

SPORTSPRO WORLD | HOSTINGS & hAPPENINGS

SportsPro World 1. San Diego, California The third annual Triathlon Business International (TBI) Conference will be held from 10th to 12th February at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, California, featuring three days of learning, networking and award ceremonies. 2. Windsor, Canada The Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) has announced that the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario has defeated rival bids from Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and Ashgabat to stage the 2016 Short Course World Swimming Championships. The championships will be staged at the 6,500-capacity WFCU Centre. 3. Orlando, USA From 27th to 29th January, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida will host the 2013 edition of the National Sports Forum, the largest annual gathering of top team sports marketing, sales and event entertainment executives, from the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. 4. Bogotá, Colombia The ATP World Tour is set to return to the Colombian city of Bogotá in 2013 after the ATP board of directors approved the sale of the Los Angeles 250 event to sports marketing company IMLA de Colombia. It will take place on outdoor hard courts at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento from 15th to 21st July.

Windsor, Canada

2. 1.

3. 5. 4.

5. Caribbean Sea The Global Sport Business Association will host its inaugural event aboard the Royal Caribbean-owned cruise ship Majesty of the Seas. The four-day cruise-cumconference sets sail from the Port of Miami on 8th February and includes stops in Little Stirrup Cay and Nassau in the Bahamas. 6. Jerez, Spain Dorna Sports, the commercial arm of MotoGP, has conﬁrmed that Spanish circuit Jerez de la Frontera will continue to host the Spanish Grand Prix until at least 2015. The race is one of four currently held in the country.

Jerez, Spain

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7. Murcia, Spain The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the UK governing body for tennis, has renewed a deal with Spanish resort La Manga Club, which will continue as its overseas training centre for another three years. The LTA will support La Manga’s efforts to build its brand in the UK. 8. London, UK On 30th and 31st January 2013, governmental department UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) will host the Global Sports Projects Conference at 1 Victoria Street in London. The event is free to attend and aims to help UK companies generate sales in international markets after the success of London 2012.

Leeds, UK

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Baku, Azerbaijan

9. Leeds, UK Yorkshire will host Le Grand Départ – the opening stages of the Tour de France – in 2014. Two stages will be held in Leeds, with a third in London, before the race returns to France. Yorkshire beat a UK-wide bid with a proposed start in Edinburgh and a bid from the Italian city of Florence. 10. Düsseldorf, Germany The Congress Center Düsseldorf (CCD) is set to host Europe’s largest sports business conference on 17th and 18th February as 1,500 decision-makers from the sports business industry arrive for SpoBiS 2013. 11. Sofia, Bulgaria The Bulgarian city of Soﬁa has been named by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) as the host of the 2014 FIE Senior World Championships. The 2013 Junior and Cadet World Championships were awarded to Porec in Croatia while the Bulgarian seaside resort of Varna will host the 2013 Veterans World Championships.

Sofia, Bulgaria

12. Baku, Azerbaijan The 41st general assembly of the European Olympic Committee (EOC) in Rome on 8th December 2012 voted for Baku in Azerbaijan to host the inaugural multi-sport European Games. The city, which in May 2012 failed to become a candidate city for the 2020 Olympic Games, was the sole bidder.

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INSIGHT | SOCCER

Uefa confirms multi-nation Euro 2020 European soccer’s governing body Uefa has confirmed a revolutionary new format for its biggest national team tournament. The 2020 European Championship will be staged in up to 15 cities across Europe, rather than one or two host countries as has traditionally been the case since the first edition of the quadrennial tournament in 1960. The plan, a brainchild of Uefa president Michel Platini, had been mooted for some time due to a lack of bidders for the 2020 tournament, but was officially confirmed at a December meeting of Uefa’s executive committee in Lausanne, Switzerland. Only Turkey officially submitted a bid to host the event, with its proposal complicated

by Istanbul’s ongoing bid to stage the summer Olympic Games the same year. When it became clear Turkey would be prioritising the Olympic campaign – Istanbul has made the final three alongside Tokyo and Madrid and will find out its fate next September – Uefa was forced to consider alternative arrangements. The organisation said the competition would be ‘a Euro for Europe’ and a celebration of the tournament’s 60th anniversary, although many of the precise format details are still to be ironed out and will only emerge over the coming months. Uefa did, however, confirm that the multi-venue tournament would be a one-off in 2020, with plans to return to the normal one or

two hosts in 2024. The multi-venue format will ease the financial pressure on host countries to build a multitude of stadiums and spend major sums on surrounding infrastructure, as Poland and Ukraine, co-hosts of Euro 2012, have recently done. Platini, speaking after Uefa’s announcement in December, said: “Poland and Ukraine was a great Euro but it was very expensive, almost as expensive as the Olympic Games. It is perhaps a bit of a zany idea but it is a good idea.” Uefa said it will be staging a bidding process for would-be host cities across the continent next year, with a final decision on venues made early in 2014. The semifinals and final will likely be played at

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the same venue, with London’s Wembley Stadium an early favourite. The stadium hosted the 2011 Champions League final and will host the next final in May, partly to mark the Football Association’s 150th anniversary but also after proving a huge revenue-generator for Uefa. Platini’s plan received a predictably mixed reaction, although he insisted that fans had been won over by the concept despite the fact the tournament will not have a focal point. “We have talked to the fans,” he said. “They were against it originally but we told them we are going to help them and suddenly they had a much more positive attitude. He added: “We have some decisions to make now, some political, some geographical, for example we cannot have an English fan going to Lisbon, Kazakhstan and Sweden.”

Inside the Story David Cushnan

Dressed up as a way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament, the reality is Uefa had no viable contenders to stage Euro 2020 in its usual format once Istanbul decided to proceed with its Olympic bid. The ‘Euro for Europe’, at first glance, is a clunky solution at best; indeed, there will be many asking why one of the established major soccer nations, with existing stadiums and infrastructure, was not asked to step in. Michel Platini, however, has made

his way through the corridors of power at Uefa thanks in no small part to the help of the continent’s smaller national associations and Uefa would like a range of cities and countries outside the main markets to step up and bid to host a game or two. Bucharest’s hosting of last season’s Europa League final is surely the model Uefa is looking to replicate for 2020; challenger countries looking for a slice of the action and the resulting economic impact and all for a muchreduced cost.

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FEATURE | 25 STORIES

25 stories that shaped the sporting year All Blacks succumb to sponsorship dollars

n a bid to boost a dwindling bottom line, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) confirmed a long-rumoured agreement with American insurance giant AIG in October. The five-and-a-half-year deal gave AIG the right to put its logos on the strips of all New Zealand’s national teams, notably including the 2011 Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks whose jerseys have, save for the logo of principal partner Adidas and a brief spell with Steinlager in the mid-1990s, remained sponsor-free for over 100 years. Though the sponsorship was understandably contentious when first announced, the pragmatic New Zealand public appears to have accepted it as a necessary evil if the national side is to maintain its lofty position atop world rugby’s pecking order. National Basketball Association (NBA) owners and executives are no doubt hoping that their fans will adopt a similar view as the league looks to open up jersey sponsorship in the near future. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic another piece of real estate previously considered sacrosanct will be filled next year. FC Barcelona confirmed in November that Qatar Airways’ logo will replace that of the Qatar Foundation on the front of the first team’s playing shirts. It will be the first time that the branding of a profit-making commercial entity – other than that of the apparel supplier – has adorned the Catalan giants’ matchday kit.

California building boom as venue mogul Anschutz announces sale

eptember’s announcement that LA-headquartered Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), one of the giants of the industry, had been put up for sale came as a genuine surprise. Early speculation suggested a price tag in the region of US$7 billion for a company which owns the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Galaxy and also operates hundreds of sports and entertainment facilities across the world, including The O2 in London and the Staples Center. Local billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong was touted as a potential buyer but AEG founder Philip Anschutz (left) might find his enterprise simply too large to be sold off whole. Some 400 miles to the north, meanwhile, two new venues are poised to reshape the San Francisco sports landscape. Construction began early in the year on the new home of the NFL’s 49ers, a US$1.2 billion stadium in Santa Clara which is due for completion in 2014 and promises to be one of the world’s most technologically advanced venues. In October, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Golden State Warriors franchise announced its intention to up sticks and cross San Francisco Bay to develop a US$500 million waterfront sports and entertainment arena – opening date due in time for the 2017/18 season – at the foot of the city’s Bay Bridge.

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BT enters the UK rights market

T made its entrance to the UK sports broadcast market in some style. A swoop for two key packages of Premier League rights, worth UK£246 million per season, caught an industry anticipating a major bid by Qatari-owned Al Jazeera by surprise in June. BT Vision is currently preparing its sports channels for launch but the size and scope of its bid – it was disappointed to only gain two of the seven rights packages on offer – was a statement of significant ambition. “This investment is really about improving our ability to compete [with Sky] in that triple-play marketplace: broadband, telephony and television,” BT Vision’s chief executive Marc Watson (right) told SportsPro in September. Just hours before that interview took place, BT had made a further acquisition which, in all likelihood, will mark the end of ESPN’s UK expedition. A UK£152 million deal with Premiership rugby for future rights to the Aviva Premiership, currently held by ESPN and Sky Sports, also granted BT the ‘exclusive live broadcast rights to matches played by Aviva Premiership rugby clubs in any future European competitions from 2014-15 for three years’. It was a line which suggested a potential breakaway by English and French clubs from the existing European Rugby Cup (ERC) when current contracts expire in 2014, bringing to the fore the fissures in European club rugby – another indication of BT’s immediate influence on sport.

MLB hits broadcast homer

Armstrong myth lanced

espite the San Francisco Giants’ clean sweep over the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series setting a record low in terms of US television ratings – with Nielsen Media Research pointing to an average 7.6 rating and 12 million share across the four-game championship series – Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Bud Selig will no doubt be happy with the league’s position at the end of 2012. Most critically, MLB completed eight-year extensions to its domestic media rights deals with ESPN in August and Fox Sports Media Group and Turner Broadcasting System in October. Over the period covering 2014 to 2021 the three agreements are collectively worth US$12.4 billion, with ESPN’s US$700 million annual rights fee representing a 100 per cent increase in revenue for the league. “I have often said in recent years that we are living in the golden age of baseball and that the game has never been more popular,” said Selig, no doubt with a sigh of relief. “But to see the unprecedented and historic commitment these networks have made to televising Major League Baseball for years to come is truly amazing.”

aving operated under a cloud of suspicion since the first of his historic seven consecutive Tour de France victories in 1999 – accusations at first only whispered, but lately nighon bellowed – Lance Armstrong (above) found that 2012 was the year that something finally stuck. When a criminal investigation by federal agent Jeff Novitsky was apparently seen off in February, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) took on the baton, compiling and then publishing a 200-page report accompanied by 1000 pages of supporting evidence in October. According to USADA, the testimonies of 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates proved ‘beyond any doubt’ that, with Armstrong as the ringleader, ‘the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen’, and that Armstrong ‘doped throughout the majority of his professional cycling career.’ The fallout has been swift and brutal. After some dithering, the International Cycling Union (UCI) stripped Armstrong of his tainted titles and expunged his name from the record books. His sponsors were quicker to act: Nike, Radio Shack, Oakley, Budweiser and the like dropping him one by one. Despite not yet having admitted to doping, the man himself even resigned his directorship in his own anticancer charity. For many in cycling, it was a purge worth having, but questions remain over a sporting and governance structure that allowed Armstrong to flourish for so long.

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FEATURE | 25 STORIES

Rio’s messy year

The Paralympics come of age in London

he International Paralympic Committee (IPC) may have recently revealed that the London 2012 Paralympic Games were only watched by as many people as saw the Beijing Games four years ago, but the events of the summer are already being regarded as a commercial game-changer for Paralympic sport. Not for nothing did Sir Philip Craven declare the Games the greatest ever. Overall, 2.7 million tickets were sold for the 11 days of competition, with Paralympic-only ticket revenue UK£10 million higher than Locog’s prediction. Despite a wellpublicised lack of significant coverage in the United States, there were record viewing figures in Australia, a huge rise in both coverage and audience in Russia as well as near-blanket, innovative coverage in the UK by Channel 4. In the host nation, for perhaps the first time, the public saw the Paralympics not simply as the Paralympics, but as sport. On a commercial level, the fact that the most successful Paralympic Games in history took place in one of the world’s most established sports marketing hubs has not been lost on the IPC, which is already hard at work maximising the momentum of a golden summer. Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino

n hosting such a sensational Olympic Games, London’s organising committee inadvertently heaped more pressure on their counterparts in Brazil. Just as the Olympic focus shifted towards Rio, the organising committee for the 2016 Games endured a fraught year of personnel change and high controversy. By the end of the year the organisation, helmed by Carlos Nuzman (right), had been through a remarkable three chief operating officers – Roderlei Generali, who was fired in June; Marco Aurélio Costa Vieira, who left soon after being appointed on the eve of London 2012; and, finally, chief executive Leo Gryner who was ‘sideways promoted’ to the role as Sidney Levy, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Rio, was hired as his replacement. It made the loss of yet another chief commercial officer and the departure of a security director, the latter forced to resign midway through 2012 to fight longstanding corruption charges, seem mere blips by comparison. Rio’s annus horribilis was completed when it was forced to admit organising committee employees had stolen Locog documents during a knowledge transfer session in September. In amongst the chaos we are assured an Olympic Games is being planned.

Uefa centralise international rights; CAA Eleven created to handle them

uropean soccer’s governing body’s plan to centralise the rights to national team competitions had been a long-held one, but more than a few eyebrows were raised when it was confirmed in September that it had enlisted a start-up agency to sell rights to World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016 qualifying matches and the Euro 2016 tournament itself. CAA Eleven, a new branch of Creative Artists Agency headed by former Lagardère executives Olivier Guiguet and Stephane Schindler, is understood to have won a competitive battle for the rights by projecting US$1.5 billion for an unknown chunk. If, as some believe, the figure is only for the qualifiers it would amount to a significant increase in revenue for Uefa’s 53 member associations. Also shrouded in uncertainty were the source of the financial investment required to put the winning offer together and the reasoning behind what appeared to be a major shift in CAA’s strategy, given its previous struggles in the rights arbitrage world of high stakes and higher financial guarantees. Sportfive and IMG were just two of the other major players to have missed out on what, either way, will surely be one of the defining rights deals of the coming decade.

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USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun and chairman Larry Probst with IOC president Jacques Rogge and IOC member Richard L Carrion, who led negotiations

IOC & USOC bury the hatchet

he financial framework tying together the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) goes far beyond the two organisations, which made May’s agreement on a new 20-year deal highly significant for the whole Olympic movement. The USOC has traditionally enjoyed unparalleled financial perks because of the historic importance of US companies in funding the Olympic Games, a state of affairs that had led to increasing resentment from other National Olympic Committees. The new deal, which kicks in from 2020, appears to satisfy everyone: the USOC’s share of Olympic sponsorship revenue will remain at 20 per cent, although that will reduce to 10 per cent on any increase in revenues; the USOC’s share of the multi-billion dollar US TV rights revenue pie will drop from 12.75 per cent to seven per cent on any increases on current deals; and the USOC will pay US$15 million towards every Olympics up to 2020, then US$20 million after that. The new accord also seems to have paved the way for a new US bid to host an Olympics sometime soon, something it had shied away from following the failures of New York and Chicago. The next US Games will not be for at least a decade, however; just three cities – Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul – remain in contention for the summer Games of 2020 following the elimination of Doha and Baku and the dramatic withdrawal of Rome. The Italian capital failed to get the requisite governmental guarantees to take its bid forward, leaving three intriguing if flawed bids for the IOC to chew over ahead of decision day next September.

The rise and rise of Rory McIlroy

f 2011 was Rory McIlroy’s (right) breakthrough year, 2012 was the season in which he solidified his newfound status as golf’s pre-eminent player. There was another Major, August’s US PGA Championship, to add to his 2011 US Open victory; a role in Europe’s stunning final day comeback to retain the Ryder Cup in Chicago; and a dominant victory on the European Tour’s ‘Race to Dubai’ money list, which was confirmed before the final tournament had been played – a season finale won, with a final flourish, by the Northern Irishman. The world number one has taken on the mantle of the fading Tiger Woods (left) in more ways than one: at the end of the year the 23-year-old was poised to sign a huge endorsement deal, negotiated on his behalf by his manager Conor Ridge, with Nike, the sportswear giant positioning him very much as the heir to Woods’ throne and its new go-to guy when it comes to promoting its golf division. McIlroy’s cleancut image is certainly an asset to the brand, but his popularity in the United States, where he has become a star, and visibility at tournaments across Asia are equally critical. Nike is signing McIlroy just as golf is beginning to rely on him for audience and interest; that, too, is reminiscent of Woods.

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20/12/2012 13:37:16

FEATURE | 25 STORIES

Poland and Ukraine make their big-event bow

Michel Platini and Ukraine’s Viktor Yanukovych

ike so many other major events before, the build-up to the 2012 Uefa European Football Championship was dominated by questions over the ability of co-hosts Poland and Ukraine to stage it. Though both were enthusiastically backed by Uefa president Michel Platini, it was a fact that neither had experience of staging a sports event on such a scale. While early concerns centred on the financial difficulties of organising the tournament during a global economic crisis and initial delays to key infrastructure projects and stadium construction, the weeks before kick-off were marked by security fears and heightened political tensions in Ukraine. A self-imposed hunger strike by incarcerated former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko led many European Union leaders to announce boycotts of games in Ukraine; a bomb blast in the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk days before the first match only added to the climate of fear surrounding the tournament. In the end, however, the organisation of the tournament – a logistical challenge to say the least, given the distances between host cities – was largely successful, despite sporadic crowd disturbances and several instances of racist chanting by fans. Poland and Ukraine ended up highly praised for the warmth of their welcome. With a weak pool of bidders for Euro 2020, Uefa’s December decision to hold that edition of the tournament at venues across the breadth of Europe opens up a new chapter in the history of the competition and presents as many challenges as it does opportunities.

The rise of the regional sponsorship

ountry-specific marketing tactics are nothing new for soccer clubs but in 2012 the practice flourished. For clubs that command a global audience – or desire one and have the financial wherewithal to create it – the premise of the strategy is straightforward: rather than agreeing a single deal for global category exclusivity, sign multiple, smaller contracts that are specific to a particular country or region. “For example with mobile phone operators,” explained Manchester United’s vice chairman Ed Woodward late in the year, “instead of doing a deal with Vodafone for a few million pounds we have done a deal in 44 different countries with UK£21 million in revenue.” Manchester United are not the only club working hard on a regional strategy – fellow Premier League club Liverpool have deals in place with Misli, Paddy Power and 188Bet as part of what they call their ‘geo-targeted betting strategy’. Spanish champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, have deals in place allowing the likes of snack company Dua Kelinci to use club image rights in Indonesia alone. “To take it to the nth degree, take something like beer and it can be done in 100 countries,” said Woodward. The geographical fragmentation of sponsorship rights has well and truly begun.

London’s “happy and glorious” Games

fter seven years of official build-up and several more before that, London ultimately delivered an Olympic Games widely acclaimed as one of the most successful in history. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge described the Games as “happy and glorious” during the closing ceremony, as he reflected on an impeccably organised, hugely popular 17 days of sport in the British capital. For that, immense credit must go to Locog chairman Sebastian Coe and his chief executive, Paul Deighton. The pair oversaw a Games which took place without any major problems, following a build-up which included widespread criticism of Locog’s ticketing strategy and, most damagingly, the total failure of private security contractor G4S to deliver on its contract, prompting the government to draft in military personnel at the last moment. In the end both the military and the 88,000 Games Makers, London 2012’s army of volunteers, were universally praised for their attitude and friendliness, generating a huge amount of goodwill across the city for locals and visitors alike. London 2012 also set a host of new media records, with 100,000 television hours made available compared to 40,000 in Beijing four years ago, 300 hours of live 3D coverage produced and, for the first time, more broadcast hours delivered via digital than traditional television. It was, truly, a digital summer as well as a glorious one.

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20/12/2012 13:37:26

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20/12/2012 11:27:19

FEATURE | 25 STORIES

ATP and WTA lay down end-ofseason strategies – London for men, anywhere exotic for women

new executive era began at the top of men’s tennis in 2012 but fortunately for new executive chairman Brad Drewett the golden era on the court shows no sign of ending just yet. In a year when the Grand Slams were split equally between Messrs Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and – at long, long last – Murray, the ATP announced a new tournament in Rio de Janeiro from 2014 but later in the year elected to keep its season finale World Tour Finals event in London until at least 2015. The tournament at The O2 has been a huge success but the ATP’s decision to extend was vividly contrasted by what appears a far more adventurous search for new revenues in new markets by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). As the year ended, the WTA had formed an eclectic shortlist of cities vying to replace Istanbul as the host of its own end-of-season tournament. Kazan in Russia, Mexico City, Singapore, and Tianjin, China will find out their fate in the new year. Whichever city the WTA chooses, the women are showing the men the way when it comes to taking a chance on a new market. ESPN president John Skipper

ESPN sports network challengers assemble

tumultuous year in the US sports media rights market – aren’t they all? – saw the traditional battlegrounds shift, with what some have interpreted as a clear move into ESPN’s 24-hour sports network territory by both NBC and Fox. The launch of the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) at the start of the year was followed by significant rights acquisitions for the peacock – next season both Formula One and the English Premier League will be broadcast extensively by NBC, in addition to its other mainstays Major League Soccer, Olympic sports and the National Hockey League. Meanwhile, over at Fox the scale of the new commitment to Major League Baseball prompted the decision to re-brand the Speed channel as Fox Sports 1. Write off ESPN at your peril, however. The broadcaster signed mega-deals for each of the major college bowls and the new college play-off system in 2012. It is believed to have committed US$5.64 billion over 12 years for the latter alone: a clear indication ESPN is well up for the battle, whatever the competition.

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20/12/2012 13:38:12

Premier League on track for UK£5.5 billion rights bonanza

he utterly extraordinary end to the 2011/12 Premier League season, with Manchester City wresting the title from Manchester United with virtually the last kick of the last game, could have been timed no better for the league, coming as it did just as the next cycle of broadcast rights went to market at home and abroad. Shortly afterwards Sky and BT bid eye-popping sums for the domestic rights – UK£3.018 billion over three seasons in total – from 2013/14 onwards. That was followed, towards the end of the year, by an international rights spree that is increasingly likely to end with the Premier League generating a recordshattering UK£5.5 billion from media rights for this cycle. The league is believed to have already tripled its rights fee in the US and made huge gains across Asia, with deals in more territories to be finalised in early 2013. In amongst the money, however, it has also kept an eye on exposure, signing a novel six-year agreement in China with a media company which will distribute matches to a variety of regional television stations across the country. Throw in a renewed US$185 million three-year title sponsorship deal with Barclays and it has been quite a year for Richard Scudamore and co.

LA Dodgers sold for record sum; get immediate TV rights return

ne or two eyebrows were understandably raised when the Los Angeles Dodgers sold for US$2.15 billion in March. After all, no US sports team had ever been sold for as much. Everything became a little clearer later in the year, however, when it emerged that the Dodgers were negotiating a new regional television rights agreement with Fox Sports that could be worth in excess of US$6 billion over 25 years, a 20-fold increase on its current deal which expires next year. No wonder the Dodgers’ new owners – Guggenheim Baseball Management, a consortium including ex-LA Lakers star Magic Johnson – were so keen to acquire the MLB team from the controversial Frank McCourt. Dotting and crossing still needs to take place before any media deal is finalised, with suggestions that an even more lucrative option may ultimately be for the Dodgers to form their own dedicated network, but the scale of the deal on the table gives an indication of the scope of what is possible in the second-largest market in the country.

The NHL is locked out

t midnight on Saturday 15th September, the National Hockey League (NHL) stumbled quietly and somewhat inevitably into its second work stoppage in seven years, with players locked out by the league and its owners. In truth, it was no surprise given how far apart the two sides had been on finalising a satisfactory new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for several months beforehand. By the end of the year little more progress appeared to have been made on a new CBA, leaving a multi-billion dollar industry in limbo once again. Whereas the National Football League NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (centre) leaves another round of talks (NFL) managed to solve its own work stoppage without losing a competitive game in 2011, the NHL has now lost at least half a season as well as billions in revenue. Many of the league’s players have sought fresh ice elsewhere in the world, notably in the soaring Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), while anger towards commissioner Gary Bettman grows seemingly by the day amongst players and fans. Bettman’s ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of hockeyrelated revenues received by players, believed to be around US$3 billion, from 57 per cent under the previous seven-year CBA to around 50 per cent. A deal will surely be done at some point but at what cost to his and the league’s reputation and credibility?

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FEATURE | 25 STORIES

Cycling set for commercial growth

espite the spectre of Lance Armstrong and its toxic past looming large over the world of cycling in 2012, the sport itself is making breakthroughs in key markets and is positioning itself, remarkably, for solid commercial growth. The UK cycling boom was crystallised and further fuelled by a spectacular set of events at London’s Games and a first ever British winner of the Tour de France in Bradley Wiggins. It was also in Britain, earlier in the summer, that a landmark media rights deal was announced between RCS Sport, the Italian agency that owns and operates the Giro d’Italia, and IMG. The eight-year deal for worldwide media rights was a reward for RCS’s progressive thinking and tireless work, and a clear indication of the confidence that major international agencies have in the sport’s future. Later in the year, IMG announced an international distribution deal with the Tour of Flanders while Infront, who will take the Tour de Suisse off IMG’s hands in 2015, even allowed cycling’s beleaguered governing body, the UCI, to get in on the act by signing a four-year global media rights distribution deal worth significantly more than the federation’s previous deal with the EBU.

To float – Manchester United’s year of business Manchester United chief executive David Gill

ew sponsorship announcements in 2011 were greeted with as much incredulity as Manchester United’s deal with DHL in August, which saw the logistics giant pay US$16.65 million a year for four seasons to sponsor the club’s training jerseys – a deal worth more than most other English soccer teams receive from their main shirt sponsors. In October 2012, however, United bought themselves out of the contract in the belief they could sell the slot for even more following their record US$559 million, seven-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with General Motors in July. It was a big statement after an even bigger bit of business in a year when a portion of the club was floated on the New York Stock Exchange. United’s share price has not yet matched the initial sale price of US$14 in August – it hit a US$12.18 low in September, before rallying a little – which, if anything, seemed to invigorate the club’s commercial machine. A New York office is planned, joining an existing one in Hong Kong as the 19-time English champions seek new money in new markets, through regional and local partnerships as well as with headline-grabbing global deals such as Chevrolet. A milestone of sorts was reached as the year ended, with commercial revenue accounting for more than 50 per cent of the club’s quarterly revenue for the first time.

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20/12/2012 13:38:35

Or not to float – Formula One defers

here was, in the end, no Formula One flotation in 2012, with the sport’s majority owner CVC Capital Partners understandably put off its own initial public offering (IPO) by Facebook’s less-than-stellar experience back in May. Nonetheless, the groundwork was largely laid by the sport’s stakeholders for what is now expected to be a listing on a Singapore exchange sometime in 2013. In particular, the desire to float necessitated a swift resolution to negotiations on the Concorde Agreement, the commercial document binding the teams to Formula One and the FIA. Unusually, the financial issues appeared to be resolved remarkably quickly despite some initial hesitation from Mercedes. Discussions about cost-cutting, regulations, and the slice of the pie to be gobbled up by the FIA remained ongoing throughout the season but a financial framework is now in place until 2020. Bernie Ecclestone (above) has also been busy laying down roots for Formula One in new markets in the past few seasons and a return to the US at a permanent circuit in Austin, Texas was a highlight of 2012. The task of putting in place a long-term succession plan for the now 82-yearold chief executive remains a slightly trickier matter for his paymasters at CVC.

Brazil 2014’s Ronaldo, Fifa secretary general Jérôme Valcke and Sepp Blatter

Fifa gives Brazil “a kick up the arse”

he frustrations of world soccer’s governing body Fifa spilled over in March when secretary general Jérôme Valcke made his latest forthright assessment of Brazil’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup. “I don’t understand why things are not moving,” he sighed. “I am sorry to say but things are not working in Brazil.” He went further, suggesting that local organisers needed a “kick up the arse” – a comment which clearly stung, prompting as it did a national furore and, ultimately, Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s calming touch. As Blatter sought peace with Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, there was another momentous episode at the top of Brazilian soccer. Ricardo Teixeira, the longstanding and increasingly controversial head of Brazil’s national soccer federation, finally stepped down amidst ever murkier allegations of corruption, to be replaced by former São Paulo governor José Maria Marin. By the end of March Fifa had upped the ante, placing its entire executive committee on the tournament’s organising committee in an unprecedented move; by the end of the year, however, the realisation that the World Cup is but 18 months away seemed to have dawned on Brazil, with laws debated for years finally passed and, at last, signs of real progress on stadium construction across the country.

BCCI domination continues

he Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed its status as the dominant financial power in world cricket in a year which once again demonstrated how lucrative and chaotic the game can be in its biggest market. In September, the organisation revealed a 101.53 per cent profit increase for 2011/12 to Rs382.36 crore (US$71.5 million), despite a slight fall in revenue from Rs868.03 crore (US$162.32 million) to Rs849.44 crore (US$158.85 million). These figures included increased earnings from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) but not the off-field triumph of 2012, April’s six-year, US$750 million domestic broadcast deal with News Corp’s Star Group for India home series. There were other successes – notably Pepsi’s five-year, Rs396.8 crore (US$71 million) IPL title sponsorship – but signs elsewhere of familiar dysfunction. Early in the year, lead India sponsor Sahara Group threatened withdrawal from the game over the perceived mistreatment of its Pune Warriors IPL franchise, only backing down after drawing key concessions over player recruitment and franchise fees. In October, the IPL shed the Deccan Chargers franchise after owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings missed a bank guarantee deadline. It was replaced with a new Hyderabad team, bought by Sun TV for Rs85.05 crore (US$15.87 million) a year over five years. Meanwhile the BCCI continues its lone refusal to use the technology-based Umpire Decision Review System in internationals, and banned photo-only press agencies for the visit of England in November and December, prompting an imagery boycott in the British media.

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20/12/2012 13:38:46

FEATURE | 25 STORIES

News Corp’s acquisition frenzy

ith most of the nationwide rights to the major US sports now sewn up for the foreseeable future, attention has turned to the regional rights market – and News Corp is right at the heart of it. The company, through its Fox offshoot, has been making overtures on the west coast for some time, closing in on a multi-billion dollar deal for Dodgers rights; to the east, meanwhile, it struck a deal with the New York Yankees in November to take a 49 per cent stake in YES network, deep within which was a broadcast rights deal for Yankees games until 2042. Ohio would appear to be next on its radar. But News Corp’s focus on sport went well beyond US shores in 2012. In August Fox International took a majority stake in Eredivisie Media and Marketing, the commercial arm of the Dutch soccer league, for which it will reportedly pay US$1.26 billion over 12 years. Further east, in Asia, News Corp’s Star Group finally ended its long marriage to ESPN, first by agreeing a US$750 million deal for India home international cricket games, and then striking a deal to take Star Group’s share of the wide-ranging ESPN Star Sports joint venture for around US$350 million. In the aftermath of its failed attempt to purchase full control of BSkyB, News Corp’s apparent switch of focus can be felt across the global sports media landscape.

Stern bids farewell as the Barclays Center says hello

ajor league sport returned to Brooklyn for the first time since the Dodgers headed west in 1957 as the New Jersey Nets became the Brooklyn Nets and moved into a state-of-the-art new multi-purpose arena. The Barclays Center was built at a cost of around US$1 billion and opened in September, a dream realised for New York property developer and former Nets majority owner Bruce Ratner. Having sold the bulk of the team to Russian Mikhail Prokhorov, Ratner retained a sizeable stake in the first new National Basketball Association (NBA) venue since the Amway Center, home of the Magic, opened in Orlando in 2010. The Barclays Center will also be the last new NBA arena opened on David Stern’s watch. By the time he steps down in February 2014, Stern will have been NBA commissioner for precisely 30 years. The timeline for his departure was formally outlined in November, swiftly followed by confirmation that his successor will be his current deputy, Adam Silver. As the 70-year-old prepares to bid the league farewell, the relaunched Brooklyn Nets appear to represent the fresh – even hip – new face of the NBA, thanks in no small part to the prominent support of minority owner Jay-Z and the striking new black and white Nets brand he is said to have had a major hand in developing.

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20/12/2012 13:38:54

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13/12/2012 11:24:48

COVER STORY | A WEEK IN THE LIFE

Brad Drewett Brad Drewett is executive chairman and president of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the top level of men’s tennis. The former player, a quarter-finalist at his home Grand Slam in Australia in 1976, was chief executive of the ATP’s international group before taking the top job from the departing Adam Helfant in January 2012. During a busy period at the end of the 2012 tennis season, Drewett gave SportsPro a seven-day snapshot of his life and a behind-the-scenes tour of his working world. By Michael Long. Photographs by Graham Fudger.

Thursday 1st November

arrived straight from Paris on Tuesday ahead of this year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The lead-up to our season-ending event has been different this year in that we have not had the week’s break in between Paris and London, as has been the case in previous years. When this calendar change was decided a couple of years ago, it was made in direct response to the players, particularly top players, wanting a longer off-season. There were a number of calendar options on the table at the time and this is the one that was agreed by the players and tournaments. Losing the week has come with its own challenges, but it’s important that we all remember that we are going through this for the first time and need to assess the situation fully after the players have had a longer off-season. It’s been a luxury in previous years to have the free promotional days in the lead-up to the tournament, and whilst those extra promotional days are a great bonus, we are hard at work marketing this event all year round. I spent yesterday and today at our office here in London doing final preparations for our board meetings, working through the board agenda. There is a lot happening later on this week in the lead-up to the tournament, including pre-tournament media opportunities with each of the players, a draw ceremony, and our official Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Gala event, held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. Friday 2nd November

ur senior management team came in today and we held our management meetings as scheduled. We have people based all over the world coming into London

for meetings ahead of the tournament – from our ofﬁces in Sydney, Monte-Carlo, Florida and, of course, here in London. We work closely on all areas of governance of the sport across all our regions on a week-in, week-out basis, and we’ll meet in person a dozen times a year. Late last night we took occupancy of The O2, so preparations are well underway in converting the arena from a concert venue to a world-class indoor tennis venue. They only have three or four days to get everything into place. The transition is impressive. The O2 is an incredible venue to showcase the quality of men’s tennis. It provides the perfect platform to create an entertainment-style atmosphere like no other in tennis that energises both the crowds and the players. But that said, I have to say I’m a traditionalist at heart. I’ve been around in the sport and one of the great assets we have is our history. We have a wonderful history. Next year I’m actually putting together a heritage programme that will highlight the history of men’s professional tennis and the history of the ATP. I love all that. I love all the great past players but at the same time I’m very aware of the need to keep moving forward. Innovation is very important. I go to an event like the Italian Open in Rome, or Bastad in Sweden, or our event in Monte Carlo, these events are 50, 60, 70 years old. I love the awe and magic of them but at the same time I love to see an event which is new and pushing boundaries. One of the great things about the ATP World Tour is that we have 62 tournaments in 32 countries. Different markets have different kind of events so there’s not just one style. Every tournament has a totally different personality, so I think different markets bring different elements of entertainment. As a sport, we cover all world traditions but our biggest traditional market is Europe; it’s where we have half our tournaments

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“I have to say I’m a traditionalist at heart. I’ve been around in the sport and one of the great assets we have is our history.” and over half our players. Europe is still really the engine that drives our organisation and it will remain the main traditional market but for us, South America now is also becoming increasingly crucial. We have ATP World Tour 250 events in Viña del Mar, Buenos Aires and São Paulo, and a new event coming to Rio de Janeiro from 2014, so we want to drive our involvement in that market. Obviously then you have China. We’ve been involved in China for over ten years and in that time we’ve gone from being a speck on the wall to having two of the top three or four events in China – we have the China Open in Beijing and the Shanghai Rolex Masters – so I know the interest in China is growing, from the sponsorship point of view and from the television point of view. Saturday 3rd November

he ofﬁcial Barclays ATP World Tour Finals gala, held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and supported by Moët & Chandon, was held this evening. It was a great occasion, a special way for us to welcome the singles players and doubles teams ahead of our year-end tournament. For the players, this event is unique – only the best in the world can play here – so it’s important that they

feel special once they get here. We raised over UK£400,000 for a great cause. On a personal level, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening in the company of my wife and my daughter. A few years ago I think we – the ATP – were a little bit behind with our charity efforts, and we’re deﬁ nitely stepping it up in quite a large way. We have our ‘ATP Aces For Charity’ programme, a global initiative launched in 2011 aimed at giving back to communities where ATP World Tour events are played and supporting tournament and player charitable initiatives. But we’re not yet where I would like us to be and there’s still a long way to go. In terms of players, they’re massive personalities, huge stars. We’re aware of the charity work they do and I’m very proud of them and the work they do in that area. The more we can do to help support these individual players in their charitable initiatives, as well as helping communicate that story to the outside world, the better. The ATP’s

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red-photographic.com

COVER STORY | A WEEK IN THE LIFE

Andy Murray’s debut win at the US Open in September meant the four Grand Slams were shared between the world’s top four players in 2012

Brad Drewett, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Barclays retail and business banking chief executive Ashok Vaswani on court at The O2

responsibility is to grow the men’s professional game. We come into town for a week and we highlight the sport and hopefully through great promotion and television we incite people in that market to a) watch it and b) play it. But after we leave town the responsibility for growing the sport rests with the national federation. In China we’ve done a lot of work with the federation to try and help expand our platform beyond just one week. We do different promotions throughout the year. We can work more closely with federations and tell them to do more to utilise the value of what we’re doing for more than just one or two weeks. We also have the ATP Challenger Tour which provides a lot of playing opportunities across the world for younger players hoping to break through on to the ATP World Tour.

fragmented. I’ve heard that for over 20 years. It’s true on one hand but there’s no perfect system in any sport or any governing body. I don’t know one relationship between the athlete and the governing body that is ideal. In tennis, our structure is one which does have its ﬂaws but looking at the history of the last 20 years, we’ve made it work. The WTA and ATP are clear on what they represent – men and women, professional tennis – and then there are the four Slams. The relationship between the WTA, ATP and the Slams is really good so if there has been a potential issue this year we’ve managed to resolve it in a way that made it work. I agree with the premise that tennis is, from the outside looking in, fragmented but on the other hand, once you’re on the inside we make it work. I work extremely closely with WTA chairman Stacey Allaster. We talk a lot. It’s normal that we may not agree on everything, but we have two different products in the market. The men’s game, commercially – tournaments, sponsorship, etc – has always been the main driver of the commercial assets of our sport. In some areas it makes sense to collaborate, like the website or through promotional events through the media, but at the same time men’s sport stands very well on its own and I believe that’s the right way for us to move forward: as separate entities but to

Sunday 4th November

ur board meetings are continuing to take place at the ofﬁcial tournament hotel, the Marriott County Hall, while the ﬁnal tournament preparations are taking place over at The O2 where many of the players are doing their pre-tournament press conferences. Tennis is often criticised because people view it as

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After the ATP World Tour Finals, Novak Djokovic raises the trophy awarded to him for finishing 2012 at number one in the world rankings

work hand in hand with the WTA where it makes sense. With the season almost at a close, it feels like my first year as president of the ATP has flashed by but I have to say I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve been in the sport all my life and to have this position is a great honour. I feel very privileged to be here. But it’s also one of the most challenging jobs in sport because, above all, it’s such a global organisation; culturally very diverse; we have tournaments on one side and players on the other, which is very unique; and it’s also a big business. So if you put all that together, there’s a lot of balancing to do between various constituents and countries, commercially and otherwise. It’s been an incredibly busy year. Someone asked me the other day, “Where are you living?” And my answer was: “Nowhere.” I’ve been on a plane pretty much all year round, travelling. The only thing I love about flying is the time it allows for reading. I’m reading Imran Khan’s book as I love autobiographies. I just read Mick Jagger’s – I love The Rolling Stones – but then I recently enjoyed Simon Cowell’s, so you have the two opposite ends. I used to love playing golf, too, but I don’t have the time for that anymore. I just enjoy being with my family. For me, a day off is a day at home being with them. This job has made me realise how precious every moment is.

Monday 5th November

oday I met with the directors of the European tournaments, the American tournaments and our International region tournaments. We also have our tournament council, which is an elected ten-man board – basically the tournament leadership. And then we had our external media board meeting, which is all our television rights holders and I’m chairman of that as well. On top of that I had meetings with various players. Working closely with them was one of my main priorities when I arrived in the job. We started the year with the player meeting in January and the players raised the issue of Grand Slam prize money, which had been raised in the past. The previous chairman tried to deal with it before but for one reason or the other it hadn’t been resolved. I knew as soon as the players raised it with me in January that it was going to be a big challenge for me to deal with the events themselves. We’ve never been able to engage them before. So that consumed a lot of my time this year. It’s fair to say I’ve spent more time with Grand Slam chairmen than my wife. But overall we’ve made amazing progress with the Slams. I always knew we

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COVER STORY | A WEEK IN THE LIFE

“I feel very privileged to be here. But it’s also one of the most challenging jobs in sport,” says Brad Drewett, pictured in London on 9th November 2012

should try and work in a pragmatic, cooperative manner. The players wanted a little more money from the Slams and I agreed with them but I wanted to do it in a cooperative way, through dialogue – you know, like the old Ronald Reagan saying, to disagree without being disagreeable. That style of trying to work through the issues. I think for me the most significant moment was when I had Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in the same room with each Grand Slam chairman in Indian Wells in March. To me that was a solid moment, with the Slams and the ATP and the four top players on board. It was in a corporate suite – not a boardroom – so quite informal and it was the first meeting that I organised after the issue had been raised in January. To have those four guys in the same room as the respective Grand Slam chairmen was truly significant. I have very good relations with the Slams. They’re good people and I see where we’ve made good progress. Our sport is in such good shape right now the last thing I wanted was internal friction or players and Grand Slams having a battle publicly. I wanted to keep it in rooms, behind closed doors, and we’ve done that. I’m very lucky I have a tremendous group of players, not only on the court but also off it. They’re smart, they’re engaged, they’re very curious; they want to know about the details, the issues, the business side, the television. Roger, Rafa, Novak, Andy, Juan Martin Del Potro, they’re all very engaged and it helps me a lot. When I’m talking to tournaments or the Slams they know that the top players are supportive of what I’m saying. In the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal, Andy Murray was quoted by the media as saying he’d welcome more out-ofcompetition doping tests. The problem you have is you can

always do more. It’s like a piece of string: how much is enough? We are one of the most progressive sports organisations in the world – tennis was one of the ﬁrst major sports to really embrace anti-doping measures – and I’m very open to anyone that comes to me and says, “Brad, look, we need more of this, more of that.” I know it’s all in the interest of the game but how much is enough? We’re always assessing our practices internally, whether it is good enough. But I don’t want to just be reacting to what someone else said. Obviously the Armstrong thing made everyone re-check and have another look. Tuesday 6th November

ne real highlight of the year took place for me today when I presented Novak Djokovic with his 2012 ATP World Tour number one trophy on court at The O2. Finishing the year as number one on the ATP World Tour must go down as one of the toughest challenges in all sports. It’s the greatest test of skill, hard work and physical and mental endurance that our sport has to offer. The fact that Novak has managed to do this in two successive seasons is a phenomenal effort. Since the ATP Rankings began 40 years ago, only 16 players can lay claim to this feat. Novak is part of a group of players that reﬂects the greatest champions in the history of the ATP World Tour, and truly deserves his place among such illustrious company. Meanwhile, there’s been a lot of media interest in the news that broke today regarding a proposal put forward by the organisers of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event to increase the overall prize money at the event, which was not approved at our board meeting. The reason this happened was simple.

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19/12/2012 17:00:13

COVER STORY | A WEEK IN THE LIFE

“In tennis, our structure is one which does have its flaws but looking at the history of the last 20 years, we’ve made it work.” Last year Indian Wells put an extra US$800,000 in, all of which was going to the quarters, semis, and finals. The middleranked players obviously thought that was not equitable. This year Indian Wells came back and did square it, but not 100 per cent; they still put more at the top. My view is that, if we want to encourage more prize money, it’s not just about putting more money in but it has to be distributed equally. And so my decision right now with Indian Wells is about distribution and conversations are ongoing. I know there has been a lot of publicity and this and that about confl ict of interest within the board but it really is quite simple. Our rules require any increases to be applied at the same rate for each round, so growth is equal for players. This model has been developed by the players and tournaments working together over many years, in part to protect the middle-ranked players’ share of prize money. We would be happy to approve a prize money increase if it complies with this simple rule. And then we shouldn’t forget the bigger picture. We’ve had a record year financially. Prize money on the ATP World Tour increased 30 per cent in the previous five years and last year we announced a three-year agreement for further significant increases on tour. Between 2012 and 2014, prize money will increase another 20 per cent. Prize money at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals also continues to increase significantly, with this year’s purse up ten per cent. The player bonus pool, payable to the world’s top 12 eligible players, will increase 33 per cent from UK£3.75 million to UK£5 million in 2014. The ATP is in the strongest position financially in its history, with the organisation and its 62 tournaments now generating in excess of half a billion dollars annually. Wednesday 7th November

oday we announced that the Finals will remain in London for an additional two years, through 2015, with Barclays extending its title sponsorship. Renewing London’s hosting contract for the event to 2015 was quite complicated. I spent much of the year working on various parts with AEG, our title sponsor Barclays, other event partners, and then television partners, trying to make sure they’re all coming together at the same time. So it took a whole year to make sure all the partners were supportive. Our year-end tournament has a history of moving around, and has taken place in number of major cities throughout its 43year history, including New York, Shanghai, Barcelona, Sydney, to name a few. The demand is high and we have a lot of interest

The O2 welcomed its millionth ATP World Tour Finals spectator in 2012

now in this event. It’s globally recognised as being a marquee event in any market so there are many cities and countries that would love to have it. The result is that you’ve got people saying we should move it away and then others saying otherwise. But the success of London has been such that for anyone else to have a chance they would have to be absolutely outstanding. Later this week we’ll be welcoming our one millionth fan through the gates at The O2 since we moved there in 2009. So I think we were always more than likely going to stay here rather than go somewhere else. To stay here, on the back of four great years, is the right call for now and then we’ll see further down the line. In addition to retaining Barclays’ commitment for another two years, we also announced the renewal of our agreement with Ricoh, who have been an outstanding partner to the ATP for nearly a decade; it’ll be ten years in 2015. And we’ve also renewed our agreement with Head as the official tennis ball of the ATP through to 2017 – we’ll be celebrating 20 years of partnership with them next year. It’s great to have developed such loyal long-term partners. Overall it’s been a very positive week. We’re confident that we will have a couple of exciting new partnerships to announce at the start of 2013. We’ll also be launching our new ATP ‘Beat This’ global advertising campaign at the start of January. I firmly believe the product we are showcasing on the ATP World Tour is sport at its very best. The campaign will reflect that, showcasing the incredible platform of venues that host ATP World Tour events, as well as featuring all the world’s best players who have taken our game to new heights. We produce the campaign centrally and make the assets available to all our events, so you’ll see the campaign implemented in the marketplace at the majority of ATP World Tour events in 2013. We look forward to another fantastic ATP World Tour season ahead.

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CMY

SPECIAL REPORT | TENNIS

A head of the game Romanian maverick Ion Tiriac has transformed the Madrid Open into one of the biggest events on the professional men’s tennis tour. With a skin so thick it’s almost impenetrable to criticism, he remains hell-bent on shaking up the tennis world. By Michael Long

on Tiriac is many things: former Olympian and Grand Slam champion, charismatic tournament promoter, business mogul, wonderfully moustachioed Romanian billionaire. More than anything, though, he’s an ideas man. And a busy one at that. Through his company Tiriac Holdings, the 73-year-old owns ventures in over 40 different industry sectors, from automotives and aviation to real estate, surveillance and financial services. The result is a burgeoning business empire that is as time-consuming as it is moneymaking. And while he now has “very little” time to dedicate to his first love, Tiriac insists he will never desert the industry he still knows “better than anything else”. “I own a bank but I am not a banker,” he says. “I own an insurance company with one of the best partners in this world [Allianz] but I am not a specialist. I’m coming from sports and I know sports and I believe, even if from time to time I might be arrogant about it, that I know sport better than a lot of people.” As well he might. In a moderately successful career as a professional athlete, Tiriac represented the Romanian ice hockey team at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics and, later, competed in over 150 Davis Cup matches in a more than notable stint on the men’s tennis circuit that peaked with a doubles title at the 1970 French Open alongside compatriot Ilie Năstase. Following his playing career, Tiriac went on to coach and manage several top tennis players, including Guillermo Vilas, Goran Ivanišević, Marat Safin and, most famously, Boris Becker. It was during this period that Tiriac made his name as a shrewd and colourful businessman, and he recalls his achievements during that time

“To get back from a tennis player what you pay for you have to make him as comfortable as possible with the event.” with characteristically amusing immodesty. “I went to the coach period where I taught other ones and I made from babies world champions, not one, not two, not three; that is making them, not getting them already made,” he says with an unvarnished smile. “Then I was manager, and I made most of them, not billionaires in dollars, but hundreds of millions coming from sport. So I know some things; I know what the spectator wants, I know what the television wants to be a success with the ratings for the event, and so on.” That knowledge helped to ensure Tiriac’s current status as one of the bestrespected men in tennis and, combined with his idiosyncratic management style, set him along the path to becoming the risk-taking tournament promoter he is perhaps best known as today. Tiriac has run major men’s events in Germany, including the ATP’s seasonending championships in Hanover from 1996 to 1999, but chief among his existing tennis interests is the US$4 million Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, a combined men’s and women’s event that falls into the highest tournament category on both the ATP and WTA tours. Tiriac has taken particular pride in turning what was a mediocre event into a world-class reflection of his own enterprising nature; one of the richest, most innovative and indeed headlinemaking stopovers on the international tennis calendar. In 2009, for example, he was integral

in moving the event across town into an all-new home at Madrid’s Caja Mágica, where an impressive complex now boasts no less than three state-of-the-art retractable roofs. Subsequent innovations to the tournament itself have seen models employed as ball boys and girls, and, more recently, the introduction of blue clay, the use of which made for major news, albeit not quite in the way Tiriac had hoped. During the 2012 event top players including Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal openly voiced their disapproval at what they felt were unsuitable, slippery and therefore potentially dangerous courts. As a result, the tournament will return to traditional red clay for the 2013 edition – but don’t expect Tiriac to shelve his blue revolution permanently. “Everything that is new in tennis is going to create a controversy,” he says, clearly fed up with having to explain himself yet again, “but it had nothing to do with blue. The first time I did a blue court was 27/28 years ago, in Stuttgart. It was the end of the world and yet after two years the US Open did it, Australian Open did it, because the contrast of the yellow ball is much greater with the blue court. It’s very simple; we studied that. We worked on the blue clay for five years and I think it wasn’t fair that some players, a very big minority, said: ‘No blue!’ Why? Give me a reason not to have blue. But that’s finished now, the ATP has the say here and I cannot disagree with that. But it’s going to come back, that’s for sure.” With or without blue clay, the

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Madrid Open is still, like its owner, incredibly successful and indisputably entertaining. Some now view the tournament as tennis’s unofficial fifth Grand Slam but Tiriac sees no value in trying to emulate the model, or shake up the hierarchy, of the established four. Although he continues to press for more prize money in Madrid, as far as he is concerned it is “not necessary” for the tournament to be anything other than a standalone event. And besides, tennis’s future lies in entirely new event formats. “The future world of our sport is to run it in the best way,” he says. “It would be, in my book – if I was the decision maker and if I had the say I’d make sure it

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19/12/2012 17:32:37

SPECIAL REPORT | TENNIS

The business of tennis, according to Ion Tiriac On the importance of innovation in tennis...

On players, their ‘sell by date’, and losing relevance…

On the relationship between charity and business…

“The problem is that tennis is so fragmented it is near impossible to come to a general decision within five years. The ATP, WTA, ITF, Grand Slams and all the others have to get the sport going forward together. “We should not be competitive between us [the different bodies in the sport], we should be competitive with other sports such as football and rugby. “Tennis is the only sport which has changed less than any other sport over the last 30 years. The only noticeable thing to have changed is the HawkEye [ball-tracking technology used for line call reviews]. “If you look at soccer and ice hockey, it is all about entertainment. “Sport is entertainment and in my book tennis is the number two sport in Europe [after soccer], even though it is an individual sport. We have to look forward.”

“The answer to this is very simple: we are all born as a human being. You grow up in different environments and cultures and with different genes. It also depends on what direction you decide to go. “If you become a tennis champion, the key is for how long after you retire you remain a personality that people will remember. “There will always be someone who hits the ball better or harder than you, but if you are respected after your professional life, then human beings respect you for being a human being, which gives you a platform for trying to do more than what you have already done on the tennis court... “The more you grow and the older you get, the more you realise that the last shirt has no pockets, and then you do something for those in need.”

“I don’t think that charity has anything to do with business. I’m going to do charity not for the business but because I’m human and I want to look at myself in the mirror. Business and charity are done in different ways.”

make at least a net of US$100 million annually, in my book, then you know that a good tennis event in the future can make half of that if it is run well and it is done properly in the next ten years or so. That depends a lot on the will of the ATP and WTA to give you the tools, to give you the period of at least 12 days, to give you the best players, to make it interesting, because they cannot make a player play. “All the players are convinced it is good for him if the money is there. Money is a very important part, we’re in professional sport, so there’s not any doubt about it. And to get back from a tennis player what you pay for you have to make him as comfortable as possible with the event.” It is an undesirable, if understandable, reality that athletes follow the money in professional sport. Tiriac, of course, has it in abundance but that wasn’t always the case. “I didn’t have a talent,” he says with seemingly genuine humility. “I had to work like a mad dog and I don’t know if anybody is prepared to work [like that]

today. In the days that I used to work with [Guillermo] Vilas or Năstase, I had to practise four hours. It’s a different world today. We had no money, no prize money, nothing, but we were still playing four/ five/six hours a day because it was our life. Now they play for money but so be it.” At 73, one might assume Tiriac will settle down soon after such a long and distinguished career. But, true to form, he has other ideas. Speaking shortly after making a rare public appearance at November’s inaugural London Tennis Debate in the British capital’s Canary Wharf, where nearby the best eight male tennis players on the planet are competing at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Tiriac regrets that he does not have time to stick around. “I came here and I did not see a tennis ball, unfortunately,” he says, “and now I have to leave to the airport.” And with that, he is off in pursuit of a cigarette and his next big idea.

took place – eight groups of four, exactly like the [Fifa] World Cup or the [Uefa] Champions League, exactly the same.” It is certainly an interesting idea, if a touch vague and perhaps unworkable. Yet on the subject of innovation, what else would Tiriac attempt to implement if he was in Brad Drewett’s shoes at the head of the ATP? “I would make the ball much bigger to make the game slower,” he says without hesitation. “I would adjust, eventually, the rules so that the ATP Masters 1000 events are scheduled perfectly so that the player has always a day yes or a day no. And I would not limit the other [tournaments] to the status that they have. I would open the competition to everybody, even if they pass the 1000 tournaments.” Tiriac’s stance is hardly surprising, given that such free-market principles are what enabled him to amass his fortune in post-communist Romania. And in that entrepreneurial spirit, he continues: “If you think that any of the Grand Slams

On the future of tennis… “I started from scratch as a tennis player. I was not as good as Justin Gimelstob... probably better. The point is I have been a coach, promoter, manager and so on, so I understand the structure and the processes. Grand Slams are good business but they only take up a small part of the year. What do we do in the other 40-something weeks? Something proper and something good for the benefit of this sport.” Ion Tiriac was speaking at the London Tennis Debate in Canary Wharf on 7th November.

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Ion Tiriac, pictured with the trophy that bears his name, proudly backs innovations like the blue clay used at the Madrid Open won in 2012 by Roger Federer

“In the days that I used to work with Vilas or Năstase [left], I had to practise four hours,” says Tiriac of his playing career. “It’s a different world today.”

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19/12/2012 17:32:56

SPECIAL REPORT | TENNIS

Girls on film Eurosport is one of the most prolific tennis broadcasters in the world and, as its deputy head of acquisitions Geraldine Filiol explains, has done more than most to develop the women’s game in particular. By Michael Long

he Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2013 but it will do so without one of its most cherished partners. As the seasonending WTA Championships concluded in Istanbul in October, so too did pan-European broadcaster Eurosport’s 14-year partnership with the organisation, bringing to an end one of the most significant chapters in the history of women’s professional tennis. That chapter began thanks largely to the vision of Arnon Milchan, the Israeli entertainment mogul whose LA-based production company Regency Enterprises had in 1998 purchased the WTA’s international TV rights. Witnessing the rising profiles of the up-and-coming Williams sisters, the growing popularity of the likes of Martina Hingis, Lindsey Davenport and Jana Novotna, and the evident marketability of Anna Kournikova, Milchan believed that women’s tennis had the potential to be as glamorous as the Hollywood scene in which he had made his name as a film producer. But in order for that to happen – and in order to get a return on his not insubstantial investment – Milchan knew he needed to dramatically increase the tour’s exposure. And that was where Eurosport came in. “We were happy to invest in the tour,” recalls Geraldine Filiol, deputy manager of acquisitions at the Eurosport Group. “We thought it was worth it and so we decided to make a bet – a bet that we could grow women’s tennis and that it had room to grow.” Buying into Milchan’s vision Eurosport invested heavily and, with the world’s top females positioned each week on television screens spanning the breadth of tennis’s traditional European heartland, it was not long before commercial cash began to roll in. In the ensuing years, WTA revenues

“99.7 million different Europeans watched some WTA on Eurosport this year.” grew sharply through ever more lucrative sponsorship deals. Other broadcast agreements came thick and fast. The rest, as they say, is history, with the body having realised its founder Billie Jean King’s 1973 dream of becoming what is now, in 2012, a flourishing enterprise boasting combined prize money of some US$100 million. Eurosport, of course, cannot claim sole responsibility for the tour’s present prosperity; other partners, not least the now-departed duo of Regency and Sony Ericsson, whose six-year, US$88 million title sponsorship of the tour represented the largest deal in women’s sport when it was agreed in 2006, have played a vital role. Yet, as many in tennis would attest, Eurosport’s considerable investment of resources provided the springboard from which the WTA was able to stimulate its subsequent commercial expansion. “I think we can take some credit because we believe, and a lot of people in the business of tennis believe, that we’ve brought women’s tennis over the past 14 years to where it is now,” Filiol says, speaking in early December. “We greatly contributed to creating media awareness, better awareness for the player, for the tour, for women’s tennis, because we were broadcasting about 300 matches a year across over 100 million homes in Europe.” That level of commitment continued – and indeed increased – right to the very end, with coverage over the final year of Eurosport’s partnership more comprehensive than ever before. “To give you an estimate for women’s tennis and how much we were active in the promotion, this year in 2012 the total

volume of broadcasts was 550 hours on Eurosport and 520 hours on Eurosport 2, so it was more than 1000 hours,” says Filiol. “To give you an idea of the power of Eurosport to boost and push a property like this one, 99.7 million different Europeans watched some WTA on Eurosport this year. If you count Eurosport 2, it’s 111 million different Europeans.” Taking those figures into consideration, it is clear to see that the reach lost by Eurosport’s departure will be, to use Filiol’s word, “huge”. But while the broadcaster’s continent-wide platform will not be easy to replace, the WTA is confident it can fill the void nonetheless. Having signed a deal with Perform in December 2011, the body expects to double its overall exposure in the next four years. From January 2013, the digital content specialists will exploit the media rights for all 22 major WTA events, including the Tour’s 21 Premier tournaments and the season-ending WTA Championships, until at least 2016. Tasked, as part of its role, with the responsibility for overseeing all markets outside of North America, Perform has also teamed up with Lagardère Unlimitedowned agency IEC in Sports in order to sell, distribute and manage all broadcast relationships on the WTA’s behalf over the course of the same four-year period. The plan is for the new partnership, which has so far secured contracts with MCS TV Group for WTA coverage in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Israel and Portugal, and with Sport1 in Holland, to ensure live coverage of more courts, and therefore more matches, at all of

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Eurosport’s Geraldine Filiol has been a key figure in the WTA Tour’s rise as a television proposition

Tennis broadcasting: the state of play in Europe

ennis’s current prosperity is “not a cause but a consequence of a very competitive TV market in Europe”, according to Eurosport’s Geraldine Filiol. In her view, the rising cost of tennis rights fees comes as a result of new sports channels springing up on the continent – “the BTs and Al Jazeeras of Europe” – and growing competition between rival operators. Driven by compelling rivalries at the very top of the men’s game, Filiol believes the ATP has been the biggest beneficiary of that competition. “They managed to get a very significant development of their media rights revenues because in some countries

the WTA’s premier events. Broadcasts, for instance, will be transmitted simultaneously to fans in different markets around the world, while newly created digital channels will further bolster the WTA’s already impressive online offering. Looking ahead, only time will tell if the WTA can match increased exposure with higher rights fees but in the current state of play, Filiol believes the women’s tour may struggle to capitalise financially in spite

there was an extra player or a very strong competition,” she explains. “In France, they have really benefited from the competition between Canal Plus and Orange. In Spain, they benefited from Nadal being a huge star.” Such a situation has led Eurosport itself to rule out investing in the ATP’s biggest tournaments, at least for now. “Unfortunately we cannot have the men’s 1000 and 500 events because we don’t necessarily have the room to do it the best way,” Filiol admits. “Financially it’s not necessarily the best combination for us between the cost and the value delivered. But it does deliver great value for other broadcasters.” of tennis’s wider boom. “Until recently the cycle was better, now it’s not a great cycle, even though the WTA has changed their approach and selected a market-bymarket approach hoping to capitalise on the competition and benefit from the price increase,” she explains. “I’m not sure they will get [an increase] in the next cycle. It’s being negotiated so we will see.” For Filiol, who was publicly thanked in October by WTA chief Stacey Allaster

for her role in the growth of women’s tennis over the past 14 years, Eurosport’s decision not to renew was a result of the WTA’s eagerness to up the stakes with Perform. “They [the WTA] decided to take another route because their agents wanted to grow our financial commitment to levels that didn’t make any sense,” she says. “The WTA was very keen for us to invest as much as we do for Grand Slams, when in fact for us it is very different.” The WTA may well have moved on but Filiol is not about to dwell on the past. Quick to act after it became clear that the two parties would no longer have a future together, Filiol successfully negotiated renewals with the US and French Opens in January 2012, therefore ensuring that three of the four Grand Slams – the Australian Open being the other – will remain on Eurosport for the foreseeable future. “For the moment, our focus is the top events,” she says. “A channel like Eurosport is focusing on the best of the best, the crème de la crème. For us, the Grand Slams are our priority because they go beyond the sport of tennis.” The power of the four Grand Slams is such that the tournaments are unrivalled within tennis when it comes to generating commercial revenue. For broadcasters, the Slams are guaranteed to spike the ratings but there are additional reasons why Filiol sees them as an indispensable part of Eurosport’s present offering. “Apart from the fact they deliver a great audience and they are very good for sponsors – our sponsors come on air to activate as they want to be associated to Grand Slams – one of the reasons is that they are fabulous events to enable us to show how we’ve developed our multiscreen strategy and how we efficiently develop that,” she says. “We are able to provide our multi-court service so we’ve used that to develop our Player service. Eurosport Player is available on PC, on mobile and tablets, which is a fantastic tool to boost subscription to our application. We want Eurosport to be the multi-screen, multi-platform sports media company of Europe and I think the Grand Slams demonstrate that. Three times a year Grand Slams provide great content for these very devices and we really exploit tennis rights on mobile and digital channels more than any other sport.”

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SPECIAL REPORT | TENNIS

Unlimited potential The commercial opportunities of the tennis boom have cascaded from the top-ranked players on both tours to a tranche of players just below. It is up to agents like Lagardère Unlimited’s John Tobias to make the most of them. By Michael Long

f individual sports rely on highly marketable champions to prosper, it’s little wonder that tennis is thriving. Exactly what defines marketability will always be a matter of some conjecture but few within the business of sport would deny the marketing credentials of the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova. At the forefront of what is now a genuinely global sport, each one of tennis’s leading lights is an incredibly valuable asset to the brands they endorse. Individually each personifies everything an elite athlete should be; embodying values such as competitiveness and sportsmanship whilst gracefully unifying superstardom and philanthropy. From a corporate perspective, sponsors have long been attuned to those standout names. But such is the popularity of modern tennis, the torrent of sponsorship cash flooding the sport is no longer the sole reserve of the top practitioners. Percolating deeper and deeper down the rankings, in today’s world of boom-time tennis there are endorsement dollars aplenty. And for agents like John Tobias, there is rarely a problem finding them. “What I’ve seen is that the corporate world is really recognising tennis as being very much a global sport and they’re not pigeonholing tennis players to their various markets,” says the American. “For instance, Andy Murray is not looked at as British market focused. He can be a worldwide ambassador for anybody, as obviously Nadal and Federer have shown. But even players that are at that kind of second level; take for instance one of our clients, John Isner – he’s not just looked at as this American tennis player who can only represent American companies. We’re able to go and get a very good shoe

“Essentially we work for the player so at the end of the day if they’re not happy it’s not a good situation for us.” and clothing deal from Lacoste, which is largely a French-based company.” Although still a relative youngster in the tennis industry, Tobias boasts considerable experience. In barely a decade since starting out as an understudy to sports marketing legend Donald Dell, the 34-year-old has negotiated hundreds of contracts for tennis clients. Now president of the tennis division at Lagardère Unlimited, Tobias oversees the off-court affairs of over 50 ATP and WTA players in the international athlete management company’s stable, which includes the top two American men, John Isner and Mardy Fish; three of the world’s top ten women, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwańska; and the best men’s doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan. Speaking to SportsPro from Lagardère’s Los Angeles office in late November, the collected Californian is clearly relishing working alongside some of the most marketable athletes on the planet. “Tennis is one of the truly global sports out there where you have athletes playing in different regions of the world week by week and you can take advantage of that from a corporate perspective,” he says. “I think that’s happening in tennis, not only men’s tennis but women’s tennis as well where you have icons like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, and then the next up-and-coming generation like some of our clients. They’re kind of filling that next wave and they’re attracting attention all over the world.”

It is no secret that the now-worldwide spread of tennis’s two increasingly popular elite tours has given rise to perhaps the most demanding calendar in all of sport. Players spend a great deal of the year on the road, in hotels and in the air – not to mention competing – and while both tours have recently shortened their seasons Tobias believes the role of the management company is becoming as much about managing client time as brokering sponsorship deals; or, as he puts it, “day-to-day servicing” as opposed to merely “revenue producing”. “When players have weeks off the last thing they want to be doing is hustling around the world doing photo shoots and corporate appearances,” he continues. “The off-season is so incredibly short that it limits the player’s ability to take on a lot of sponsorship so we need to be very selective and make sure the ones that they do take on, and the time that they spend, is allocated towards those select few.” When it comes to sponsorship procurement and sourcing endorsement contracts, Tobias works closely with his clients to ensure they are kept in the loop with regards to the progress of negotiations. As the head of what he calls “a somewhat boutique” operation at Lagardère – at least in comparison to the IMGs or Octagons of this world – his approach has always been to remain as accessible as possible. “Some players like to know every little detail of what’s going on with their business,” he reveals, “and then there are

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other clients who basically say, ‘Come to me with a quarterly report and let me know where we are in discussions with this company and that company.’ My group, because we are smaller, we travel a lot. We’re on the road for 25 to 30 weeks of the year with our clients, so there’s daily meetings going on to keep them updated and let them know the situation and where we’re coming from.” Lagardère’s current client roster is a mixed bag of old-timers and pro circuit newcomers. Some, like the Bryan brothers, are seasoned professionals, while others like 16-year-old American Taylor Townsend, the latest addition to the Lagardère portfolio who finished 2012 as the best female junior in the world, or 19-yearold Sloane Stephens are taking their first steps

out into the world of professional tennis. Such disparity means Tobias must tailor his methods to cater for the individual circumstances each client finds themselves in. And although he admits there are pros and cons to working with players at both ends of the

career spectrum, he deems it somewhat easier to work with old hands. “As players get older they realise that their window to take advantage of some of these business opportunities as a top sportsman is relatively small,” he explains. “Usually tennis players are coming towards the end of their career once they hit about 30 years old so at some point in their career the light flicks on and they realise they’re not going to be able to do this forever and they really need to get involved with their managing group on a daily basis and be really proactive to help them market their brand. “Sometimes when they’re young and their eyes are wide open and they’re first on to the tour, they don’t have much of an opinion in their marketing and they allow us to run the show. But at the same time we always look at it as a partnership. Essentially we work for the player so at the end of the day if they’re not happy it’s not a good situation for us. We need to make sure they’re

John Isner is among those below the tennis elite who are attracting new sponsors

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SPECIAL REPORT | TENNIS

Partnering for partnerships

oët & Chandon made headlines at the end of November by signing a high-profi le endorsement deal, reputedly worth US$30 million, with Swiss legend Roger Federer. The brand’s move to sign the 17-time Grand Slam champion was no doubt made to augment its role as the official champagne of the ATP World Tour. But such a strategy could also be a sign of where tennis sponsorship in general is headed. For John Tobias, president of the tennis division at Lagardère Unlimited, those within tennis should be encouraging other brands to follow in Moët & Chandon’s footsteps. Aligning tour, player and even tournament sponsorship packages, he says, would make tennis more appealing to wouldinvolved and the more involved they are the better and easier it is for us.” Like all sports agents, Tobias is constantly on the lookout for that next big star and he believes he may well have found it in Sloane Stephens. The young African-American, currently ranked 38th on the WTA Tour, is according to Tobias “as marketable an athlete as we’ve ever represented. “There’s absolutely no shortage of interest in her,” he beams. “As long as she stays healthy there’s no reason in my mind that this girl won’t be in the top ten next year.” Stephens is exactly the kind of client Tobias is after and with tennis, in his eyes, “the most high-profi le sport for a female athlete worldwide”, he has now taken the decision to narrow his focus to the women’s side of the game. “A male tennis athlete has to compete with the likes of LeBron James, or Kobe Bryant, or football stars in Europe, or Formula One racers. I mean there are a lot of other athletes in other sports at very high levels that male tennis players have to compete with in marketability,” he explains. “But if you go back and look at the top ten most marketable female

be sponsors and therefore help to boost opportunities for mid-ranked players and lesser-known tournaments. “I wish the tour and the players could partner up and go approach a brand together,” he says. “I think a lot of times we’re working against each other a little bit. Why endorse the tour if you can get the player for this amount? Or why endorse the player if you can represent the entire tour?” He continues: “I think that everybody, most of the people who are able to move out of their myopic little self-centred world to see the big picture, could easily say, ‘Yes, we all do need to come together for the health and growth of the game.’ But it’s one thing to say it and it’s another thing for people to do it, and that’s what makes it tough. When it comes to actually

doing it, that’s a whole different story because everybody’s motivated with their own interests. “I mean, when you have a tour that not only represents the players but also is supposed to be the representative of the tournaments, that makes it very tough. We don’t have a players’ association to represent the interests of the players whereas in the NBA the players have their own representative union. We don’t have that so it does create some issues but then it also allows you to do some things and to market your athletes in ways that probably traditional team sports don’t. You get the good and the bad but I think as a whole, the concept of everybody getting together and working together makes a lot of sense. But it’s a lot easier said than done.”

Tobias expects Sloane Stephens to create similar interest levels as the likes of Caroline Wozniacki

athletes of all time, I’d argue that seven of them are probably tennis players, retired or current. You take Chris Evert, Martina [Hingis], Billie Jean King, Anna Kournikova. You go down the list, Serena and Venus [Williams], Maria [Sharapova] – they’re all tennis players. There is a difference there and

an advantage to the women and, as we’ve been developing my company at Lagardère, that’s really been our focus. “Strategically, we’ve looked at that and said, ‘Hey, let’s really focus on the women,’ because we have the ability to separate them from all the other female athletes around the world.”

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17/12/2012 09:11:44

FEATURE | MOTORSPORT

In the driving seat

The start of the 2012 edition of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, one of the marquee races on the V8 Supercars calendar

Former Fox Sports executive David Malone has spent 12 months patrolling the pit-lanes of Australia, learning the intricacies of V8 Supercars. With the series on the cusp of a host of changes – to cars, format, and broadcast contracts – he is a chief executive with plenty on his plate as the 2013 season nears. By David Cushnan and James Emmett

avid Malone has good reason to be looking forward to a “massive 2013”. The V8 Supercars chief executive’s second year in the job coincides with the launch of a muchanticipated new car, the arrival of two new international manufacturers in the series, format changes designed to spice up the show, and proper exploitation of the sport’s media assets in a digital landscape. Australia’s dominant motorsport category – a bumper-tobumper, high-octane championship which regularly attracts huge crowds, including 207,000 over a single weekend in 2012 at the renowned Bathurst 1000 meeting – stands on the cusp of a new era, with Malone in the driving seat. “It’s a really broad fanbase and a growing fanbase and we’re in very good shape,” says the man himself, considering the overall health of V8 Supercars at the end of his first full season in December. “It’s a big step-change in the series. We’re expecting a very big year.” Many of the changes planned for 2013 were set in motion long before Malone’s arrival. The most significant behind-the-scenes moment came in May 2011, when private equity firm Archer Capital acquired a 65 per cent stake in V8 Supercars through a company called Australian Motor Racing Partners Pty Limited (AMRP). The competing teams, which had previously owned 75 per cent of the series, retained the remaining 35 per cent, while founder investor Sports Entertainment Limited relinquished its 25 per stake completely. The transaction

valued the series at around AUS$300 million (US$318.6 million). “I was obviously on the outside watching with interest that the sport had decided to move in that direction,” Malone says. “They were looking to make some changes within their senior ranks and as it turned out I was approached while I was having my time off.” The call from V8 Supercars came as Malone wound down after 11 and a half years at the forefront of Australian sports media running Fox Sports, as chief executive of parent company Premier Media Group. The series was going through a period of interim leadership following Briton Martin Whitaker’s appointment to a new position overseeing its international growth. “I looked at the sport, obviously I was very familiar with it from my days at Fox Sports,” Malone recalls, “and I was always very impressed with what they’d achieved and the growth trajectory of the sport. When I was approached and was considering coming on board, I obviously took a much closer look.” Malone was appointed in December 2011 and took up his new position in January 2012 in time to take in all 16 rounds of the 2012 championship. Intrigued by the possibilities offered by a leadership role at one of Australia’s major sports properties, Malone, a man steeped in the world of sports media, was particularly attracted by V8 Supercars’ inhouse media production set-up. “That was probably the tipping point for helping to decide to join the team,” he explains. “We’re the only major sport in Australia

that produces its own television coverage, so the pictures played in Australia and across the world are actually produced by V8 Supercar Television. That interested me. I looked at the development of the sport and the plans they had in place for things like international expansion, the ‘Car of the Future’, potential new manufacturers, and I thought it was really an interesting strategy with some very interesting opportunities and I could see myself adding some value.” While all of those projects were in development by the time Malone arrived, he has spent 2012 overseeing their implementation. In several ways, therefore, 2013 is a crunch year. “I wasn’t around during the [Archer] transaction but having talked to a lot of the teams, a lot of the feedback was if they wanted

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“It’s a terrific brand, the teams are highly professional, very committed, and now we’re looking at how we can take that forward.” to take the business to the next level they needed some of the aspects an organisation like Archer would bring to the table,” Malone explains. “That’s very much been my experience this year. It’s a terrific brand, the teams are highly professional, very committed, and now we’re looking at how we can take that forward and exploit things like our digital rights, broadcast rights, develop a greater fan experience at the events, develop the ‘Car of the Future’ project – obviously the

business has been talking about it for three and a half years but in March it becomes a reality. Executing initiatives like that is a big part of what my role is going forward.” Fundamental technical changes to a one-make motorsport category are always critical moments, given the potential harm they can cause to the competitiveness and attractiveness of the racing product. In V8 Supercars’ case, the ‘Car of the Future’ is based around a control chassis, making it significantly less costly for new

manufacturers to enter at a competitive level and challenge the duopoly enjoyed by Ford and Holden, a rivalry which has traditionally fuelled much of the series’ popularity over many years. “We’ve had a great rise with our two manufacturers,” Malone says, “and the board and the business looked at where we needed to go over the next five to seven seasons. It became evident that taking the sport in a direction which opened it up to additional manufacturers made a lot of strategic sense. The new ‘Car of the Future’ racing platform has been able to reduce build costs for the teams and lowered the barrier to entry for new manufacturers.” It has even been suggested that build costs will shrink by as much as half with the new car and over the last 12 months V8 Supercars has announced

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FEATURE | MOTORSPORT

V8 Supercars: here, there and everywhere 6. 7. 9. 11. 5. 2. 12.

1. 3.

13. 10.

14.

“

t’s actually a very strong calendar,” says David Malone of a 2013 V8 Supercars schedule which will comprise 16 rounds. As well as the standout Bathurst 1000 (1) in October and the season-opening Clipsal 500 Adelaide (2) in March, 2013 sees V8 Supercars heading for Texas for an inaugural US race at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas. There are also two rounds where the championship will be a support act for Formula One, in Melbourne (3) in March and at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. There are also events scheduled for Tasmania (4), Perth (5), Darwin (6), Townsville (7), Ipswich (8), Winton (9), Sandown (10), Surfers Paradise (11), and Phillip Island (12), with the season closing with an event in Sydney’s Olympic Park (13). The single New Zealand round of the championship switches from a street circuit in Hamilton to the permanent circuit at Pukekohe (14) for 2013. “We’ve got great balance across the country,” Malone says. “We’ve got events in all the key regions in Australia. We have a good mix between permanent circuits and street circuits – obviously they have different attributes and they offer different things to the fans and TV viewers. “In terms of the calendar, I think the challenge for us going forward is creating an even better fan experience. We get a lot of feedback from fans at our events and through our social

media, but in my view we’ve got to keep pushing the envelope on that. A number of these circuits we build from scratch, they’re street circuits, so we have the opportunity to continually reinvent how we’re doing it and by listening to our fans we can come up with a better experience for them. That’s one of the challenges I’m focused on.” The Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, run on the circuit which up until 1995 staged the Australian Grand Prix, has become one of the championship’s marquee events and the South Australian government recently put pen to paper on a new deal for the race until 2021. “I think it’s a reﬂection of how important these events are for states and the various cities we operate in,” Malone says. “When you have something like that, the economic impact the city enjoys is significant and it tends to create a very large festival in that city or town for around a week from the moment we get there. We do bring so much to the economy of those regions.” He adds: “In terms of our fanbase there’s a group who probably enjoy the circuit events more but street circuits take us probably to a broader fanbase. When you take over a town like Townsville or Adelaide you get people coming along for the first time so you can introduce people to the sport through these events. Having a mix is actually really important to us and the current calendar provides for that.”

Garth Tander (left) leads the 2012 Clipsal 500

two new manufacturers will join the series in 2013. Nissan announced in February 2012 its plan to run four cars in the series, through its central NISMO Nissan Motorsport division, while AMG Mercedes confirmed in October that it will run three cars next season. “Having these new teams come in opens up new markets and demographics and brings more people into the sport,” Malone suggests. “We’ve had a very good year in terms of closing off those discussions with people like Nissan and Mercedes.” While Malone has been on a crashcourse in the intricacies of V8 Supercars over the past year – “everyone’s been very welcoming of a non-traditional motorsport person coming in” – his specialism in media rights has also come in handy as the series prepares to reach a new broadcast settlement from 2013 onwards. The expiring deal with Channel Seven, struck in late 2006, was believed to be worth some AUS$168 million and after enormous rises in both the AFL and NRL media rights fees over the past 18 months there was confidence midway through 2012 that a new rights package might top AUS$300 million. As November turned into December, no deal had been struck. Malone, at least on the outside, appears unfazed. “We’re still putting a lot of the pieces together,” he says. “Under our current arrangement we’ve had a very strong traditional broadcast product – great freeto-air, a good subscription product and

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Australia’s dual (or triple) screen future

V8 Supercars chief executive David Malone

some use or exploitation of our content in the digital space. Going into 2013 we’re in a different sort of space given the technologies that are available.” Malone believes there is a revenue opportunity in repackaging and properly exploiting the wealth of imagery, audio and data accumulated over any given race weekend by V8’s dedicated television division. “Things like tablets, smartphones and mobile devices are providing a whole new opportunity for sport generally, but I think for motorsport and V8s specifically,” he points out. “Our sport is very data-heavy and there’s also an enormous amount of content that is there to be used in linear broadcast feeds which doesn’t get used a great deal, which we can repurpose into all sorts of interesting formats that our fans and viewers will love. My aim is to open that up so that fans can have a much richer experience. “At the event we very much put the production together and we’re in control of it. For a sport, that’s unusual in this country and it does give you good ﬂexibility and good control, to get the content just right.” The prospect of additional digital accoutrements to join the timing app V8 Supercars launched last year also opens up tantalising global possibilities for the series. Although the championship is broadcast in well over 100 countries, Malone admits that, to this point, the focus has been on eyeballs rather than dollars. “It’s been very much about

building our brand,” he says. “I think the team’s done a terrific job of that over the last few years – we do have very good reach. Going forward I think being able to deliver specific products through a digital offering will really be the next stage and I think that will open up some interesting revenue opportunities for us as well.” Malone is coy about breaking down the series’ revenues, but a new domestic media rights deal, in whatever form that takes, will to a large extent at least determine the general health of the category over the coming years. According to one Australian media rights expert, Colin Smith of Global Media & Sports, the “market is challenging” and the series “probably won’t get the increase it thought it was going to get”. He adds: “It is an interesting sport in the sense it has lots of hours. Bathurst is a huge event and a massive boost for Supercars. The challenge is to ensure all of the events are of a similar ilk. There’s probably only two broadcasters who are interested and I don’t see massive growth for them.” Malone won’t be drawn on rights fee speculation but maintains that maximising V8 Supercars’ digital assets is a priority over the coming year. “We’re looking at best practice in different areas, the way certain categories handle onboards or data,” he says matter-of-factly. “There is a variety of approaches out there and the approach we take is: what’s the best experience for our fans and viewers? And let’s work towards that.”

avid Malone is not alone in believing the exploitation of digital rights will be the next big revenue driver in the Australian sports market. Sports rights expert Colin Smith, the founder of advisory firm Global Media & Sports, says the Australian government’s AUS$46 billion investment in a new National Broadband Network, designed to generate broadband speeds of 100 megabytes per second for the home, will be a “game-changer in the digital environment”. Says Smith: “I’m really bullish about the future of sports media rights, however the market’s going to be changing. “In essence 77 per cent of people around the world, especially young people, dual screen either on a tablet, a mobile or smartphone, or a PC. Probably a major proportion of those are dealing with their friends or getting stats on the games. Then there is the catch-up TV opportunity, so you can watch wherever, anywhere, any time. What I see as the big growth engine is a companion app on either your smartphone or tablet that supports the broadcast and is highly sophisticated in terms of the statistics it offers, giving highlights of goals and saves and also player history and statistical analysis. “That is only just starting to emerge today,” he adds, “and I’m extremely bullish about what this will do for sport because it will add further revenues to broadcasters in terms of both subscriptions and advertising, which means that the revenues for sportsrelated events is going to increase. “What people will want – and frankly a lot of broadcasters don’t get this yet and it’s not only young consumers – is to start looking at heat maps of players, how many kilometres they’ve run, what their pulse rate is. That’s going to be a second and potentially a third screen. I think that’s the most exciting opportunity for sport I’ve ever seen.”

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FEATURE | AUSTRALIA

The Australian Football League’s Port Adelaide and Western Bulldogs contest the European Challenge at London’s Kia Oval cricket ground on 3rd November 2012

Playing by the rules In the aftermath of two billion-dollar media rights deals in two years the Australian sports market is peaking. Gill McLachlan, chief operating officer of the Australian Football League (AFL), and media rights advisor Colin Smith analyse a unique sports market where the new challenge is avoiding congestion. By James Emmett and David Cushnan

hat Gill McLachlan, the chief operating officer of the Australian Football League (AFL), cites saturation as the biggest challenge facing the Australian sports market is perhaps the most telling indication of the rapid growth of professional sport in the country in recent times. “In 1999 the Brisbane Lions were one of four professional sports teams in Brisbane/Queensland,” McLachlan points out, referring to one of the 18 clubs that make up the AFL,

“and I think they’re now one of 13 or something like that.” It is a sporting landscape crowded like few others and in McLachlan’s experienced view such congestion points to challenging times ahead. “I believe there’s a finite amount of corporate resources and I think the market is now saturated,” he says. “That’s a huge challenge for us – getting clean air is becoming an increasing challenge. I think ultimately we’ve done pretty well, but there’s going to be winners

and losers after this very strong period of growth in the last few years.” It is a matter-of-fact summary, delivered in McLachlan’s low-key but businesslike style, and one that offers a clue as to the AFL’s strategy in the coming years, particularly after the rash of key deals the league has struck in recent times. Though McLachlan, a man last year publicly courted by the National Rugby League (NRL) as a replacement for outgoing chief executive David Gallop, reports to AFL chief executive Andrew

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Broadcast forecast: NRL and A-League

ew have a better grasp of the Australian sports media rights market than Colin Smith. His advisory firm Global Media & Sports works with a variety of properties across the industry, most recently advising the NRL on the structure of its new broadcast deal. “We worked on their media rights and understand the place of the NRL [National Rugby League] in the Australian media marketplace,” Smith says. “It’s fair to say that the NRL probably didn’t realise how big it was and probably also didn’t realise what the drivers were and how they could actually have a key inﬂuence on that. By doing that and building this platform, it enabled the new commission of the NRL to really make, with negotiating support from [Greenhill] Caliburn, a huge increase in rights value.” Sealed and signed in August 2012, the AUS$1.025 billion (US$1.08 billion) agreement with free-to-air Channel Nine and pay-television service Fox Sports was

Demetriou, he has over the last two years been at the forefront of a set of deals designed to shape the AFL’s longterm future. Chief amongst them is a new long-term broadcast contract – an AUS$1.253 billion (US$1.36 billion) five-year deal with Channel 7, Foxtel and Telstra – but equally critical is the formation of two all-new expansion franchises, Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS) and Gold Coast Suns. “We’ve invested heavily in those two teams and it’s an investment that has a 20-year timeframe,” McLachlan says. With an expanded league, broadcast millions confirmed until 2016 and an eye-catching 12 per cent year-on-year rise in television ratings last season, plus McLachlan’s renewed commitment to the cause – “with the NRL I was very ﬂattered but ultimately I guess I felt there was still a good deal to be done here at the AFL” – the AFL appears set for a period of consolidation in the face of increasing competition from all sides. If the AFL, Australia’s biggest sporting

a massive uplift on the previous AUS$500 million agreement. Digital rights were sold in December, reportedly for another US$100 million. “The reason for the increase is that it has a bigger television audience than AFL,” Smith claims. “In New South Wales and Queensland the NRL dominates; the AFL is very strong in the southern states of Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. For a pay-TV broadcaster such as Foxtel you actually need both sports.” Aside from the big beasts of the AFL and NRL, the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) confirmed its own new long-term broadcast contract in November, a deal including both the A-League and national team games. The deal, with Fox Sports and SBS, is worth some AUS$160 million (US$166 million) over four years. “It was a very significant increase,” says Smith, “and very close to a doubling of their rights value. The reason is more to further strengthen the league – numbers have been smaller, but growing

– but it’s very important for subscription television because it’s a summer sport; all our other codes are in the winter. This holds the audience for longer and what the owners of the clubs have done in the A-League is attract some really important talent, like Alessandro Del Piero [above] in Sydney; a very significant investment that’s had a real increase in television audiences. The TV audiences this season compared to last are probably up 30 to 40 per cent. You can only see that sport going further northwards.”

code, is a target because of its stature, it is ready and willing to defend that position and, indeed, take on all-comers. Not that waging war is McLachlan’s style. His focus is purely AFL. “We think we have the structure broadly in place for the league for many years to come,” he suggests, calmly. “We now play in every state and territory and I think we probably have the teams that we want, broadly in the right spots. I think we now have the structure that will see us go forward with a 20-year horizon.” The Suns debuted in April 2011 and Greater Western Sydney a year later. Although neither has enjoyed much onfield success, McLachlan is buoyed by the Suns’ having turned an AUS$1.7 million profit in their first year and the way GWS is establishing itself in a crowded Sydney market. “They’re taking a longterm approach which ultimately means in the long term they are much better positioned,” he says. Establishing the expansion franchises as “strong, independent, viable clubs”

is one of McLachlan’s key aims heading into the 2013 season, alongside further revisions to the AFL’s NFL-like equalisation policy to ensure all 18 clubs are on a par regardless of the different models of stadium deals and ownership structures across the league. Although club-dependent, McLachlan says some 40 per cent of club revenues come from the league itself; with 50 per cent of the AFL’s central revenues coming from broadcast contracts, it underlines the importance to the league of the billiondollar rights increase McLachlan was integral in negotiating early in 2011. “When the AFL sold its rights they went from AUS$780 million to AUS$1.2 billion,” explains Australian media rights expert Colin Smith, adding a touch of context. “What they actually sold was four games on free-to-air television – Channel 7 – and then they sold the other games to subscription television – Foxtel, which also has the simulcast rights to all the free-to-air games as well. They also sold digital rights on top of that, which

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FEATURE | AUSTRALIA

Australia’s other key sports rights

long with V8 Supercars, Cricket Australia is likely to be the next major Australian sports governing body to negotiate a new broadcast contract. Colin Smith describes the sport as “truly fi rst-tier” in the country and, buoyed by the success of international rights sales, says Cricket Australia can expect “significant increases” for its domestic Big Bash League Twenty20 tournament should this season’s television audience match the previous year. “The Big Bash League last year on subscription television had audiences similar to what the AFL and the NRL are delivering on subscription television,” Smith explains. “That’s very powerful indeed and potentially very valuable.” Elsewhere, Smith observes that freeto-air One HD’s move away from sport is posing new challenges for sports such as basketball and netball. “Basketball is still trying to prove itself as a

national league. It doesn’t have a team in Brisbane and contractually it’s still getting games on Channel Ten but the rest of the games are being streamed online,” Smith says, referring to last year’s deal which saw digital media specialists Perform acquire rights to broadcast games via the internet. “It was highly innovative and will provide coverage of most National Basketball League games,” he adds, “but, candidly, there were not many choices. That’s the danger if you go to a second-tier sport; the opportunity to be able to sell to free-to-air television or pay television is more challenged.” Smith believes domestic rugby union has potential. “They are poised to really exploit the opportunity,” he says. “What is critical is to drive audience into Super Rugby, to grow the audience of firstly the Waratahs – probably one of the best-known franchises across the country in any sport but probably the most under-performing – and then the

Melbourne Rebels, Brumbies and the Western Force. Currently they are not growing audiences or even attendances in their weekend games. That’s a real challenge for rugby to drive that northwards and drive it fast because their rights come up in 2015.”

The AFL has thrived in recent years but chief operating officer Gill MacLachlan (right) admits that Australian sport should still be wary of saturation

included access to live coverage through smartphones and tablets.” For McLachlan’s part, he says simply that “we did a good deal for our sport”, despite complications during a negotiating process which ran parallel to discussions about the new makeup

of Australia’s anti-siphoning provisions, which determine the rules by which sports rights can be sold. “That brought some broader pressures to the deal, so it made for an interesting environment,” McLachlan adds. “We just wanted to get the best deal for our game, for our clubs

and for all of our stakeholders. We’re really pleased with how the first year of the deal went. “We’ve put a lot more of our games out live and I think the live broadcasts, combined with the simulcasts of five other games, have had a huge impact.”

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2012-12-17 18.57

FEATURE | HOCKEY

The Netherlands’ Lidewij Welten takes on South Korea’s Cheon Eun-bi at the Riverbank Arena at London 2012 as the Dutch head for Olympic gold

Making hockey stick Hockey took less than a week after the Olympics to launch its bold new attempt to raise and broaden the profile of the sport. By the time of the next World Cup in 2014, the International Hockey Federation hopes to have met the ambitious target of having fully integrated its new World League product into an equally fresh commercial structure and an already crowded international calendar. By David Cushnan

nly soccer and athletics, one the world’s most popular sport and the other the standout event in any Olympic Games, sold more tickets than hockey at London 2012 – 630,000 in total when the final numbers were totted up. Raucous crowds from Britain and further afield – notably a colourful mob from the Netherlands, one of the world’s hockey strongholds – made the long walk each day to the far end of London’s Olympic Park and the Riverbank Arena, a temporary venue but one which provided a striking backdrop to the tournament thanks to the combination of lurid pink London 2012 décor and a revolutionary bright blue field.

It was all a bit different, less than a week after London’s Olympic flame had been gently extinguished, when Prague staged the first of the first-round tournaments in a new national team competition which hockey’s governing body hopes will lend a greater structure to the international game in between its major events. Like many sports on the Olympic programme, hockey benefits from an injection of interest every four years but has traditionally struggled to maintain the momentum when the Games are over. World Cup tournaments, slotted neatly in the middle of Olympic cycles, provide another focal point, as does the wellestablished annual Champions Trophy,

but the lack of a straightforward hierarchy of events or narrative in between its showpiece occasions has stifled the sport’s development for some time. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) believes its new World League might be the solution. August’s inaugural tournament, which featured the likes of the Czech Republic, Belarus, Poland and Ukraine, was the first, low-key instalment in a two-year competition, with an admittedly complex format, which will ultimately determine the qualifiers for the next hockey World Cup in both the men’s and women’s game. “Before I even arrived at the FIH, the current president Leandro Negre

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Australia’s Matthew Swann raises the Champions Trophy in Melbourne

wanted to put a qualification system in place for the World Cup and the Olympic Games and this is effectively that,” says Kelly Fairweather, the South African former International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive who since 2010 has been chief executive of the FIH. “The idea was all the countries of the world could participate, so it was accessible to everybody.” The World League has been devised to run in two-year cycles. The prize at the end of the inaugural edition is a place in the 2014 World Cup, which will be hosted by the Netherlands, while the next World League in 2014/15 will help decide the teams competing in the Rio 2016 Olympic hockey tournament. It is a significant change, complicated initially by the need to fit a new, multiround national team competition around existing FIH tournaments and commercial contracts. The first two World Leagues will by no means be the finished product, with Fairweather and the FIH currently working through the detail of a commercial overhaul for the 2015 to 2018 period. “We’re looking at a whole new strategy for the events cycle from 2015 to 2018,” confirms Sarah

Pakistan v India at the Champions Trophy: one of hockey’s great rivalries

Massey, the FIH’s head of events and strategic planning, “so that’s commercial strategy, event strategy, marketing, everything we’re doing. The first cycle of World League still falls into some of the incumbent deals, incumbent sponsors.” Changing the sport’s commercial model will extend beyond the World League, too. Rabobank, for example, acquired the title sponsorship rights for the 2014 World Cup in the Netherlands – the men’s and women’s tournaments will both be staged in The Hague at the same time – as part of a wider deal with the Dutch local organising committee (LOC). The FIH intends to bring those rights in-house by the time the next World Cups are staged in 2018. “We have the current situation where we have an LOC in Holland who run it,” Fairweather says of the 2014 tournament, “and we basically have given them the majority of the rights. For 2018 we’ll have a completely different model and we will look to retain the majority of those and exploit those.” The KNHB – the Dutch hockey federation, which is preparing for the major public launch of its plans for the World Cup – has an agreement with

the FIH entitling it to 70 per cent of the tournament’s sponsorship rights. The FIH keeps the remainder as well as the international media rights, with the KNHB allowed to sell media rights in the Netherlands. Johan Wakkie, the KNHB’s managing director, confirms that the federation has paid the FIH a fee for the rights, arguing that “we think we have more to offer our sponsors internationally than the FIH has for itself”, a belief which appears to jar somewhat with the FIH’s plan for further centralisation of sponsorship and media rights. “We advised them [the FIH] to keep part of their sponsor rights but help the other countries to have rights in their own region, so they have more possibility to organise a tournament and to have some income,” Wakkie continues. “I can imagine that every year of the four years after [the 2014 World Cup] they make a new plan with every country and what you try to achieve is the sponsors of the country having some advertising rights, otherwise it’s not interesting for a country to participate.” Playing the sport’s biggest event in a mature hockey market such as the Netherlands is essential as far as

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FEATURE | HOCKEY

The World League format

he World League has a complex format, a necessity given the desire to allow any nation to enter any edition. Both the men’s and women’s World League are made up of four rounds over a two-year period. The 2012/2013 cycle will determine the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, while the 2014/2015 cycle will decide the qualifiers for the next Olympic hockey competition at Rio 2016. • Round one: Split by region, rather than continent, countries are grouped together. The number of tournaments and qualifying teams is determined by the number of federations who enter teams. The world’s top 16 ranked teams are given a bye. The tournaments are played between December and February, or during June and July. • Round two: Also regionally focused, round two comprises four tournaments of six teams each. Round one qualifiers play the teams ranked from nine to 16 in the world. Teams ranked one to eight are given a bye. Events are staged between August and September, or during December and January. • Semi-ﬁnals: Two events of eight teams each, featuring the qualifiers from round two plus the world’s top eight teams. Each tournament will be made up of two pools of four teams. The top six nations in this round will join the host nation and the five continental champions as qualifiers for either the World Cup or Olympics. The tournaments will be staged in February and/or June. • Finals: A single eight-team event with the same format as the semifinal round, held from September onwards after the existing continental championships, which will be staged in the gap after round three.

Fairweather is concerned. Not for him a switch to an emerging, cash-rich market, especially with an Olympic Games in Brazil, a nation not renowned for its hockey prowess, on the horizon. “That’s not on our radar, really,” he says. “We want to see full stadia, people enjoying the event. We’re organising, for example, a round one in Qatar, but that’s not commercially driven, that’s to try and expose the sport in that area.” Fairweather admits the FIH is “trying to help Brazil make their way up the ladder” before Rio 2016, a tournament he believes will be challenging for hockey “but also a massive opportunity”. Indeed, the World League has been devised partly to help developing hockey nations like Brazil improve. As Wakkie sums up: “What is new and good is that every country has a chance to participate and to get to a higher level than they are currently at – if you start in the first round, it’s possible a year later you could be in the third or fourth round. That’s good for the sport.” While the early stages of the World League will be almost entirely run by the hosts – “there’s not a huge commercial value, but in the local territories they can get some local help, sponsors, funding from local sources,” says Massey – Fairweather says the FIH will use the success or otherwise of the first edition to inform its decisions about a new model. “The first cycle is what it is, but we’re looking at the future and saying, ‘Is there room for a title [sponsor] for the World League as a whole?’ We’re not sure about that because hockey tends to be like quite a lot of other sports: sponsors tend to be interested in one or two or three markets and maybe the World League as a whole doesn’t grab them. We still need to do more work on that to find what the optimum model for us is.” Massey says the ultimate aim is “much more certainty” in FIH-sanctioned tournaments. “We’re trying to build value in what we’re selling and market the products,” he explains. “We’re going to be in a better position to do that in 20152018 when we know what the events are going to include, when they have all got a different identity, when they all make sense in the calendar.” Accommodating the year-round

World League competition and the biennial Champions Trophy, which has become one of international hockey’s most significant tournaments since it was founded in Pakistan in the late 1970s, into an international calendar will not be without its difficulties either. Wakkie suggests that “it’s too much for us now – some years we have too many tournaments and too few weeks to play our [domestic] competitions”. Fairweather admits the FIH is “still brainstorming that a little bit”, adding: “The Champions Trophy is a very well-established, traditional event so we’re wary about just throwing that away. We have to find the right balance between continuity across the cycle but also things that make sense and add value to the programme.” Current, although yet to be confirmed, FIH projections suggest an equal split between revenue and sponsorship in the next cycle when the FIH has further centralised its rights. More generally, Fairweather believes the discussions at the FIH are indicative of changing times for Olympic sport federations. “What I’ve seen over the last four or five years is federations have realised you can’t rely on 20 to 30 per cent increases in Olympic revenue anymore,” he says. “You’ve actually got to maximise your own properties now, which is what we’re trying to do. We need to take responsibility for our own properties and start running them in a way that we’ll be proud of them and that will give our athletes in particular the right exposure, which is what they deserve.” The end of the first World League at the end of 2013, or early in 2014, has been identified as a key marker in the commercial schedule. Fairweather wants all FIH-sanctioned events for 2015 to 2018 bedded down, the two hosts selected for the 2018 World Cups and all media and marketing rights for the cycle sold by that point. “The FIH is only small; it only has 17 people,” he says, “but I always say, ‘We’re never going to be football, but we can punch above our weight and be a good middleweight, the best in our class.’ That’s what we’re trying to do but after two years I’ve realised that we’ve only just set the foundations; it’s going to take us another two years of consolidation before we start seeing the impact.”

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The other 2014 World Cup

reated in 1971, the men’s hockey World Cup was initially played on a biennial basis before becoming a quadrennial event in 1990. The last tournament was played in Delhi two years ago and the next edition is scheduled for The Hague, the capital of the Netherlands, one of the world’s leading hockey nations. The event will run from 15th May to 15th June and run simultaneously with the women’s World Cup, a tournament first staged in 1974. “For us it was very important to have both World Cups,” says Johan Wakkie, managing director of the Dutch hockey federation (KNHB), which is organising the event, “because every day we will have a Dutch team playing – so every day we have the possibility to have a sold-out stadium. If you just have one, the men or the women, normally you have one day a full stadium and the next day not a full stadium – that’s what you see in all the countries. In our country, if our team – men or women – is not playing less people will come to the stadium. That’s hockey. We said, ‘If you want to have a successful tournament like 1998 then give us a national team every day and we can make a plan to build it up around that.’” The tournament will boast many of the same corporate partners as when the KNHB hosted 14 years ago, notably title sponsor Rabobank whose World Cup deal is bound up in a wider relationship

KNHB managing director Johan Wakkie

with the federation. “When we started the bid procedure they decided with us to renew their contract until 2016, including the World Cup,” Wakkie explains. “We have a tournament every year in Holland, either the World Cup, which is very special, or the Champions Trophy, World League or European Championship. Our sponsors know we bring a special tournament every year and the World Cup is a special tournament, more than normal.” Wakkie explains that as well as corporate support, the tournament will receive funding through local and national government investment,

including €1.5 million from the latter, and ticket sales, with the KNHB hoping to tap into its 250,000-strong membership. Further details of the event, including detail on its ticketing strategy and cultural programme, were due to be revealed in January. Wakkie does reveal, however, that the World Cup will make a loss in one key area. “We have only the television rights in Holland and the FIH has the international rights, so they have the income. We have to pay for the production and that’s a lot of money, so we have a loss on television production and rights but we have the income of sponsorship.”

From the IOC to the FIH: Kelly Fairweather’s transfer of knowledge

efore he joined the FIH in 2010 Kelly Fairweather had been out of hockey for 12 years. The sport remained, however, very much in his blood, even during his successful stint at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “It’s my sport,” he says simply. “I grew up playing hockey – it was in my family’s blood. My dad played at provincial level, my uncle played at international level.”

Fairweather himself represented South Africa at junior national level and went on to coach the women’s national team. Following a stint as the South African Hockey Association’s director of high performance Fairweather joined the IOC, where he worked on the Olympic host city knowledge transfer programme. He replaced Gilbert Felli as sports director in August 2003, taking responsibility for developing and maintaining the IOC’s relationships

with international sports federations. In 2010, he was appointed chief executive of the FIH. “I had been out of the sport for 12 years,” he says, “Coming from the position at the IOC, working in that environment I was very sport-oriented and this was an opportunity for me to broaden my horizons as an individual, getting involved in the development and marketing of a sport. This was an opportunity for me.”

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FEATURE | BASKETBALL

Gotham’s city Boston Celtics president Rich Gotham keeps his team contending for championships each year chiefly by ensuring the business operation is flush enough to propel the playing staff. His magic formula: plain old ticket sales. By James Emmett

ich Gotham spends most of every working day preparing his organisation for failure. For a man who presides over the Boston Celtics, one of the most successful and prestigious teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA), that might seem a little wrong-headed. But Gotham is so gripped by the need to guard against complacency that he is rigorous in his preparation for the worst. “It’s much easier to market a product that’s contending for the championship, I can tell you that,” he says in his mild but rapid-fire Boston twang. “But we continually challenge ourselves to think of the day when we don’t have the winning percentage that provides the wind in the sails and we’re going to have to create more demand, and all our work and investment is in preparation for that day.” In recent seasons, at least, his team has provided enough wind to keep the Celtics’ sails billowing. The leading force in the NBA throughout the 1960s and again in the 1980s, Boston’s basketball team was built by, and in the image of, one of the league’s most iconic figure. Red Auerbach’s guile and nous as coach, general manager and president had guided the Celtics to 16 NBA championships by 1986. The team then suffered an unprecedented slump, not winning the title again for another 22 years. A momentous return to championship-winning ways against their old rivals the LA Lakers in 2008 has been followed by a divisional title in every year since. The good times, it would seem, are back for Boston. The return to on-court form has coincided with a return to form off it. The two, as Gotham is fond of pointing out, go hand in hand. “Winning is our business,” he explains in a one-on-one interview with SportsPro at the Ivy Sports

“On the business side, you can’t control wins and losses. What you can control is how you operate your business.” Symposium in New York in November. The previous evening, Gotham watched his team lose to the Brooklyn Nets in their new Barclays Center home. Despite their excellent start to this season, the Nets’ form over the last few years means it is still embarrassing to lose to them. With a rueful smile, Gotham adds: “That’s our priority and that’s how we measure ourselves but on the business side, you can’t control wins and losses. What you can control is how you operate your business, the amount of resources and investment you put against it.” Owned by a group of equity investors, the Celtics have a remarkably simple business model: self-sustaining, of course, but with revenues reinvested directly into the product. “It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation,” explains Gotham. “It really does start on the business side but hopefully you find yourself in a virtuous cycle where you’re investing in the product and the product pays you back and makes the business job a lot easier. We don’t look at the business as spinning off a profit, we look at the business as one of reinvestment in our product that allows us to sustain a top-tier product, a team that can contend for a championship year in, year out.” Gotham joined the Celtics in 2003 having spent five years as vice president of US corporate sales and business development at first-generation online search engine Lycos. He would go on to become chief operating officer in 2006, then president in 2007. In his first three-year stint as executive vice president

of sales, marketing and corporate development for the team, Gotham knew the Celtics at their lowest point. The performance slump of the 1990s was creeping across into another decade. When a new ownership group took over in 2003, bringing Gotham in alongside it, a process was started that would kick start the team from the business side of things. The bulk of an NBA team’s revenues come from television rights fees and ticket sales. Television revenues, as Gotham explains, are “largely locked in. There’s some variation depending on what national TV dates you have but year on year you know what those are going to be.” Sponsorship, at the Celtics at least, is seen as the cherry on top of the cake. “I don’t want to say it’s upside,” he says, “but we don’t necessarily depend on sponsorship to run our business.” It might seem old-fashioned, but it is in ticket sales that the real opportunity lies. Every NBA team plays 82 regular season games each year, half of them at home. For the Celtics, who play at the 18,624-capacity TD Garden, that means there is an inventory of 763,584 seats to be sold annually. “That’s where the variability is year on year,” explains Gotham. “80 per cent of the variability in our revenue projections is in our ticket sales.” When Gotham joined the team he knew that for ticket sales to start making a real impact, not only would the Celtics have to sell out each night, but pricing would have to be flexible and able to cater in a sophisticated manner to the slightest

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A packed house at the TD Garden celebrates the Celticsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first NBA title in 22 years in 2008; the on-court rebound has been matched by a string of sell-outs

Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce enjoy beating the LA Lakers to the 2008 championship

Rich Gotham became Boston Celtics president in 2007

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FEATURE | BASKETBALL

That’s the ticket “

ost of our firepower from a personnel resource standpoint and from an intellectual standpoint goes towards figuring out how to maximise our ticket sales opportunity; we’ve got quite a sophisticated operation to accomplish that,” says Rich Gotham, president of the Boston Celtics and something of a ticketing systems connoisseur. The Celtics’ current set-up is, as Gotham explains, the result of “ten years of thinking and a lot of smart people that we brought into the organisation to help figure this out.” Matt Griffi n, the current vice president of strategic marketing and business operations, has been driving the effort that has seen the team’s variable pricing model become, itself, fluctuations in demand. “When I came into the industry,” he explains, “I said, ‘Listen, we have to be willing to price every single seat in the house at a different price if that’s what it takes to reach the right customer,’ and you have to throw out a bit of conventional wisdom that says, ‘Well what if the person in this seat has paid more than the person sitting next to them?’” In order to throw out that conventional wisdom, an ultra-analytical dynamic pricing model needed to be conceived that would build in rewards for customers that bought seats at a high price point. “With ticket sales you’re dealing with perishable inventory – once the event is passed it’s gone, you can’t sell it again – not unlike the airline industry or the hotel room industry,” explains Gotham. “So for us it’s about understanding as best we can who’s buying our product, and more importantly why they’re buying our product, and then trying to understand how to price and package our product to meet those different buying segments. And that’s what gets us through if there’s a lull in demand due to team performance; our ability to price and package our product for different types of buyers is really what pays us back there. We built a very analytical infrastructure that

dynamic. “There’s not any one solution out there, it’s a number of different technologies and services,” says Gotham. “We act as in-house systems integrators, so we have a number of different applications and vendors that we work with but we pull together our own CRM along with it.” Three companies that Gotham singles out as bringing crucial architecture to the Celtics’ model are ClickSquared, StratBridge, and Ticketmaster. The first two have been part of the set-up for nigh-on a decade. “ClickSquared has been critical in our efforts to build a centralised marketing database that we use to construct detailed customer profi les, surface strategic customer segments, anticipate buyer behaviour and communicate on a one-to-one level with our fans,”

Red Auerbach delivered success in several roles

allows us to understand everything from not only who’s buying our tickets, but psychographically why are they buying, what’s important to them about the purchase, but also what does the demand curve look like? At what point are they buying? At what point are they willing to pay the most for a ticket – is it three weeks out from the date of the event or is it 48 hours from the date of the event? And that varies from opponent to opponent, day of the week, time of season.” Slowly but surely, the system began

says Gotham, before explaining that the team is currently upgrading to the company’s new system, ‘The Hub’. Harvard-based StratBridge, meanwhile, provides the team with a business intelligence dashboard tool through which the ticket inventory, price optimisation and demand forecasts are run. Ticketmaster, Gotham explains, have come into their own over the last two years. “They’ve made great strides at helping us capture more customer data, store that data and make it available for analysis,” he says. “Ticketmaster’s new LiveAnalytics service has been very helpful at scoring prospects and letting us leverage Ticketmaster’s vast database that houses purchase data and demographic data that cuts across all their live events.” to work. Despite 2007 being something of a nadir for the team – a 24-58 return representing one of the worst win-loss records in Celtics history – momentum had been built in the stands, if not on the court. “In 2008, we were coming off a losing season where we lost 18 games in a row,” recounts Gotham. “But we’d started a sell-out streak, we grew our television ratings, we grew our sponsorship revenue and we were able to continue to invest in the product where frankly other teams weren’t able to do that. Coming off a losing season it’s hard to keep your best players; you may have to let them go as free agents, and not only did we sign Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen but we resigned Paul Pierce and Rajan Rondo.” Those four players made up the formidable spine of the Celtics team which went on to clinch the title in 2008. The virtuous cycle that Gotham was striving for had begun. “We’ve now had 255 consecutive sellouts, which spans six seasons,” reports Gotham. “That’s great but we don’t take it for granted. Things can change quickly in the world of sports and in the eyes of fans. We’re very happy with where we have been the last six years but we’re not content.”

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17/09/2012 12:09:44

FEATURE | SOCCER

Alexey Sorokin, chief executive of the Russia 2018 local organising committee for the Fifa World Cup

A road less travelled It was clear when Fifa chose Russia to host the 2018 World Cup ahead of England and joint bids from Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium that there would be plenty of work ahead to get the country ready for the biggest single-sport event of them all. Alexey Sorokin, chief executive of the Russia 2018 local organising committee, is relishing the task. By Michael Long

“

e have a saying in Russia that even the hard road is covered by the one who walks,” says Alexey Sorokin, chief executive of the Russia 2018 local organising committee, “so we need to make these steps and follow the schedule and everything will be in order.” If there is a predetermined roadmap for staging a Fifa World Cup, it is yet to be

printed in the Russian language. Like South Africa in 2010 and Qatar in 2022, Russia will stage soccer’s premier tournament for the first time in its history, having been selected to host the 2018 edition ahead of flawed yet credible joint bids from Spain-Portugal and HollandBelgium, and a politically embattled solo proposal put forward by England. A little over two years have passed

since that historic December day in Zurich and with the initial euphoria having long died down, the real work in Russia is now in full flow. “We are well on track,” insists Sorokin, speaking in a mid-October interview. “We take full advantage of the fact that we started early. In fact, we started the very next day after we won the right to host the World Cup. I think we are happy.”

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Sorokin is not the first organiser of a major sports event to brim with early optimism, and nor will he be the last. An organiser’s appreciation of the scale of the work that needs to be done is almost always hidden somewhere between the thrill of victory and the assertion that time is on their side. For Sorokin, though, the evident realist tasked with ensuring the successful delivery of the tournament, time is most definitely of the essence, never mind that there is still the best part of six years – and indeed another World Cup – to go before the soccer world descends on Russia. “We are putting so much emphasis now on project planning, which is nearly completed and it’s being finalised now with the Fifa experts,” he reveals. “We are constantly in very constructive dialogue with them, coordinating all the steps that

we’re making, taking guidance in terms of where we’re going, also participating in the observer programme and benefiting from talking to Brazilian organisers together with Fifa. Once we adopt very detailed project planning it will allow us to keep on track.” The first major milestone on Russia’s journey came in late September, when Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Vitaly Mutko, the Russian minister of sport and chairman of the Russia 2018 local organising committee, revealed the 11 host cities and 12 stadiums that will stage the tournament’s 64 matches. The Russian capital of Moscow will boast two venues and stage the final with the rest of the host cities spread across four geographical regions – Central, Northern, Volga River and Southern. They are a combination of the obvious choices – Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter

Olympics, St Petersburg, and Kazan are Russia’s up-and-coming non-Moscow sporting hubs – and several more obscure destinations such as Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don and Ekaterinburg. According to the organising committee, the host cities reflect the ‘Jewels of Russia’ and a concept that will allow fans ‘to experience as much geographic and cultural diversity as possible in a single Fifa World Cup’. As it stands, five stadiums – Moscow’s Spartak Stadium and those in Kazan, Saint Petersburg, Saransk, and Sochi – are already under construction, and are mostly due to open in 2014. Another four – in Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, and Volgograd – entered the design phase at the end of 2012, while the remaining three stadium projects will be launched in early 2013. Adopting an organisational structure similar to that of the Brazil 2014 organising committee, the 30-strong Russian team established a body in March 2012 to act as its stadium monitoring arm. Called Arena 2018, the offshoot will oversee the ongoing stadium developments and report on their progress to both Fifa and the Russian government, which recently allocated one billion roubles (US$32.2 million) for the commencement of the design work. “This money will be distributed among the four regions now and by the first half of next year all the new stadiums will start being designed,” Sorokin explains. Venue legacy, he adds, will be a “very important” part of the stadium development process. Despite the fact a good portion of the host cities are unheard of outside the country, the Russian insists that stadium sites have been selected wisely, with anchor tenants set to ensure that no white elephants will be left lost in the day-to-day anonymity of provincial Russia. “That’s why we chose our regions carefully,” he continues, “not only on the level of development criteria but on the principle of football as well. At each of our stadiums there is either a Russian Premier League or First Division club which is popular. So we’re certain that the local club will use the stadium and it will be ensured of a long life.”

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FEATURE | SOCCER

2018 Fifa World Cup Russia - Stadium Construction Schedule Source: Russia 2018

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Moscow Luzhniki

Newly renovated, the 89,000seater stadium will stage the opening match and the final.

Moscow Spartak

Currently under construction, the new 45,000-seater venue will be completed by 2014.

Saint Petersburg*

Kazan

The Populous-designed 45,000-seater stadium is due for completion in 2013.

Saransk

Temporary stands will increase capacity from 28,000 to 45,000. Due to open in 2015.

Sochi

Sochi’s Olympic Stadium, which opens in 2013, will host around 45,000 spectators.

Volgograd

Currently in the design phase, the 45,000-seater venue will be ready by 2017.

Ekaterinburg

The city’s Central Stadium will be increased from 27,000 to 45,000 seats for the 2018 event.

Kaliningrad

A proposed 45,000-seater venue, not yet designed, is slated for completion in 2017.

Nizhny Novgorod

A new 45,000-seater venue will stand at the confluence of the Oka and Volga rivers.

Rostov-On-Don

The Populous-designed 45,000seater venue will be scaled back to 25,000 post-World Cup.

Samara

The new 45,000-capacity home of FC Krylya Sovetov will be ready by 2017.

* Saint Petersburg Project documentation approved - the final stage of the working documentation development. Completion date will be defined after the state calculation of construction costs is completed.

Although Russia’s colossal land mass spans nine time zones, 80 per cent of the country’s population lives within what the organising committee somewhat loosely defines as ‘close proximity’ to the 11 host cities. The greatest distance between any two venues is the 1,755 km between Moscow and Ekaterinburg, although the committee discounts the 2,483km that separates Kaliningrad from Ekaterinburg on the rather vague grounds that ‘there will be no need to fly between them concept-wise’.

Research Project Construction

Engineering research and technical specifications. Design development. Project documentation. Construction works.

“I think the travel distances are more or less the same for every World Cup,” Sorokin says. “The travel distances are within the appropriate limits. It’s no more than two hours’ flight from Moscow to each city; to many it’s a one-hour flight. I think the distances are perfectly acceptable for the teams.” The overall budget earmarked for the tournament is currently being assessed and finalised but according to Sorokin the estimated figure is “in the vicinity of 600 billion roubles”, or roughly US$19.4

billion, which includes both public and private money. Those funds, allocated through an investment programme that is scheduled to be approved by the Russian government in the spring of 2013, will see the development of some 1,000 facilities, including stadiums, training sites, team bases, airports, road infrastructure, hotels, security infrastructure, public utility and medical infrastructure, communications and information technology infrastructure, environmental facilities

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The Kisho Kurokawa-designed stadium in Saint Petersburg will boast a retractable playing surface

Work at New Rubin Kazan Stadium is underway

A renewed Luzhniki Stadium will host the final

New Rubin Kazan Stadium will house the Russian Premier League team of the same name from 2013

and the facilities required for fan fests. Also in the early stages of development is Russia 2018’s commercial plan. At present, it is too soon to say exactly how key rights will be sold in the lead-up to the event. What is certain, though, is that Russia 2018 will be the first edition of the World Cup to be subject to Fifa’s new ‘continental’ sponsorship strategy. Where third-tier sponsorship packages around the World Cup have previously

been sold exclusively to ‘national supporters’ – companies based in the host country – as of 2018 they will be opened up to prospective sponsors from across all five continents. The new approach, which is expected to boost revenue and make it easier to sell the packages, will see a total of 20 regional partner slots made available. Meanwhile, it is perhaps no surprise that parallels have been drawn between Russia’s hosting of the World Cup and

the 2012 Uefa European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. As each country continues to shake off the shackles of its communist past, all three are facing up to similar challenges and it is now Russia’s turn to carry the baton towards sporting and infrastructural modernisation in the former eastern bloc. “The situation is maybe similar because the countries have similar backgrounds, and in some aspects a similar mentality, so the challenges might be similar as well,”

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FEATURE | SOCCER

Sorokin admits. “First of all, we have visas which we need to perhaps take care of; we need to think about visa-free entry. We have to take care of the infrastructure too. In some of our cities, infrastructure is not ready to host the World Cup tomorrow. We need to build a lot just like they did. We now see a lot of beautiful stadiums in both Poland and Ukraine but they didn’t have them three, four years ago. Also the importance of keeping everything on schedule is very high.” Poland and especially Ukraine came under widespread fire this summer from members of the foreign media, who criticised profiteering hotel owners, inadequate transport infrastructure and the fact that many seats in stadiums went unsold. For that reason, Sorokin has been liaising closely with his Polish and Ukrainian counterparts to look at ways in which Russia can minimise, if not eliminate, a repeat of what he believes was unfair vilification of the Euro 2012 hosts. “I think there has been very undeserved negative attention from foreign media towards Ukraine, which we also have to anticipate,” he says. “It was greatly distressing after the Euro [to hear] this highly ungrounded negative attitude towards them. But we know that now and we have to think about it too.” In spite of any such scepticism surrounding Russia’s staging of the World Cup, Sorokin is confident in his country’s ability to rise to the heightened scrutiny that comes with such a major sporting celebration. He believes doubts over 2018 will be quelled by the success of a number of events set to be held in the country prior to then, with Russia set to come increasingly “in the spotlight”. He continues: “We’ll have the Sochi winter Olympic Games [in 2014], the University Games [in 2013], the Under-20 Ice Hockey World Championships [also in 2013] and then the football World Cup. We don’t mind attention. We intend to be open, we intend to be transparent, to explain to the media what is happening, what measures and efforts we’re making to better prepare for the World Cup. I think through constant dialogue these issues will be resolved.” For the majority of observers, Sochi’s Winter Olympics will serve as a bellwether for Russia’s hosting aptitude

“At each of our stadiums there is either a Russian Premier League or First Division club which is popular.” and while Sorokin is keen to point out that there are in fact many differences between his “single-sport, multi-city event and Sochi’s multi-sport, single-city event”, he sees the Games as an opportunity to garner crucial experience that will surely benefit the World Cup effort. “Sochi is one of our cities where we’re happy it’s going to be ready rather soon to host a major, world-class sporting event,” he says. “Of course we’ll learn from their approaches to ensuring security, approaches to volunteering, and various other programmes. We’ll be working very closely with them.” Sochi 2014 will set a new standard for volunteerism in Russia and Sorokin expects Russia 2018 to follow suit. Whether that will be the case will depend on public support, especially from the younger population, as anticipation builds closer to the event but Sorokin is excited by the current level of interest being shown in the country. “We recently carried out polls in Russia and we have very good support levels,” he insists. “65 per cent [of those polled] are aware of the World Cup and 89 per cent believe that our country will be able to stage a successful tournament, so there is a vast majority in favour of the idea.” With the Russian men’s national team currently leading their qualifying group for the Brazil 2014 World Cup – and, at the time of writing, doing so undefeated – the signs are that the country’s soccer scene is in good shape. The Russian Premier League, too, fuelled by the riches of a group of stratospherically wealthy owners and increasingly lucrative sponsorship deals, is undoubtedly healthier than it has ever been. One only has to look at the case of Anzhi Makhachkala to see how the moneyed have taken to the Russian game and, in the interest of sustaining public and corporate enthusiasm for soccer going into 2018, the World Cup organisers will undoubtedly be keen for that kind of support to continue.

For Sorokin in particular, though, it is not so much about what the Russian Premier League can do for the World Cup as what the World Cup can do to grow Russia’s domestic game. “It’s always good to have a football industry that is stronger and stronger every year,” he says, “and I think that’s the aim of the Russian Football Union. Attendances are growing in the Premier League and there are other indicators that are pretty optimistic. But a lot will depend on the infrastructure. We’ll add to the quality of the game by having 12 more perfectly modern venues.” Away from the field, fan violence and incidences of racism continue to blight Russia’s reputation within the global soccer community. It is not, by any means, a problem unique to Russia – every country is currently facing up to such issues – but Sorokin is well aware of the need for the Russian authorities to be seen to be taking a harder line than ever on unacceptable behaviour at soccer matches. “Fifa, the Russian Football Union, all the appropriate authorities are making all the necessary efforts to fully eradicate [such problems],” he says. “As you know it’s a common threat known to many countries and it is a hot topic in many countries. We are unfortunately not an exception. It starts with appropriate propaganda work. We need to make racism outbreaks unpopular and simply not trendy, so to speak. We’d like people to understand that they’re acting stupidly, first of all, and then society will eradicate these outbreaks itself.” It is, of course, an ideal but one which Russia must nevertheless continue to strive for. And when the soccer world packs up and heads for Qatar after the 2018 tournament comes to a close, Sorokin is hopeful that one particular aspect of Russia’s character will be remembered above all others. “The key word is soul,” he says. “We will show the world a hospitable Russian soul.”

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20/12/2012 14:09:22

FEATURE | OLYMPICS

Between the developer and the deep Black Sea At the start of November, with a little over 15 months to go until the Olympic opening ceremony, Sochi staged the first Peace and Sport International Forum to be held outside Monaco. For the Russian organisers it was a chance to show off the progress of the city’s hugely ambitious 2014 project. For many delegates, it was a first encounter with the host of what promises to be an unusual winter Games. By Eoin Connolly

“

t will be cool for athletes. I think when you think about a global perspective, no one has an idea,” says Steve Mesler, an Olympic gold medallist in the four-man bobsleigh at Vancouver 2010. “So they’re going to tune into the Olympic Games all over the world and they’re going to see palm trees and beaches, and skiing and ice hockey. It’s going to be… people aren’t going to understand what they’re watching I think, really. It’ll be cool.” Mesler is speaking in Sochi at the start of November, filling time before a gala dinner for the Peace and Sport International Forum at the Grand Hotel in Krasnaya Polyana. He is attending in his capacity as the founder of Classroom Champions, a project which introduces Olympians to schools as mentors. A veteran of US Olympic teams in Salt Lake City and Turin as well as Vancouver, Mesler admits that Sochi will have “a huge footprint to fill” in matching the Games in Canada in 2010. “Construction is… construction’s going to happen,” he chuckles, “especially as they’re building most of the venues. “That being said, the Russians are going to get things done. They’re excited. It’s their first hosting of an Olympics Games since we didn’t come. So it’s America’s first time in Russia for an Olympic Games.” Sochi 2014 is keen to show the world a winter Games it did not expect. So far, the efforts of local organising committee president Dmitry Chernyshenko and his team have reaped notable successes – most telling of all a marketing programme that has raked in over US$1.2 billion

“They’re going to tune into the Olympic Games all over the world and they’re going to see palm trees and beaches, and skiing and ice hockey.” in sponsorship since 2009, an Olympic record that is three times the total promised by the bid team and one and a half times the haul of Vancouver 2010. At no point has there been any doubt, either, that the considerable financial and political weight of the Russian government has fallen behind the operation. Now, with London 2012 a cherished memory, the reality of what it will take to accomplish those Olympic ambitions is as plain here as it has ever been. The scope of the transformation in Sochi promises wonder but the scale of work required to make it happen is staggering, too. In November, even with some test events just a few weeks away, it remains a feat of imagination to see Sochi as a winter Olympic host. For one thing there remains a distinctly autumnal feel to the place, even up in the western Caucasus Mountains where the trees are reddening in complexion but the thermometer stays poised some way above freezing. Closer to the sea, where the ‘Coastal Cluster’ will welcome indoor events in 2014, there is weather that could pass for a summer’s day in many parts of Europe. The snowflakes which adorn the fences outside the Grand Hotel seem faintly ironic, as though the owners are playing up the disconnect between the expectation of a winter Olympic city and Sochi’s climactic peculiarities. There are

white traces on the peaks above Krasnaya Polyana but otherwise little sign that this will be the world’s highest-profile ski resort in a little under 500 days’ time. Heavy snowfall is never expected until December in these parts – and in recent years it has held off into January – so the organisers have devised the selfexplanatory ‘Sochi 2014: Guaranteed Snow’ programme. Snow collected from reservoirs at the start of the year has been stored in frozen sheets in the mountains, ready for later deployment – the system got a first successful test for the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in December, when 4,600 cubic metres of snow was laid on the runways at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Centre. Back down on the coast, temperatures will be mild in February 2014, perhaps even rivalling those on drearier days at London’s Paralympics last September. Such a spread in conditions is remarkable for what will be the most compact Games in modern winter Olympic history. It is clear why those behind the project have long held such high hopes for Sochi, a former haunt of holidaying Soviet apparatchiks, as a year-round resort. Sochi itself is growing as a business centre and is a future Formula One host but much of the expected legacy of the Games will be evident here in Krasnaya Polyana. The village – an ‘urban-type

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Pictured here on 1st November 2012, the Fisht Stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies of Sochi 2014 before becoming a soccer venue

settlement’ in the Russian administrative nomenclature – is enjoying its second rise from obscurity. At the turn of the 20th century it was identified by Tsar Nicholas II as a new hunting ground, a purpose abandoned with the Russian monarchy. Its proximity to Sochi lent it some appeal as a ski resort during the Soviet era – though it remained relatively inaccessible – while the loss of resorts outside Russia after the break-up of the USSR brought interest from newly wealthy holidaymakers. But the July 2007 decision of the IOC to award Sochi the Games looks like being a decisive moment in its history. The Grand Hotel is undergoing a major expansion in capacity while along the road, enormous commercial and residential developments are rising. Krasnaya Polyana is preparing for life after 2014 as a Val d’Isère of the east – an attractive ski resort with easy access to a milder afternoon’s shopping or socialising in Sochi, and an elite winter sports facility which will keep top Russian athletes from seeking training in western mountain ranges. Town and piste are closely bound: views of the Black Sea

from sections of the mountaintop will be a highlight of many visits, not to mention television coverage in 2014. In the slopes around the Grand Hotel the venues in the ‘Mountain Cluster’ have been taking shape for some time. The Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre is an existing nine-kilometre chain of pistes whose conversion to Olympic standards has come in two phases – the first completed in 2011, the second in time for a series of test events this winter. The extreme park for freestyle competitions is also in place. The routes of the Sanki sliding centre, which will host the luge, skeleton and bobsleigh, are visibly pronounced amidst the fading greenery, and were deemed competition-ready at the end of October. Between the slopes and the sea, construction, as Steve Mesler might have it, is happening. There is a constant rumble down the mountain roads – every second vehicle appears to be carrying heavy goods along one of the largest, busiest construction sites anywhere in the world today. With a little over a year to go until the opening ceremony roughly

one third of the work proposed to prepare Sochi for the Games lies ahead. 80 per cent of spending on the Games has gone on permanent infrastructure and much of what is left to be finished concerns transport. At the foot of the sliding venues is a structure that looks something like a tortoise shell, pared down for some unspecified aerodynamic advantage. For many visitors it will become a familiar sight in February 2014. It is the Krasnaya Polyana terminal of the vital new highspeed rail link that will put the two Olympic zones within 30 minutes of each other, comfortably the shortest journey between indoor and mountain venues at a modern winter Games. In December 2012, Vladimir Putin conducted a progress meeting on one of the early train voyages along the route, which is reported to have been 85 per cent complete by the end of the year. Back in November the appeal of a rapid trip through the valley is readily apparent. Accessibility is almost invariably an issue for the mountain events at any winter

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FEATURE | OLYMPICS

Workmen abseil down the surface of the Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi’s main Olympic ice hockey arena

The interior of the Bolshoy Ice Dome emerges

Olympics and although the distance between the coastal and mountain clusters here is just 48km, it is clear that Games traffic would throttle the single major passageway. There are a huge number of projects ongoing to improve the roads around Sochi, with over 367.3km of roads and bridges set to have been built by 2014, creating new links within and between the Games clusters, and expanding the M-27 federal highway out of the city. Of course, such work has meant slicing the belly of the valley wide open, exposing great seams of earth and rock. Small wonder environmentalists have their concerns – echoed in the whispers in the Grand Hotel of those seeing the area for the first time. The Sochi 2014 team, however, have countered such doubts by promoting a range of green initiatives. The Games, they insist, are to be carbon neutral and create zero waste, with construction work certified to the international BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) standard. The Olympics will be used as an opportunity to engage with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) campaigns, and local flora and fauna populations, such as that of the Persian mountain leopard, are being restored. Nevertheless, it would be little surprise were the issue to arise again as the world’s media descends on the region in the year to come. The Olympic Park is being built in Adler, just outside Sochi. Just now, it is a teeming anthill; all earthy colours and streams of concerted activity in every

Across the other side of the park is the Adler Arena, which will host speed skating before becoming a trade and exhibition centre in 2013. As November begins, it is around 98 per cent complete. The interiors gleam pleasingly and most of the fittings are in place – as are the decorative palm trees. Of the major features, only the ice is missing, which seems fitting enough with the temperatures still stubbornly high outside. More substantial work remains for the athletes’ village and media centre but the other venues are preparing for a busy run of test events in the spring. The Iceberg Skating Palace successfully staged the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in December 2012 and will host the ISU World Cup Short Track in February 2013. The smaller ice hockey arena, the Shayba, will share hosting duties for the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in April before welcoming the 4 Nations Ice Sledge Hockey Tournament, its Paralympic test event, in August and September. There was a blow for the Ice Cube Curling Centre when its technical systems were not finished in time to host the Cup of Russia event in December, but it is said to be well on track to stage the World Wheelchair Curling Championship

With a little over a year to go until the opening ceremony roughly one third of the work proposed to prepare Sochi lies ahead. direction. The centrepiece Fisht Stadium, which will host the ceremonies before finding life as a soccer stadium and 2018 World Cup venue, is still stripped back to its skeleton but many of the competition venues are nearing completion. For now, though, they are scattered across the unfinished surface like gems spilled from an oligarch’s purse. The Bolshoy Ice Dome stands on a concrete plinth at the far end of the park, a ‘frozen drop’ looking out wistfully across the shimmering Black Sea. Set to be perhaps the most technologically advanced of the Olympic venues it is already an impressive sight and an entire country will hope it can be a historical site. This is the venue that will stage the gold medal match in the Olympic ice hockey, where Russia will be favourites to win a first title since the Soviet era. Today, an arena that will soon resound to the clatter and roar of world class ice hockey is quiet, save for the occasional bang of workmen’s tools and a waft of gentle musak as the PA system gets a run. Its key test event is still some way off – it will host the IIHF World U18 Championship in April – and when the Olympics end, it is expected to become the new home of a Kontinental Hockey League team.

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The Adler Arena (left) speed skating venue and Iceberg Skating Palace (right) figure skating arena

Just now, the Olympic Park is a teeming anthill; all earthy colours and streams of concerted activity in every direction. in February and the World Junior Curling Championship in March. For Sochi, and for the organisations planning their Olympic experiences here, the tests present a further obstacle in that they will take place in a city still ramping up in terms of capacity. Sochi International Airport, set in tree-lined hills just outside the city, is midway through a major expansion which is expected to bring its capacity up from an initial 1,600 passengers an hour to a figure of 3,800 passengers an hour by the end of 2013. The airport is described in Sochi 2014 literature as ‘essentially one of the key venues’ for the Games. Its proximity to the centre of town and, more importantly, the main competition areas is an enviable asset, but here as elsewhere its full potential has yet to be tangibly realised. Hotel capacity has been climbing in Sochi for some time with 20,000 new rooms being added to the more than 21,000 already in place. The Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Centre will house IOC members during the Games while hundreds of rooms in more modest facilities are being updated. Mindful, perhaps, of the negativity that surrounded hoteliers’ profiteering in Ukraine around Uefa Euro 2012, and of the need to think

of a bigger future for Sochi after February 2014, the Russian government announced maximum nightly rates for Olympic accommodation in December: 2,936 roubles (US$95) for a single room and 4,600 roubles (US$150) for a double in one or two-star accommodation, and 13,896 roubles (US$450) for a luxury suite. With the world arriving – or an anticipated 80 of its nations, anyway – the Games will mark an important step in the evolution of Russian culture. In a workshop ahead of the Peace and Sport opening ceremony, officials from local and national government outline a strategy to get sport right at the heart of youth culture in the country, a force to combat everything from health issues to juvenile crime. The mayor of Sochi, the robust figure of Anatoly Pakhomov, is talking up the significance of the Paralympics, saying it will showcase and encourage changing attitudes towards disability in the country. The Games will come at what may be a critical time for Russia’s international reputation. The Peace and Sport International Forum is taking place as two female members of the punk group Pussy Riot begin two-year sentences in penal colonies following a conviction for ‘hooliganism motivated by religious

hatred’ after a protest in a cathedral. The affair has sparked firestorms of dissent around the world and again established clear distance on social issues between Russia and some of its newest allies. Sochi 2014 itself has not entirely escaped negative headlines in recent years. Pakhomov’s own election in 2009 – his position as mayor is effectively a newly created one – was dogged by allegations from opponents of voting irregularities. In 2011 Taimuraz Bolloyev, the chief executive of state-backed Sochi 2014 construction partner Olympstroy, stepped down for health reasons amid suggestions that he was involved in an alleged 23 million rouble (US$7million) swindle involving a ghost building project. Six criminal cases were opened against Olympstroy employees implicated in the affair; Russian law now dictates that the books of state companies be open to the public. It is telling to hear Joël Bouzou, the president of Peace and Sport, declare himself “very happy, because I see that there is really freedom – absolutely free expression – and I think it’s great that this space is provided to the global audience of Peace and Sport, the global actors of Peace and Sport.” By common consent, the conference is a big one for the organisation, which is making the first of what will become biennial sorties out of the principality of Monaco, where it is based. But it seems to be an important moment for those associated with Sochi 2014 as well. There is a strong Russian turnout

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FEATURE | OLYMPICS

Left to right: Prince Albert II, Peace and Sport’s Joël Bouzou, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak and sports minister Vitaly Mutko, Yelena Isinbayeva and the UN’s Wilfried Lemke

American Sarah Hendrickson jumps in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Sochi in December 2012

The organisers will hope that visitors to the Olympics see a new, more open Russia in the faces of the Sochi 2014 volunteers. among an audience that is typically international in composition. Deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak is here to speak at the opening ceremony. So too is the nation’s athletics darling, Yelena Isinbayeva, a Peace and Sport Champion for Peace who in December was named mayor of Sochi’s Olympic village. Prince Albert II of Monaco is in attendance, giving the Sochi 2014 team a test of royal protocol during a visit to the major venues. And somewhere amidst all of this is Chernyshenko, flitting between meetings like a US presidential candidate at a party convention. Vincent Gaillard, the director general of Peace and Sport partner SportAccord, says the sport for development movement is in a moment where it needs to find the “right arguments” for its importance but in some quarters the same is true of Russia’s Olympics. Certainly, events like the International Forum provide an opportunity ahead of the Games for the Sochi 2014 team to address the suspicion – some of it residual, some very much current – that lingers worldwide around the country’s authorities.

The organisers will hope that visitors to the Olympics see a new, more open Russia in the faces of the Sochi 2014 volunteers. The concept of volunteerism is largely alien in the country; according to the organising committee’s own figures, between two and nine per cent of Russians take part in volunteer activities, compared with 33 per cent of people in the UK and 35 per cent in Canada. In order to deliver on its promise of creating a 25,000-strong volunteer force, comprising 35 per cent of Sochi 2014 personnel, Sochi has reached out to those in its midst born in the post-Soviet era. Applicants are being sourced and selected from 26 volunteer centres, sited in universities across the country. Those 26 have been chosen from an initial 150 and Sochi State University, unsurprisingly, is among them. Its volunteers fill out the Peace and Sport team as the momentum of the programme gathers. Phil Sherwood was the head of Locog’s ecstatically received volunteer programme and led a workshop on volunteering at the International Forum. Speaking a few weeks after the

conference, he gives his enthusiastic approval to the Sochi 2014 effort. Though he points out that “the challenges of a volunteer programme are very, very different” from one Games to the next, entwined as they are with national culture, Sherwood has been involved in the official knowledge transfer programme between London and Sochi. More generally, the project has been maturing on for some time: around 20 Russian volunteers were at Vancouver 2010 as part of the ‘Sochi-VancouverSochi’ initiative, and 104 volunteers, four from each of the 26 centres, took part in the ‘Sochi-London-Sochi’ follow-up in the summer of 2012. All of those volunteers were fully subjected to the London 2012 selection process and treated as conventional members of the team, and for Sherwood, there was a familiar sight once he reached Russian shores. “When I got off the aeroplane in Sochi,” he recalls, “what I immediately saw when I was welcomed by the Peace and Sport volunteers was one of them wearing a pair of Games Maker trainers. “And then two days later, one of the 104 volunteers, having come back to Russia from London so excited about she was doing, she was there volunteering for Peace and Sport but talked a couple of her friends into doing it as well, telling them, ‘Look, you’re going to have a great time. It’s a really good thing to do and you’re going to have great fun doing it as well.’” For all the local environmental advantages and the many billions of roubles invested in services and infrastructure, it may be that attitude that determines how the world sees Sochi’s Olympics.

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20/12/2012 16:28:16

Raising the Game Bob Gruman on PwC’s Global Sports Mega-Events Centre of Excellence

n response to the growing significance of sports mega-events, PwC officially launched its Global Sports MegaEvents Centre of Excellence earlier this year. This unique team of global sports industry experts is headed up by Bob Gruman, PwC Russia Business Consulting practice leader and lead partner on PwC Russia’s partnerships with the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and Universiade 2013 in Kazan. What is PwC’s Sports Mega-Events Centre of Excellence? PwC’s Sports Mega-Events Centre of Excellence pulls together industry specialists from across our global network. PwC actually has a pretty long history in helping cities, countries, organising committees and sports teams around the world to shape and create sports events such as the Olympic Games and world cups. In establishing our Centre of Excellence, we have made a significant investment in bringing those pockets of expertise together to share knowledge and intellectual capital, to better demonstrate what we are capable of and, most importantly, to better serve our clients. PwC has not traditionally been widely recognised as having a role in megaevents planning beyond the accounting function. But given the increasing complexity of sports mega-events and the need for integrated planning across the board, we actually have a lot more to offer to host cities and organising committees. Our work is based on the experience we have gained advising on past mega-events and also through pulling in subject matter experts across our massive network on

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issues such as operational planning, venue management, HR strategy, customs and tax, risk management, sustainability, supply chain optimization and all other areas that mega-events stakeholders have to contend with. This allows us to create value across all stages of the mega-events life cycle: from bid preparation and Games planning to event execution and creating a lasting legacy. Perhaps the best demonstration of how we are able to bring value in a wide range of areas is in the work we are doing in Russia in partnership with the Organising Committee of the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. What are you doing for Sochi 2014? The scope of work is quite considerable. As Partner and Official Professional Services Provider, PwC Russia has delivered or is working on over 200 projects to date. In a nutshell, our role is to support the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee in its core tasks. We are extremely proud to have been entrusted with this role. We’re helping the Sochi 2014 organisers to implement a new approach to preparing the Games, putting in place a projectoriented organisation. In addition to consulting on the overall planning, preparation and staging of the Games, we also deliver a large number of specific professional services projects to support Sochi 2014 in several key areas: HR consulting, taxation, supply chain management, management consultancy, financial planning and budgeting, risk management and more.

What is PwC’s involvement with The World Summer Universiade 2013 in Kazan? We are Partner and Official Professional Services Provider to Universiade 2013 as well. Our role there is similar to our role on Sochi 2014, if somewhat more modest in scope. We have carried out a number of major organisational projects in Games planning, budgeting and financial planning, and taxation consulting. We’ve helped create a master plan for the Games in addition to creating budget and financial business processes. We’ve worked on detailed operating plans for the Universiade 2013 Executive Committee and several key venues that will be used to stage the event. Universiade 2013 is the first in a long list of major sporting events that will be hosted in Russia in the coming years. We are proud of the work our partners in Kazan are doing to set the stage, and proud to play a supporting role. What does the future hold after Sochi 2014? PwC is already carrying out projects for organisers and bid committees of post2014 mega-events around the world. Sports mega-events continue to grow in economic scale and organisational complexity. Integrated planning is essential. Mega-events organisers are looking for a partner that can not only provide specific Games-related planning expertise, but who also knows its way around other essential business services. We will continue to invest in our Sports Mega-Events Centre of Excellence and we’re excited to be a major provider within the industry that can really support this new era of global sport. www.pwc.com/sports-mega-events Robert Gruman Sports Mega-Events Centre of Excellence Leader and PwC Russia Advisory Practice Leader +7 495 232 5725 robert.gruman@ru.pwc.com

20/12/2012 11:08:55

FEATURE | SECURITY

Skirmishes between rival supporters marred Uefa Euro 2012 last June but very different threats can be more prevalent at other major sporting events

Safe and sound The International Centre for Sport Security has established itself as a global hub of safety and security expertise in the ever-expanding sports industry landscape. Its executive director, Helmut Spahn, sets out his rigorous guidelines to putting on a safe and secure event. By James Emmett

here is no such thing as a one size fits all approach to major event security. That is largely because ‘major event’ is not a precise term. The Olympic Games and the Fifa World Cup are commonly accepted as the largest of all major events, but in terms of event infrastructure and the strategy required to secure them, they are entirely different. Location, venue, technology, human resource – both local and brought in from afar – spectator numbers, composition and culture are just a handful of the myriad factors that must be taken into account when preparing a mega-event security concept. The security budget for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 is believed to have been US$180 million. Post 9/11, major event security has shifted entirely. The very real terrorism threat at major,

often iconic events has equated to more sophisticated and much more costly systems. The security budget at the most recent Olympics in London has been put at US$1.5 billion, with more government funding for hardware on top of that. With sporting events getting bigger and ever more globally diffuse, the need for sophisticated and reliable security strategies has also grown. Peculiarly, the sports event industry has been remarkably profligate when it comes to transferring security knowhow and resources, with most organisers having to approach the topic with a blank sheet of paper. The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) is intended as a vehicle for that knowledge and resource transfer. Conceived by Qatari Mohammed Hanzab in the build-up to South Africa

2010, when the focus of the world’s media was as much on the potential security threat as it was on the sport, the ICSS now consists of a safety, security and sports integrity hub in the Qatari capital of Doha. Led by executive director Helmut Spahn, who was chief security officer at the German Football Federation (DFB) for many years and headed up the security team for the Fifa World Cup in Germany in 2006 and for the 2011 Fifa Women’s World Cup, the organisation now comprises 35 globally renowned security and integrity experts, whose expertise and experience cover almost every aspect of the industry. The organisation has a lot on its plate, with advisory projects spanning the globe, an annual conference and additional expert summits and symposiums designed as a platform to share ideas and experience,

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The operators of International Centre for Sport Security in Doha are hoping to encourage knowledge transfer from one global event to the next

and now a quarterly journal written largely by experts to be delivered to the sports industry “In all countries, in all sports, and in all events, every person, every spectator has a natural basic need for security. All visitors, all delegates, athletes want to feel safe and secure and to be able to enjoy the event and to achieve the best possible result in the sport,” says Spahn, explaining the basic tenets upon which the organisation was founded. “The main guideline for us at the ICSS is to create the philosophy of safety and security. For me, it’s as much security as required with as few restrictions as possible. This also says there must be a tailor-made security concept that takes into account all facets of the respective event.” Treating each event as unique, with a unique set of threats and a unique set of challenges, is key to Spahn’s way of doing things. Nevertheless, there are five guiding principles by which he believes all major event teams should abide. Helmut Spahn’s five-point plan: • Start strategic planning as early as possible Starting early is, in Spahn’s opinion, “the most important part in developing a tailor-made security concept.” The goal

should always be to take an integrated, holistic approach and to achieve that, the earlier you start the better. For the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany, Spahn and his team began the official preparations in 2003, but, he says, “the preparation itself was six or seven years. I think that’s a good timeframe.” In Qatar, where Spahn and his team are based, the organisers of the 2022 Fifa World Cup have more time than usual to put together their security strategy. “They have ten years to go, I think it’s enough time,” says Spahn, before sounding a note of warning that is the prerogative of any security expert. “It could also be a problem because you will have a lot of changes of responsible people, as is the nature of such longterm projects. The special need related to the World Cup in Qatar is that they have to build a lot of new infrastructure. For the Fifa World Cup in Germany most of the infrastructure was in place; the stadiums had been planned and built on time, the public transportation system required only minimal upgrades. You cannot only focus on safety and security; it’s a really integrated concept: railway stations, streets, accommodation, boarder controls, ticketing, accreditation. All these are different facets of social security concepts here in Qatar.”

• Create a philosophy around the event’s key security needs Planning for all possibilities is advised but identifying specific threats and preparing accordingly needs to be a priority. The most pressing safety and security issues for the Fifa World Cup in 2014 in Brazil – where the recent Copa Sudamericana final in São Paulo was marred by excessive force used by armed police and subsequently abandoned – are, for example, unlikely to be the same ones as faced the organisers of the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany. “Security challenges are different related to the host country,” Spahn explains. “In Germany it was, at first, hooliganism. It was violence, misbehaviour of fan groups. But also normal, everyday crime. It was a little bit different for the World Cup in 2010 because a lot of problematic fan groups were not able to travel to South Africa. So hooliganism was not at the top of the list of challenges. It was more the general security situation. You remember the media campaign before the World Cup 2010, always discussing is it possible to travel to South Africa without being a victim of crime? So it would also be different in Brazil or in Russia or in Qatar.” In the meantime, of course, more insidious, less physically obvious

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FEATURE | SECURITY

Securing Sport

British military personnel proved a reassuring rather than intimidating presence at London 2012

he third edition of the ICSS’s annual Securing Sport conference will take place in Doha on the 18th and 19th March this year. The event is due to be attended by around 400 industry stakeholders. “We’re going to have keynote addresses on the future of a nation; we are in Qatar so we will focus on Qatar,” explains Helmut Spahn (above), who enjoys putting the event together each year. “For the plenary sessions we have themes like The Role of Sport: Advancing the International Community to Safeguard the Future, Securing Your Media Plan, Triple Threat! The Future of Sports Security and Technolog y, and The Third Dimension: The Stadium of the Future, which is more general. Then we have security sessions: How Much is Your Security Worth? Another one is Natural Threats at Major Sporting Events. Fan-related: Fan Book: Fan Behaviour and Social Media. “And we will also focus on the next major sports events in Brazil and Russia. So we have a spotlight on these two events. “Securing Sport 2013 will also include a number of integrityfocused sessions which will explore how to monitor and investigate instances of match fi xing and illegal betting around sport, and will provide delegates with an opportunity to share knowledge with leading major events experts and practitioners.”

threats need to be tackled. Black market ticketing, match fixing and illegal betting, which Spahn sees as the “biggest threat to sport in general” in the future, need to be constantly worked against. • Communicate and cooperate The ICSS exists partly to act as an agent for knowledge transfer. Communication and cooperation, both with current stakeholders and with organisers and experts from previous, similar events, are fundamental to a mega-event security strategy and an obvious area in which an organisation like the ICSS can help. Outward-facing communication and image management is also crucial. The ICSS has recently observed the development of the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia and the security-related challenges. The Russian organisers are likely to encounter similar challenges, particularly regarding international press depiction, to those the organisers of the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine encountered. Being, or at least appearing to be, overly militaristic is not advised. “If you watch football on TV now,” says Spahn, “you have a huge number of media people around, a lot of cameras. So everything is now in the media. Sometimes the impression is that there is more risk, more violence and more crime in sport and that must not be correct. But the most important thing is to have a good media and communication concept in place. “In Poland and Ukraine the police and the military were normally responsible for the security and the safety measures inside the stadium. I think, today, a modern security concept means that you must have police, you must have military in place, but more in the background, and not visibly around. By no means should military be inside the stadium and they should certainly not be heavily armed. So,

with the help of Uefa, they altered their approach so there was private security staff responsible for the safety and security inside the stadiums but in the stadium surroundings, outside of the stadium, of course the police were responsible. “I think the same approach will be good for the World Cup in 2018 in Russia.” • Ensure the highest possible quality of security resources According to Spahn, there are two overarching factors in major event safety and security: the physical condition of the facilities, the venue, the infrastructure, and the quality of the safety and security management. Both of these areas need to be rigorously optimised. Getting involved in the venue design planning process is helpful here but bringing in the right people is more easily achievable. “I think you need, at first, local stakeholders, who know the situation in the country, and then the structure of the various roles and responsibilities,” he says. “The most important thing to remember, though, is to share knowledge from all the previous tournaments and to have the chance to learn from past events, and to bring an organisation like the ICSS in.” • Be flexible “We have to consider differences in infrastructure, experience, culture, technological abilities, as well as financial aspects,” says Spahn. “At the end of the day, it’s impossible to say, ‘OK, these are the elements and if you deal with these elements then you have a tailor-made concept in place.’ You have to talk to the stakeholders, you have to identify their needs, their challenges, you have to identify the different structures and so on. After that you have a good assessment of the situation and then you can start the preparation for the event.”

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CASE STUDY | DALLMEIER

The Panomera® camera system in the BayArena Leverkusen and Borussia Park Mönchengladbach

Eagle eyes for increased security in football stadiums Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer 04 Leverkusen started the jubilee season for 50 years of Germany’s Bundesliga with new super-cameras. These are intended to ensure increased security in stadiums. The equipment was supplied by video surveillance technology specialist Dallmeier.

hen they defeated Hoffenheim at the Borussia Park stadium in their first match of the new Bundesliga season, the Gladbacher Foals were enjoying more than just success on the field. They also had plenty to celebrate in terms of security: The new video surveillance system delivered pinpoint sharp images of the stands from the first to the 90th minute. The same scenario played out in Leverkusen. Working with the football club’s IT department, video security specialist Dallmeier and Stemmer, a wholly owned subsidiary of network and IT service provider BT Germany, commissioned the new cameras in the BayArena. With the new digital cameras, and in close cooperation with their security experts and the police, the two Bundesliga football clubs expect to be able to respond to incidents more rapidly and more precisely, and thus improve security inside the stadium. The special, patented cameras are directed mainly at the areas of the stadium where criminal or violent acts are most likely to occur. “With the new cameras, we are

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providing even more comprehensive security coverage, and we can track down offenders more effectively,” says Bernhard Nießen, head of stadium operations and security ofﬁcer for Borussia Mönchengladbach. As soon as an incident occurs, the police can focus on individuals using the zoom function. So suspected offenders can be brought to justice on the day of the match. The recordings are also stored digitally. “This enables us to carry out a thorough investigation that will stand up in a court of law,” continues Nießen. This capability is also deterrent in nature, and is intended to make individuals think twice before they commit an offence. The solution is based on the Panomera® camera technology from Dallmeier. The unique multifocal sensor system was developed specially to provide video surveillance for large expanses such as stadiums, large car parks or airports. Unlike conventional HD and megapixel cameras, which only have one lens, Panomera® functions with multiple lenses, each of which has a different focal length. Due to this completely new lens and sensor concept, even more distant

objects can be represented with the same resolution as objects in the foreground. “With resolution of this order, we can create a passport photograph of the culprit from over a hundred metres away”, explains Nießen. Roland Meier, team leader Panomera® Multifocal Sensor Systems at Dallmeier, says: “In effect, it is as if you were to combine the advantages of an overview camera and a high optical zoom PTZ camera: Panomera® records the entire area continuously, like an overview camera – unlike a PTZ camera for example, with which only the currently active zoom area is recorded. But at the same time you can move and zoom anywhere in the entire coverage area!” Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach, two football clubs with rich sporting histories, are already putting their plan to ensure increased stadium security into practice. Other organisations are already preparing to take to the ﬁeld and have expressed their interest. To contact Dallmeir: www.dallmeier.com www.panomera.com

18/12/2012 14:19:34

Secure top scorers in Ukraine. By Jos van Nederpelt

Almost 70,000 spectators watched Spain win the European Football Championship – EURO 2012 – in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium. They enjoyed the match in a fun and safe setting that Nedap Security Management had helped create. Both the brand new Arena Lviv and the renovated Kiev stadium had been equipped with Nedap’s AEOS security management system for access control and intrusion.

In April 2007, UEFA’s Executive Committee chose the joint Polish-Ukrainian bid to host the 2012 European Football Championship finals. In anticipation of the event, two of the four Ukrainian stadiums to host matches were equipped with AEOS security systems. The Olympic Stadium in Kiev was built in 1923 and needed remodelling to bring it up to UEFA’s ‘category four’ standards for stadiums hosting football finals. Such stadiums usually seat thousands of visitors and must meet strict criteria in terms of public access and egress.

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The Arena Lviv is brand new and built to meet all of UEFA’s latest technological and functional requirements. With a capacity of 33,400 spectators, it is relatively small. But its extensive grounds and state-of-the-art facilities ensure players and spectators maximum comfort. All seats are covered. Parking is located underneath the stadium. The stadium’s facilities include VIP lounges (seating 450), restaurants, a media centre, various training centres and office space. Construction at the nine-hectare site started in November 2008 and was completed by October 2011.

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Security levels. Nedap’s business partner ISK Transexpo installed the necessary hardware and Nedap’s AEOS security management software at both venues. In Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, the company installed Convexs M80FC readers at the 480 access points. Lviv Arena was equipped with the same readers at its 380 access points. In total, 528 intrusion zones were defined. Nedap Convexs Mifare readers are used at some 600 doors and entrances. Both venues also deploy AEOS’s unique ‘security levels’ functionality, enabling security managers to respond swiftly to any calamity that could have occurred at a major event like EURO 2012. In case of emergency, the system switches to a predefined emergency scenario with alternative access authorisations. This takes just seconds.

Security and intrusion. Like all other modern stadiums, those in Kiev and Lviv are equipped, inside and out, with a permanent closed-circuit television system that can take still shots, and with colour monitors in a control room. Security management at the stadiums use the AEOS Graphical Alarm Handler to monitor and handle alarms, and to provide the operators with clear work instructions. The Graphical Alarm Handler shows a graphical representation of buildings, the stadium layouts and alarms as well as the status of the alarms and which guards are handling them.

Another very helpful tool used in both stadiums is the fully integrated “Guard Tour” which enables extensive monitoring and audit trailing of security guards. The Guard Tour allows security managers to define a sequence of card readers or alarm inputs that have to be checked within a pre-defined time span during routine tours. With the AEOS Guard Tour option, guards can be sent on their rounds of the premises while their progress is monitored from the control room. In addition, the Lviv Arena’s three-level parking garage underneath the stadium was outfitted with long-range readers and wireless sensors in order to manage and secure the flow of vehicles around the stadium.

Topscorer Award. AEOS is Nedap Security Management’s contribution to the smooth and safe European Championship. For this, Nedap has received the Task Force EURO 2012 Topscorer Award. This prize was awarded by Task Force EURO 2012, a EUNITE and FME-CWM initiative aimed at boosting the export of Dutch expertise in infrastructure, construction and other large-event-related fields to Poland and Ukraine. Nedap has also won the bid for installing a new security system at Poznan Airport. The Polish city of Poznan also hosted EURO 2012 matches. The airport was expanded with a new terminal. In cooperation with its Polish partner Atrem S.A., Nedap provided access control and intrusion detection for all terminals.  More information: www.nedap-securitymanagement.com

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FEATURE | SOCCER

Sporting Kansas City chief executive Robb Heineman, Portland Timbers president Merritt Paulson and Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer, pictured in London at the Leaders in Football conference on Thursday 11th October

Growing a culture Major League Soccer continues to be one of the sport’s most pleasant surprises and the success and strong fan culture of its newest teams is the latest encouraging sign of good health. Sporting Kansas City chief executive Robb Heineman, Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer, Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson and the league’s own marketing director Howard Handler describe how the future is being met with ambition and handled with care. By Eoin Connolly and James Emmett. Photographs by Graham Fudger.

here is a story about Sporting Kansas City owner Robb Heineman that says much about Major League Soccer (MLS). New employees at the franchise, so it goes, are given a potted plant on their first day and encouraged to tend and nurture it throughout their time with the team. To an outsider it forms an irresistibly obvious metaphor for the shrewd and careful way in which MLS, founded in the mid-90s with stinging memories of the hubris and razzmatazz of the original

North American Soccer League (NASL) still fresh, has been allowed to develop and gradually thrive. There is an argument to be made that American soccer’s big bang in the 1970s is still propelling the slower, yet inexorable expansion of MLS. But the game’s growth seems now to have a natural impetus. “I just think that there’s a generational occurrence that’s happening right now in the US,” explains Heineman, speaking to SportsPro at October’s Leaders in Football conference in London, “where you have

more and more young parents, like me, where both the man and the woman played soccer growing up and they’d much rather go to a soccer match than go to anything else.” Heineman is not alone in making that observation. Also at Leaders are Seattle Sounders minority owner and general manager Adrian Hanauer, and Merritt Paulson, the livewire owner and president of one of the newest and most popular teams in MLS, the 2011 expansion franchise Portland Timbers. Paulson also

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attributes soccer’s healthy US fanbase to years of high participation, with supporters now migrating from watching the US national team and the big overseas leagues to the domestic club game. It is in the Pacific Northwest that that process is most apparent. Portland and Seattle, 140 miles apart in the neighbouring states of Oregon and Washington, contest what is perhaps the closest thing the league currently has to a local rivalry. In October, they played in front of MLS’ second-biggest crowd ever: 66,452 at the expandable EverLink Field the Sounders share with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Hanauer says modestly that both launched after “a lot of our partners who had come before us had done a lot of the heavy lifting”. Yet that leaves aside the full tale of what the influx of new fans has brought to American soccer. “I think what’s surprised people more than anything,” says Paulson, “is the supporters’ culture and the vibrancy of the supporters’ culture when MLS teams really start to develop that and that’s only been a recent phenomenon in MLS. And that’s been a big differentiator

“If you look at it: our average fan is 29.2 years old, the average NFL or Major League Baseball fan is in their mid-40s.” in American sports.” Howard Handler, the MLS marketing director, says that after enjoying the World Cup it was the experience of going to games in the league that finally turned him into a soccer convert. “I’ll leave the judgement of how our product stacks up to others,” he says, “but I don’t think that’s what it was about. The Sporting KC fans were so connected to the club and to the experience and to being together and being part of something bigger that it just really crossed over and I finally felt like I understood something. And I went out to Seattle and saw what the Sounders movement was like; I marched through the streets from the park to the stadium and from that point on I’m all in.” Heineman has been the chief executive

of Sporting Kansas City since 2006. In that time he has engineered not only a name change from the distinctly USleague sounding Kansas City Wizards to a more pleasingly soccer-inflected moniker, but also the move from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium to the club’s own Livestrong Sporting Park. Sporting are among several MLS teams to have made the move into a ‘soccerspecific’ facility and to have made a success of it. The impact, says Heineman, has been “huge”. “We went from a team that very rarely ever sold out our games to averaging 110 per cent of our capacity this year,” he says. “So we’re sold out for every game, standing room only crowds, and the team’s responding brilliantly. They’ve basically

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FEATURE | SOCCER

David Beckham led the stars of the LA Galaxy to another MLS Cup win in 2012 but interest in the league is also building without the aid of big names

Attendances at the Seattle Soundersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; EverLink Field are the highest in MLS and the fan culture is a strong example of what is emerging league-wide

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Hanauer, Paulson and Heineman are working towards different goals on the field but off it they share a similar set of ambitions for the future of MLS

been first or second in the table for the last 18 months playing in the stadium. So it’s been a fantastic venue for us and it’s really changed things for us dramatically.” As well as giving Sporting Kansas City fans “a proper place to view the beautiful game”, the completion of Livestrong Sporting Park has given the club greater control over its own destiny. “It’s a chance to change our financial outlook, Heineman says. “Before we controlled very few of our revenue streams; obviously now we control all of them. It’s taken us from a team that was not profitable to a team that’s profitable.” More to the point, Heineman has been able to fill that stadium with a type of fan that can only be seen as attractive to an emerging league. “I don’t necessarily differentiate as much from the rest of the world as I differentiate from the other sports in the United States,” he explains, “and I think our fan culture is very different from the NFL and Major League Baseball and the NBA. That’s a huge selling point for us. I mean, if you look at it: our average fan is 29.2 years old, the average NFL or Major League Baseball fan is in their mid-40s. So we have a generation of fans that are completely different from what those other leagues have and I think that’s the thing that our league really tries to embrace.” Heinemann, an active presence on the social network Twitter, says that communicating with those fans is done “much more through social media than it is through traditional media”. For Paulson, whose own candour on

“They don’t care if Thierry Henry’s in the stadium, they care if we kick Thierry Henry’s ass on the field.” Twitter landed him a US$25,000 fine when he criticised officials in September, it is as much a question of authenticity as anything else. “These guys are so sensitive to anything being force-fed or synthesised and created from above and we give them a canvas to create the culture,” he says, describing the management’s goal, “at risk of using a really trite analogy” as providing “some fertile dirt with some good fertiliser.” Nowhere does the fan culture seem more authentic than in Washington and Oregon – and nowhere have MLS teams been more successful off the field. Portland have “a waiting list of 10,000” for season tickets while Seattle’s 2012 average crowd of 43,144 was comfortably the highest in the league. “You know, one thing that we had that few of the other markets in the league have – and there have been plenty of success stories outside the Pacific Northwest – history,” says Paulson, addressing the popularity of the NASLvintage Sounders and Timbers. “And the rivalry that dates back to those days that exists between our two clubs has been a significant factor, I think, in driving our success at the MLS level.” Hanauer notes that with their youthful,

international, hipster-leavened and techsavvy communities Seattle and Portland “are very similar cities”. “But there’s a genuine antipathy that exists between us,” Paulson interjects, with no little relish, “well beyond our two teams. I think our mayor’s always saying, ‘Anything but Seattle!’ There’s that backand-forth rivalry that’s existed between the two cities well beyond soccer, but it’s best exemplified right now, I think, in MLS – especially since there’s no NBA team anymore in Seattle…” Hanauer lets that not-so-subtle dig slide but when Paulson returns to the topic it is the NBA itself which is the subject of an unfavourable comparison. “I’m a big NBA fan,” he says, having worked in basketball before moving into soccer. “I go to an NBA game now and in between the play, the production is just so loud, you know, and it’s this blaring music and it’s lights and it’s the video board. It’s so different when it’s coming from the fans, and it feels so much better.” The recent progress made by the league means it is gradually outgrowing some of the concepts it has used in past years to build its profile. David Beckham’s five-and-a-half-year LA story reached its fairytale end in December when his Los

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FEATURE | SOCCER

Angeles Galaxy side won the MLS Cup, but the ‘designated player’ rule created to make room for world class earners outside the salary cap remains. Sporting Kansas City do not currently have a designated player, and while Heineman believes that Beckham has “been a huge success” he argues that the rule has led to “mixed results” across the league. Moreover, he believes the impact of foreign stars on attendances at away games is dwindling. “With David Beckham, early on, there was [an impact],” he says. “Now our fans come to watch our team, and the fact that we’re winning is what the fans care about. They don’t care if Thierry Henry’s in the stadium, they care if we kick Thierry Henry’s ass on the field.” Hanauer remains more enthusiastic. The Sounders, unlike Sporting, are currently making full use of their DP allowance and he believes it is an effective approach to raising standards in the league. “I think it’s a fantastic part of our league,” he says. “It’s flexible, it’s allowed certain teams to sign big-name players, it’s allowed other teams to bring in young players to develop them. It improves the quality of our play, for sure. It gives fans players to rally around and I think it’s working very well. “I think that overall we need to continue to improve the quality of our play,” he adds. “That’ll happen as our youth systems develop with young American players, it’ll happen as we continue to be good at scouting the rest of the world. It’ll happen as we’re able to spend more money because our revenues increase and we can sign better and better players, more in the prime of their careers, from all over the world.” There seems a broader consensus that the Herbalife World Football Challenge friendly games against top European opposition may not be as important as they were. Paulson admits that clubs now expect to attract a different kind of spectator at such games – “a lot of nonseason ticket holders, who aren’t as big soccer fans” – and accepts the focus is now shifting away from them. “I think that friendlies have been huge for the league in building its support,” he says, “but right now we’re saying we’re the only league in the world that has friendlies in the middle of our regular season while

Cementing a network slot

n August 2011, Major League Soccer (MLS) achieved a major breakthrough when it signed a three-year broadcast agreement with the NBC Sports Group. According to multiple sources, the deal is worth US$10 million per season, some US$2.5 million more per year than the previous contract with Fox Sports. Crucially, the deal gave MLS coverage on a national network, albeit for only two regular season games per year, plus two play-off games, with a further 38 regular season games and three play-off games shown on NBC Sports Network. For MLS marketing director Howard Handler, the deal represented a landmark moment for the league but

must be seen as the start of a process, not the end goal of one. “One of our major challenges is breaking through on television and generating a robust national rating,” he says. “We’ve not yet established a consistent and recurring slot on the schedule. Our games are a little bit all over the map. We’ve got three very good television partners between ESPN, NBC and Univision but establishing a consistent schedule is key. It’s hard not to admire what the English Premier League has where on a Saturday morning you can roll out of bed and flick on the tube or head off to the pub with a bunch of friends and watch a match. It’s been harder for us to have that consistency.”

Major League Soccer’s global gains

he David Beckham effect might have piqued an international interest in MLS but it is the steadily improving standard of the play and the rapidly developing ‘fan culture’ that are gaining the league global traction other teams travel in pre-season and build their brands abroad and get their players ready abroad. I think that’s changing. It’s become less important.” In the immediate term, the timing of such friendlies will continue to be unhelpful. Talk has cooled of a switch to a European autumn-to-spring calendar – mooted during the failed US bid for the 2018 World Cup – with Hanauer saying it is “not something that we feel compelled to change immediately – nor are any of our teams particularly afraid of it”. Still, building an international competitive profile is an ambition of MLS clubs even if, as Hanauer puts it, “I don’t think on a daily basis we’re really thinking about, can we beat Arsenal?” “No,” Paulson counters, “but it’s an accurate statement: would you agree that it’s an accurate statement to say Concacaf

now. The MP & Silva agency has held the league’s exclusive international distribution rights since 2008. It reports a surge of interest over the last three years, with broadcast partners increasing from 25 to 46 over the last year alone. In 2010, the league was is more important to MLS today than it was five years ago? I mean, I think that that was not an area of focus historically and you’re going to see better performance in Concacaf right now, not just because the league’s gotten better but because teams are now playing their first teams on Concacaf games as opposed to sitting out guys and prioritising MLS.” The growing interest in the Concacaf Champions League – a competition dominated by Mexican clubs and won only twice by American sides in its previous iteration as the Concacaf Champions Cup – has a sporting rather than commercial inspiration. Paulson’s Timbers are yet to qualify for the competition but he believes American fans are beginning to see its value, enviously citing the strong attendances over in Seattle.

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The last 18 months have seen US sport enter something of a lockout season, with the NBA last year and the NHL this year suffering from work stoppages. But any opportunistic gains that might be made by MLS are, according to Handler, “just a bit of a blip in the big picture and don’t fundamentally change our focus.” He continues: “It’s already been announced that we’ll have a handful of additional national TV slots as a result of some of the NHL games being cancelled, so fundamentally it’s an opportunity to reach some more people and to satisfy our existing fanbase and to give a national spotlight to our clubs, which is great, but it doesn’t change our focus. We are building our own fanbase.”

Major League Soccer marketing director Howard Handler, pictured at Leaders in Football on 10th October

broadcast in 104 countries; in 2012 that figure was 133. While he emphasises that the primary focus is on building and maturing a North American fanbase, Handler is clearly pleased with the foreign inroads being made. “We’re part of a global

conversation and that’s one of the things that’s so exciting about soccer in general,” he says. “You can never separate off any one league, any one club from what’s going on in the rest of the world. And because we have more and more name players in the

“But obviously in Europe it’s massive, commercially,” adds Hanauer, whose Sounders have qualified for the knock-out stages of this year’s competition, “so we hope that someday it could be a positive commercial aspect for us as well.” There is a realism, however, about the need to fully establish MLS domestically before getting too distracted by foreign markets. “I think there’s a long-term vision,” says Heineman of Sporting’s international perspective, “but I think right now we need to focus on local and making sure that what we’ve got there is sustainable, and once we’ve nailed that then we’ll move on.” Buoyed by the enormous early popularity of the Sounders, Hanauer can afford to make bold plans for the future. “Succinctly, our ambition is to sell out our stadium every game,” he reveals. “That’s

probably a ten-year ambition. 66,000 seats per game. Continuing to improve television ratings, sponsorship.” Paulson confirms that a major national network television deal remains the number one priority as MLS seeks its mainstream tipping point. When will soccer make it in America? That may now be a question from another time. The world’s most popular game has long since established itself in sport’s biggest market. But in an age of globalised media and atomised interests, that was never going to be enough to guarantee the success of MLS. The league has needed not only to overcome generations of hostility towards soccer from within the American sporting establishment, but also the disdain of those American soccer fans – the so-called ‘Eurosnobs’ – whose tastes tend towards the Premier League, La Liga

league, because our clubs are becoming recognised, we want to make sure that we keep our eye on that and cultivate that interest in other markets as much as we can. We have players from 64 different countries so organically there’s going to be interest from there.” and Serie A. “I think they feel like MLS is a much more credible product than they did maybe a few years ago,” says Heineman. “And that’s not us trying to say that we want people to not watch EPL [Premier League] and to watch us exclusively, we want people to watch as much soccer as they want to. I think more and more of those fans are giving us an opportunity now and they’re liking what they see.” Hanauer reflects in similar fashion on the league’s international status. “You probably know better than I,” he says, “but to me, MLS was not even on the map five years ago and today most people in football have some idea of what’s going on in MLS and I just think that that will continue to grow.” The roots, at least, now seem to have taken.

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FEATURE | FOOTBALL

Ramming it home St Louis Rams executive vice president of football operations and chief operating officer Kevin Demoff is the man tasked with liaising with the club’s owner, Stan Kroenke, on all operational matters. During a fleeting visit to London, he shed some light on the Rams’ current lease situation and insisted they remain firmly rooted in St Louis, for now. By Ian McPherson

“

art of the whole vision of this trip was to help increase the global branding and give us a broader stage, both globally and nationally at home. It makes us the game of the NFL this week.” Kevin Demoff, chief operating officer of the St Louis Rams, is speaking to SportsPro in the lavish surroundings of Premier League side Arsenal’s training ground, just north of London, on 25th October. It is the week of the Rams’ National Football League (NFL) clash with the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium. “Sport to me is the ultimate interception between long-term vision and short-term goals,” he says. “You want to build a team that’s great for the long term and a success in the short term, and they’re often at odds.” The softly spoken Californian neatly summarises the St Louis Rams’ current predicament: their short-term goals – securing a ‘first-tier’ playing facility and turning around one of the worst five-season win records in NFL history – present an obstacle to their long-term ambitions of becoming an elite, global organisation. In March 2012 the Rams signed an 11year extension with locally based financial services firm Edward Jones, the naming rights sponsor of their 66,000-seater stadium in St Louis. However, it is no secret that the team’s 30-year lease with the St Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC), the operators of the Edward Jones Dome, includes a termination clause should the venue fail to rank within the top 25 per cent of NFL venues, or be deemed a ‘first-tier’ facility, by the end of 2014. As far as Demoff is concerned, the renovation work is a necessary measure to ensure the Rams keep pace with their

“To be honest, our focus every day is on making this club better in St Louis and winning in St Louis.” rivals in the NFL and internationally. “It is not that you cannot play winning football at the Edward Jones Dome as it is set up currently. It’s just when you get the chance to tour the more modern stadiums in the world [you realise] our building is 17 years old but the design is 30 years old. People really don’t build fixed-roof domes anymore, so we’re trying to bring it up to speed with what the more modern version is.” Exactly what constitutes a first-tier facility is a rather subjective notion and, consequently, the Rams have become embroiled in a sluggish arbitration with the CVC over their conflicting interpretations of its meaning. “The CVC put forth their vision of what would make the building first-tier in February,” explains Demoff. “We obviously had a slightly different version, which we proposed in May. Neither of us were able to agree on one or the other, now it goes to a panel of arbitrators to decide whose vision is closer to making it first-tier.” It was widely reported that the Rams rejected two proposals by the CVC: the first, in January, was a US$48 million publicly funded plan and the second, proposed in February, was an improved US$124 million project that would have required the Rams to pay 52 per cent of the cost. In response, the Rams produced a far more elaborate renovation proposal which incorporated a sliding roof panel and glass-fronted exterior to the existing

dome. Though the Rams did not provide a cost estimate, St Louis mayoral aide Jeff Rainford said the cost of completing the vast renovation work would be up to US$700 million. The financial specifics of the renovation, as far as Demoff is concerned, are not as important as achieving a positive outcome for Rams fans. “I’m not as worried about it from the financial aspect as I am of just having a great experience and making sure that we’re able to play in a building that our fans love coming to every week as it reflects well on our brand,” he says. As a result of the disparity between the parties’ visions for the Dome, and the Rams’ decision to sacrifice one home game per season in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in order to play in London, rumours began to circulate that the team would look to exercise the termination clause in their contract and relocate away from St Louis as early as 2015. To avoid “confusing” the brand image and reassure supporters that the Rams were committed to all things St Louis, the team withdrew from the 2013 and 2014 Wembley fixtures, but agreed to honour their 2012 commitment. “I think our fans looked at it from the perspective that this was some sort of warning sign that the team could leave, or they didn’t understand our vision,” Demoff reveals. “They didn’t see it through the same lens that we did and I think, in retrospect, I can certainly understand how they would

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Kevin Demoff is vice president of football operations and chief operating officer at the NFL’s St Louis Rams

see it that way.” Speculation continues that the Rams will look to leave St Louis should their negotiations with the CVC break down, with Los Angeles – the US’ secondlargest TV market and the city from which the Rams came in 1994 – widely touted as a potential destination. Their billionaire owner Stan Kroenke – whose sports empire includes Premier League club Arsenal, the Denver Nuggets NBA franchise, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and MLS side Colorado Rapids – has significantly fuelled this LA speculation. Kroenke failed with a bid to purchase the MLB’s LA Dodgers in March and has a well-documented working relationship with Philip Anschutz, the founder of AEG, whose plans to build a US$1 billion NFL-spec stadium in downtown LA received unanimous city council approval in October. Unsurprisingly, Demoff declines to comment on the speculation linking the Rams with LA and is quick to reaffirm the team’s commitment to St Louis. “Everything we’ve done to win championships now and in the future is in St Louis,” he insists. “I don’t think there’s anything we’ve done that suggests otherwise. Obviously the lease issue does hang there and gives people some trepidation but, to be honest, our focus every day is on making this club better in St Louis and winning in St Louis.” In reality, whether the Rams stay in St Louis or relocate is not Demoff’s decision; it is Stan Kroenke’s. A man Demoff considers a “dream owner”. “He gives everybody the resources they need to succeed,” he remarks, adding that Kroenke

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FEATURE | FOOTBALL

Demoff (right) with Rams head coach Jeff Fisher (left) and general manager Les Snead (centre)

Kit laid out in the St Louis Rams dressing room

has enjoyed “great success and has won with every club he’s ever been a part of. There’s nothing more you can ask for when you work for a team than a leader who sets you up for success and gives you the opportunity to succeed. “I can’t imagine a better owner in sports to work for. Everything you need

strengthen the global reach of their brand. “One of the fantastic things about working for a club owned by Mr Kroenke is we have ties with the English Premier League, with the NBA, with the NHL, with other major sports teams,” he says. “So we can look across our own family of teams and get inspiration from a lot of different places.”

to succeed he gives you and he’s got a vision for how to grow organisations and make each stronger on their own and connect them globally.” For Demoff, it is Kroenke’s global network, or a “family of teams” as he puts it, that can be such a valuable tool as the Rams, and the NFL at large, strive to

London calling

fter the NFL committed to playing two regular season games at Wembley from 2013, and with the London Legacy Development Corporation, the operators of London’s Olympic Stadium, seeking a permanent occupant for the 80,000-seater arena, there have been reports that an NFL franchise could permanently relocate to the UK capital. “I can tell you from watching our players this week, they love it,” says Demoff at the Arsenal training ground, where Rams players mingle with their Premier League counterparts as they prepare for their NFL International Series game with the New England Patriots on 28th October. “It’s great to be here and have this kind of environment. I think the growth potential is there and the NFL’s got an excellent strategy to decide over the next decade whether a team abroad can work. “You’ve got to figure out the right place and right support but I know, judging by all the metrics, we’re making great strides and we’ll see over the next few years how the markets respond.

“There’s nothing that we can’t put our minds to and try to figure out. There are a lot of players who play football, a lot of great opportunity and this is a fantastic market. Every league should be interested in having a team in London, no matter what sport you play, and certainly the NFL’s no different. “London can handle it,” he argues. “If you can handle having the Olympics, you can handle having an NFL team, an NBA team, an NHL team. There are a lot of different things; certainly the city, the fanbase, the population is capable of being an NFL market. The operational headaches, to me, you can solve them if you want to.” When asked if he thought moving to London was a realistic option for an NFL

team, Demoff says: “I think you’d have to have a home base, a facility in the United States where you could bring players and work. I know for us, one of the things was, when we were signing players or evaluating potential players, did they have passports? Could they travel?” Ultimately, the success of a transatlantic relocation, according to Demoff, would be determined by on-field results. Ahead of their match against the New England Patriots at Wembley in October, he says, “If we lose 34-nothing I’d tell you one thing, if we won 34-nothing I’d tell you it would be easy to play.” In hindsight, having lost 45-7, it is reasonable to assume Demoff would lean towards the former.

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The Rams are in crucial talks with the city of St Louis over renovations to the Edward Jones Dome

Demoff draws particular inspiration from European soccer, having spent time at the Arsenal training ground and the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium during the Rams’ trip to London in October. “In the NFL we entertain our fans throughout the entire game,” he suggests, “but at a soccer match it’s fan-driven as an experience. That’s something I think we can learn from and how you build organisational pride like European teams and how that can benefit us back home. That’s certainly a lesson we’re studying.” Though the Rams have ambitious plans for global expansion, Demoff is keenly aware that they have pressing on-field challenges to address in the short term. When asked to outline his vision for the Rams’ future, Demoff hastily replies: “I’d like to see Stan Kroenke holding the Lombardi following a Super Bowl. “That’s what we wake up everyday dreaming of and talking about. I’d like to see us become an organisation that is considered a model NFL organisation. An organisation that is part of the Kroenke sports family that holds our own. That people look to as innovative with fans, innovative on the field, stay communityorientated, fan-friendly. “When people talk about leaders in sport I want them to talk about the St Louis Rams and what we’ve accomplished and look at a great turnaround story, from where this franchise began to being a consistent winner.” Whether the Rams are able to reach an amicable resolution with the CVC over the Edward Jones Dome will play a significant role in determining how achievable Demoff’s ambitions are. However, under the ownership of Stan Kroenke, Demoff

insists the Rams have plenty of reason to be optimistic about their future. “We have the pieces to grow and stability,” he says, “and those are the first key pieces you need when you’re growing an organisation. For us, that next key piece that we can take care of is solving our lease and giving us the financial footing and

stability for the next years. “We’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us to accomplish that but we have great people in the building that come to work every day to solve those challenges, we have a fantastic head coach and a great general manager and an elite owner and we have all the pieces to move forward.”

A community of Rams: building through philanthropy

he St Louis Rams have one of the most impressive philanthropic track records in the NFL, with community-orientated youth, education and fitness projects forming an integral part of their organisational ethos. “I think we got a glimpse of it in Regent’s Park,” says chief operating officer Kevin Demoff. “We had 61 players taking 500 London school kids through football – American football – and it’s the fi rst time that any team that has been in London has taken a full squad to go participate in community activities. “That was the players’ one day off here in London. So for them to come, 61-strong, in their jerseys, two hours after being on an eighthour plane ride, shows you the kind of commitment we have as an organisation to making sure that every community we touch is affected positively by the Rams.” Demoff believes professional sports organisations have an obligation to

utilise their profi le to benefit not just their local community but also communities further afield. “Any sports organisation, whether publicly owned or privately owned, is really owned by the fans and the shareholders,” he says. “We have a civic duty, a community responsibility, to improve the lives of everybody in our region through football. Our job is to remind St Louis as a region the communal joy that football can bring, to bring awareness to issues, breast cancer, obesity, and health issues. “As proud as I am of our renaissance on the field, I am equally proud of our renaissance off the field. You’ve got to have an emotional connection with your fans that spans good years and bad years. “You’ve got to be fan-friendly, you’ve got to be accessible, and you’ve got to be community-orientated. Those things have nothing to do with winning or losing. You’re going to play 16 Sundays a year, and the results are going to mix, but you should be able to win every day off the field.”

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FEATURE | RUGBY

Taking the Bulls by the horns The Bradford Bulls rugby league team were on the brink of liquidation before restaurateur turned owner Omar Khan rescued them and then secured the most lucrative sponsorship deal in Super League history. As he eyes a return to former glories in 2013, Khan explains how and why he did it. By Ian McPherson

he circumstances of Omar Khan’s takeover of English rugby league team Bradford Bulls could hardly have been more dramatic. “I didn’t want it to go down, so I put my money down at the last minute, at quarter to six on Friday on the 31st [August]. They were going to liquidate it if I didn’t sign,” recalls Khan during an interview with SportsPro in late December. “I thought there would be someone that would come in and it would survive. I didn’t think it would go under. But there was a point where I realised that I don’t think anybody’s coming out. Normally people talk and say things but nobody was putting their money where their mouth is. They say things but they never ever deliver.” Given the turbulent months leading up to Khan’s takeover it seemed almost fitting that the club’s fate came down to a matter of hours. 2012 had seen the severity of the Bulls’ financial predicament slowly unveiled and the threat of liquidation hang over the club for much of the summer. The first murmurs of financial crisis came in January, when the club’s 27,000-capacity Odsal stadium, which held the world record for attendance at a rugby league game for almost 50 years – some 102,000 fans – until 2000 when it was beaten by Australia’s Olympic Stadium, was sold to the Rugby Football League (RFL), the governing body of rugby league in the UK. According to Richard Lewis, the RFL chairman at the time, the move was intended to “safeguard the future of one of the sport’s most famous stadia.” The sale did little to steady the Bradford ship, however, and in March it was revealed that the club, a stalwart of the

“I just came in and said, ‘I will work on it, I will take the club back where it was. No conditions, no nothing, I will come in.’” league having been founded in 1907, had debts amounting to UK£1 million. ‘The RFL stadium deal only enabled us to address our long-term liabilities,’ declared an official club statement, ‘but could not help us stave off the grave financial situation.’ In a last-ditch attempt to save the club, the Bulls’ then-chairman Peter Hood, who stood down from his post in May 2012, sent a written plea to every season ticket holder, club member and sponsor asking for financial donations. Despite an unprecedented outpouring of support – they received over UK£500,000 from multiple sources – the Bulls entered administration in June 2012. The RFL imposed a mandatory six-point deduction, which saw the Bulls drop from seventh to ninth in the Super League table and out of the play-off places. In the months that followed, rumours circulated of potential buyers showing interest in the club – League Two soccer team Bradford City and the Super League’s parent company reportedly tabled bids – but they either failed to meet the criteria stipulated by the RFL or, on closer inspection of the club’s books, decided against boarding what appeared to be a sinking ship. With the clock ticking towards seemingly inevitable oblivion, it was announced that OK Bulls Ltd, led by local restaurateur Omar Khan, had been ratified

by the RFL to purchase the beleaguered Super League club and take them out of administration, for a reported sum of UK£150,000. At the end of this arduous process, Khan recalls, what separated his bid from the others was simply his desire to save the club. “The other bidders came in and said they wanted to stay up there, they didn’t want to lose the Super League status and all that,” he says. “I just came in and said, ‘I will work on it, I will take the club back where it was. No conditions, no nothing, I will come in.’ I just wanted to save the club.” Khan’s takeover, with the support of his friend and fellow Bulls supporter, the Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe, may have ended months of uncertainty but it also marked the start of a very slow rebuilding process through which Khan and Sutcliffe, now honorary chairman, have been exposed to the harsh reality of the club’s deterioration. “There are surprises coming out of corners left, right and centre even at the moment,” Khan reveals. “I think it was badly managed, it was badly run and I think it was mismanaged. I don’t think they knew what they were doing with the place. So every time I touch something, everything starts crumbling. It was a nightmare the way they were running it. I’ve had so many shocks. Every time I touch something it costs me money, every

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corner I look into they’ve done things that didn’t make any sense.” The best way to combat this, as far as Khan and Sutcliffe are concerned, is to be involved in every aspect of the club’s day-to-day operation. “Any decision we make here is jointly made between me and Gerry,” says Khan. “We’ve got to agree, both of us have got to agree and then we make a move. So I know where we are going, which way I’m steering the club and which way we are taking it forward.” Beyond introducing a clear chain of command, Khan also implemented a change in the club’s ethos, making sure it is more community-centred and transparent with fans. “It has to run seven days a week [and] it has to open up to the community. A club is a community set-up and should be enjoyed by the community. Myself and Gerry hold a fan forum every month. We speak and we answer the questions and we hold ourselves

responsible for the club. We are very transparent about the club: where we are taking it, what we are doing with it. It goes in the local paper every month that these are the things we are trying to achieve, this is what we are trying to do.” Despite implementing these organisational and cultural changes, some decisions that affect the Bulls remain outside of Khan and Sutcliffe’s control. “When

we went to the last meeting,” says Khan, “they discussed the matter without our presence and they told us that every club voted for the money to be shared out.” The decision to which Khan refers is the removal of part of the Bulls’ RFL central funding – which amounts to UK£1.2 million per Super League club annually and essentially comes from the league’s broadcast deal with Sky Sports – and its redistribution to the 13 other Super League teams in return for the Bulls gaining a one-year probationary Super League licence. “You’re taking a club that was in administration,” Khan stresses, “that was almost liquidated, and you give them an opportunity to stay. Deduct them six points, fine. We’ll give you Super League status but give your money, part of your Sky money, to the rest of the clubs. It doesn’t make sense. It was wrong. I would say that was a wrong decision that was made by the Super League chairmen as well as the RFL. I totally disagree with it.” The essence of the problem, in Bradford restaurateur Omar Khan, now owner and chairman of Super League rugby club Bradford Bulls

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FEATURE | RUGBY

Omar Khan (centre) with brother Abdul (left) and the Bulls’ honorary chairman Gerry Sutcliﬀe (right)

The Bulls in the Twittersphere

radford Bulls owner Omar Khan and honorary chairman Gerry Sutcliffe are ardent users of social networking site Twitter. On the evening of Khan’s takeover, @OmarKhans, the official account of the Bradford owner’s eponymous restaurant chain, tweeted: ‘Omar Khan’s and Gerry Sutcliffe Save the Bradford Bulls and are the new owners of the club’, while Sutcliffe, MP for Bradford South and now honorary Bulls chairman, tweeted: ‘Thanks to all #BradfordBulls fans for your incredible patience and support. Hard work starts now. See you all tomorrow #coyb’. Khan reveals that he was not responsible for the tweet but has subsequently come to enjoy using Twitter. “I remember that came out,” he says. “Somebody did it, a part of my

Khan’s opinion, was not the loss of the money, but the fact that it was shared between the Bulls’ rivals, effectively giving them a competitive edge: “I don’t

team did it, it wasn’t Gerry or myself. I think it was one of the family members or one of the team members. “After that I’ve started enjoying it, being on Twitter. I’m learning it now and I’m getting used to it. I get asked all sorts of questions and I think people appreciate what I’m doing – anything they want to know I usually answer it.” Indeed, Khan and Sutcliffe have plenty of reason to be fond of social networking after the club’s appeal for donations from fans in March and April 2012 gained considerable support through new media, with a number of sports personalities backing the ailing club. However, only time will tell if the pair’s opinion will change should the Bulls find themselves in the eye of the next Twitter storm. mind forfeiting the money if it went towards the betterment of the game – to make the game bigger, to make the Super League bigger, make that a success,

Fans raised UK£500,000 in a May rescue eﬀort

it wouldn’t have bothered me. [But] sharing that money with other clubs and giving them the edge, that’s diabolical. That’s very unfair.” The Super League currently operates a licensing system, whereby clubs have to satisfy a number of criteria set out by the RFL – which range from commercial income to average weekly attendance to on-field performance – in order to play in the UK’s top flight. As Khan explains, despite losing what would undoubtedly have been a welcome cash injection from the TV money, staying in the Super League was his primary concern. “The fact was I just wanted them to give me the licence and move on,” he says. “You cannot have a club sitting there twiddling your thumbs and not knowing where you are.” Khan quickly adds, “I’m sure at the end of next year I will still be up in the Super League because I will make sure that I show them what the club is all about. We are Super League material.” With the club having avoided liquidation and secured a probationary Super League licence, the Bulls’ regeneration was beginning to gain momentum. In November 2012 the Bulls’ march towards financial stability gained

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With a four-year shirt and stadium sponsorship deal in place with Provident, Khan has turned his attention to taking Provident Stadium into a new era

“I will make sure that I show them what the club is all about. We are Super League material.” another considerable boost in the form of a UK£1.2 million, four-year sponsorship deal with Bradford-based financial services firm Provident – including frontof-shirt sponsorship and the naming rights to the Odsal Stadium, which was renamed the Provident Stadium. All told, the deal is the most lucrative of its type in Super League history. When asked how the club, which two months previously had been on the verge of liquidation, managed to secure such a lucrative and lengthy sponsorship deal, Khan explains that it was largely down to his standing, along with Gerry Sutcliffe, in the local community. “It’s all down to the people who are running the place, who have passion for the place,” he suggests. “Two genuine, honest people trying to make a difference in the community and trying to change things around. “With Provident we had meetings,

Gerry had a chat with them, we approached them, and they liked our vision. Our thoughts were exactly the same: to put something back into the community, to take care of the future of the club and secure the future of the youngsters that will come through this club. So the partner came on board and they signed a deal – four years – having faith in us that we can deliver.” The Provident deal is a particular show of faith as the contract’s duration exceeds the Bulls’ current Super League licence by three years, and it could well add weight to the club’s application for a longer-term licence after the 2013 campaign. Another factor likely to influence Bradford’s Super League existence beyond 2013 is the repurchase of Odsal back from the RFL. “[The RFL] shouldn’t have bought it anyway,” insists Khan. “That money shouldn’t have gone out

of the club. I think that was the wrong decision but that was made in the past, it’s irrelevant to us.” Khan reveals that the RFL have given the Bulls a three-year window to buy back the lease for Odsal and “within a year or so we intend to buy the lease back and make this club a successful one.” Khan adds that, in the long-term, the club retains an ambition to make the Provident Stadium the “Wembley of the North” and plans to regenerate the surrounding areas. “Over the next three to four years, I want to make this into a sports village and I want to develop it,” he says “And develop in a manner that people can come from all over and enjoy the place.” Whether Khan’s long-term vision for the Bulls is realistic remains to be seen, but what is certain is that the Bulls are on a far safer course with Khan at the helm and the long-suffering Bradford fans finally have reason for optimism. “It’s the love of the fans which is amazing,” Khan concludes. “It’s the loyal fans that this club has that I love. I’m one of them. So you can feel the ‘Bull-mania’ coming out of these people. I want to create the Bull-mania again. What we had ten years ago, it will come back.”

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FEATURE | MOTORSPORT

Keeping it in the family

Sauber marketing director Alex Sauber, pictured at the Leaders in Football conference at London’s Stamford Bridge on Wednesday 10th October

The Sauber Formula One team is the fourth oldest currently on the grid. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013, it wouldn’t be there at all had its founder Peter Sauber not stepped in to rescue it when BMW pulled out of the sport in 2010. With son Alex heading up marketing operations, Formula One’s family business is remaining just that. By James Emmett. Photographs by Graham Fudger.

aving at first shunned the family business to forge his own path, when his father’s empire disintegrates around him Michael Corleone feels the pull of ancestral loyalty and returns to lead the family into a new era – and, of course, two multi-million dollar-taking sequels. The central theme of The Godfather – if not the Corleone ‘business’ itself – is one that would resonate with Alex Sauber. The 39-year-old Swiss worked as a sports and media lawyer, then in the sponsorship department of Credit Suisse, and later as the commercial director of Swiss Super League soccer team Grasshoppers before finally, in 2010, joining his father Peter at the Formula One outfit that bears their family name. Just as in The Godfather, the talented son returned, accepting his destiny, in his father’s hour of need. 2010 was a tumultuous year for Sauber – the team and its founder. Funded and driven by the largesse and technical know-how of BMW from 2006, the team was the recipient of a bombshell announcement from Munich in July 2009. The German manufacturer was pulling out at the end of the season. The team was left floundering. Peter Sauber, then aged 66, had been enjoying the ride from the operational back seat over the preceding four years, but suddenly found himself with the unenviable but sentimentally imperative task of rescuing the team he had founded for the 1993 season. When a rumoured takeover deal with suspicious Swiss-based investment

group Qadbak fell through, Sauber became Formula One’s most reluctant owner, taking back the 80 per cent stake he had sold to BMW in 2005, preserving hundreds of jobs and an ecosystem based around Formula One at the team’s headquarters in Hinwil in the process. As retirement hobbies go, launching oneself back into full-time ownership of a Formula One team is hardly the most relaxing. Alex is nevertheless proud of his father for having done just that. “I think what we have in Hinwil at our headquarters near Zurich is one of the best infrastructures in Formula One,” says the younger Sauber. “What’s done there is done day by day with high quality and innovation. It doesn’t happen in Switzerland anywhere else and if it’s gone once, it never comes back. To maintain that unique position of high-tech production was one of the key factors, and of course the employees as well. We needed to keep it going for everyone. It’s not only the employees but the suppliers as well. That was the main driver for him.” When Alex arrived to lead the commercial efforts of the reborn team, alongside his father and new chief executive Monisha Kaltenborn – a lawyer who had done much of the work when the team was initially sold to BMW – it was from the point of ground zero. “It was very, very difficult,” he says, reflecting on the situation. “We had a big issue with the licence so it all got sorted very, very late – too late to plan the 2010 season properly. From a development perspective on the car, that was all set up, but from a

marketing perspective it was starting from the beginning again – and late.” The 2010 season itself was tough going. In a car almost entirely devoid of both sponsor logos and, crucially, speed, Kamui Kobayashi, Pedro de la Rosa and, for the final five races, Nick Heidfeld brought Sauber home in a fairly anonymous eighth place. 2011 was much better. An exciting, youthful driver line-up of Kobayashi and the young Mexican Sergio Perez promised much – both on the track and in commercial negotiations – and a series of swashbuckling top ten finishes saw the team finish in seventh. 2012 was, by any measure, a very successful year for Sauber. The team’s commercial contracts – excluding the annual TV monies distributed by Formula One Management – were, according to estimates, worth just over US$30 million for the 2012 season. The majority of that came from key sponsors such as Claro,

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Cuervo Tequila, NEC, and the team’s primary partner Telmex. A series of podium finishes, including an emotional third-place finish for Kobayashi at his home Grand Prix in Japan, saw Sauber finish in a comfortable sixth in the constructors’ championship, just 16 points shy of the significantly better-funded Mercedes team. “What we’ve achieved in those three years is remarkable, taking into account the economic situation,” says Sauber. “What we’ve achieved is really great but we’re still suffering a bit. We went down to zero and now we’re still building back up. The podiums for us certainly helped to achieve more awareness, particularly as we are one of those middle-ranged teams; as soon as you get to a podium the awareness you generate in media is just a lot bigger and you can do a lot more out of it. I would say it’s a door-opener to approach brands, but it’s not a guaranteed thing that a deal

happens. It starts conversations rather than finishes them.” Thanks to Perez, Sauber and his team have been particularly adept at finishing conversations in Mexico. Even NEC, a Japanese company, made the decision to sponsor Sauber through its Mexican subsidiary. “The sponsors are happy,” reports Sauber. “Telmex have about 240 million subscribers in Latin America so we can engage through Formula One as well with them; it’s definitely a success. And with Perez leaving, yes, we’ll see what comes next. Drivers come and go so we have to live with that as a Formula One team.” Sauber is talking to SportsPro at the Leaders in Football conference in London in October. Perez has just been announced as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at McLaren. A few weeks after this interview, much of the niggling uncertainty as to whether the team’s raft

of Mexican sponsors would leave with him was eased with the announcement that the talented Esteban Gutiérrez, for two years the team’s reserve pilot, had officially stepped up to take the seat his compatriot had vacated. For now then, at least, Telmex will be staying with the team, continuing a commercial legacy that Sauber is adamant is the sole route to success in Formula One. “It’s important that those partners stay with us,” he says. “In the past we’ve always gone for long-term partnerships – with Red Bull, with Credit Suisse, with Petronas we had partnerships always for around ten years. That’s the only way that it really makes sense for both parties and that’s what we want to achieve with the Mexican partners as well.” The Sauber team is entering its 20th season in 2013 and if it has become part of the fabric of Formula One, it is fair to say that the team’s particular weave is

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FEATURE | MOTORSPORT

Formula One, soccer nil

espite having given up his role in soccer marketing to join his father’s Formula One operation in 2010, Alex Sauber insists soccer is still his passion. Nevertheless, from a sponsorship perspective, he believes Formula One offers more. “There are many different things which I think makes Formula One a bit better,” he says. “We are all over the world throughout the year. It’s interesting

for companies who can invite people in Japan and the next week another branch of the company can invite people in Brazil. We don’t have to hide when we compare our TV figures across the year with other sports. And then what’s really unique is when you invite people to the track, you show them what you do behind the scenes and that’s the amazing thing. They have a handshake with the driver half an hour before he jumps in the car; you never get that in

football. You show them a look behind the scenes, which is so unique. You can have a bad game, a 0-0, and you can have a boring Grand Prix, but it’s amazing what’s going on behind the scenes. The Paddock Club is the same wherever you go, but when you take people round, it doesn’t matter whether they’re male or female, and you guide them through the garage they say, ‘Wow, that’s amazing!’ That’s actually what they take home.”

Swiss quality, made in Chelsea

n April 2012, Sauber and English Premier League team Chelsea signed a “groundbreaking” partnership. The fi rst time a Formula One team had formalised a commercial link with a Premier League soccer team, the deal would see Sauber team logos on the perimeter boards at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea logos on the Sauber cars. Speaking at Stamford Bridge for the Leaders in Football conference, Alex Sauber explains that

though the deal is still very much a work in progress, it is essentially a Swiss motorsport team partnering with an English soccer side to target a new and growing audience in Asia. “I think, bottom line, it’s a great thing,” he says. “It started in the spring and we’re still developing it. We launched a joint merchandising range and we’ll see how the market will respond to it. Some areas are obviously very new to both of us, but it’s a fact that everyone in Asia, where the growth potential

is huge, loves football or Formula One. With the combination you reach a wider audience. But we really have to figure out how this pays off. The same with social media, Facebook campaigns. We invited some Chelsea fans to the track in Japan, so we do little things on Facebook which are quite important these days to engage with fans. The other thing is the brand exposure we have in the stadium, they have on the car. It still needs to develop, though.”

Peter Sauber and successor Monisha Kaltenborn

Mexican revenue remains key even with Sergio Perez (right) replacing Lewis Hamilton at McLaren

not at all showy. It is a family business built on conservative Swiss values. “The conservative Swiss approach, that suits us,” explains Sauber. “We don’t want to make too much noise.” Nevertheless, the team has been behind some of the most innovative moves in

Formula One. It is Swiss, conservative, patriarchal and comfortably in the midfield placings on the track, yet it prides itself on having unearthed some of Formula One’s most successful drivers: Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa. It has just installed the first ever

female team principal in Kaltenborn, and has introduced cutting-edge, committed and transformative sponsors to the sport in the likes of Petronas, Red Bull and, they anticipate, Telmex. It has managed it all, to boot, without the merest trace of a severed horse’s head.

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Inspired for Life: Studying Sport at the University of Worcester Inspiring the Postgraduate Student

With 19 out of 20 of our students in work or further study within six months of graduation, the University of Worcester has a proven record of excellence in the field of sport and exercise science. Our academic and applied activities are underpinned by a commitment to quality and the impact it can have upon the student, the athlete, the coach and the learner. Academic excellence is one of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science’s core values. This is central to our teaching and also informs our research, whilst we seek to make a positive contribution to the world around us. The Institute of Sport and Exercise Science strives to produce the ‘complete sports graduate’. Students graduating from the University of Worcester are equipped with the skills, attributes and knowledge to be effective within their own career and make a significant contribution to society. They are innovative and enterprising, able to create and manage opportunities in various settings, they have the ability to adapt to change in a challenging world and the potential to be future leaders in their field. The courses are delivered by experienced staff actively publishing their research internationally. Research within the Institute incorporates health and exercise, coaching, sport psychology, performance analysis and regulation of performance. The Institute also hosts the Graduate Journal of Sport, Exercise and Physical Education Research publication, the first of its kind, to celebrate excellence in student-led research. Inspiring the Undergraduate Student The Institute currently offers around twenty different undergraduate sports related courses from sport science and coaching to sports business management. Current and innovative curriculums create a vibrant and dynamic environment in which to study and allow students flexible learning and specialisms within their degree. Recently validated courses include the BSc in Cricket Coaching & Development and the BSc in Disability Sports Coaching degree, a first within the UK, which supports the University of Worcester’s drive for continued advancement in terms of inclusion within sport. Offering students the opportunity to gain practical applied experience whilst they are studying, the Earn As You Learn (EAYL) and Volunteer As You Learn (VAYL) schemes are embedded throughout their degree. Since its inception in 2011, over 1,200 part-time paid jobs and voluntary opportunities were available for students with significant opportunities to gain key skills, demonstrate experience in the workplace and gain valuable life experience.

A variety of postgraduate courses are available to the sports professional and graduates which offer practitioners the opportunity to really challenge their current thinking and practice. Integrating traditional delivery with short block delivery and distance learning we currently offer the following MSc’s: Applied Sport Science; European Basketball Coaching Science; Sports Coaching; Sports Management; Outdoor Education and SocioCultural Studies of Sport and Exercise - Masters by Research. Inspiring the Community The internationally recognised community outreach project, Learning Through Sport bridges the gap between young people and higher education, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds or children with disabilities. Using sport as a vehicle for learning, it has seen fantastic educational outcomes and increased participation in sport from underrepresented groups. Supporting the community further, and hosted within the Institute of Sport, The University’s new sports arena will have excellent state-of-the-art and an exceptional standard of inclusive facilities. It will enable the University to continue to develop applied learning and earning opportunities for students whilst providing unique services to local sports clubs in the community as well as elite and professional athletes throughout the region. With spacious, high-tech facilities it can look to develop more innovative schemes, whilst also providing a venue that will attract a great range of spectator events to the city. The University’s Worcester Arena, set to open in February 2013, will further build on its community outreach work. The 2,000-capacity sport facility will also carry out research into disability sport, education, training and coach education. Significant funding towards the project has been received in recognition of the University’s extensive community “Learning Through Sport” initiative. “We believe that our students and graduates will have the ability to make a meaningful impact within an inclusive world of sport.” (Mick Donovan, Head of Institute). This is achieved through innovative curriculum design, application of theory to practice, research and an outstanding student experience which are all factors in the University of Worcester’s aim to “Inspire for Life”.

www.worcester.ac.uk Mick Donovan - Head of Institute - University of Worcester - T. 01905 855442 - E. m.donovan@worc.ac.uk Admissions - T. 01905 855111 - E. admissions@worc.ac.uk

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FEATURE | SPONSORSHIP

Marc Audrit of Western Union attending the Beyond Sport United conference at New York’s Yankee Stadium on Tuesday 13th November 2012

State of the Union Marc Audrit is taking cause marketing to a new level by making it the core focus of Western Union’s new headline partnership with the Uefa Europa League. By James Emmett

ometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to look at a problem and see an obvious solution. As the man who heads up the sponsorship activities of Western Union, one of the world’s largest financial transaction companies, Marc Audrit possesses just such a pair of eyes. From 1990 to 2002, Audrit was the very definition of an adman. Working as an account manager and then director at Publicis, before moving up the corporate chain at Young & Rubicam in Brussels and Paris, he arrived at Western Union to build a brand from the inside for the first time. He had never been involved in sport sponsorship before but with the rather peculiar title of vice president, global brand strategist and catalyst, he has been responsible for conceiving, launching and now delivering on Western Union’s first major international sports partnership as presenting sponsor of European soccer’s secondary club cup

competition, the Uefa Europa League. Audrit is a man who knows how to make an impact. “Fans have some sort of bullshit detector,” he told an international audience at November’s Beyond Sport United, an annual US sport-for-good discussion hub held, in 2012, in New York. “In too many cases it’s obvious that [CSR or cause marketing] came as an afterthought or as a sponsor buying conscience.” With Western Union’s Europa League partnership, plus personal endorsement deals the company has struck with former French international Patrick Vieira and current Colombia and Atletico Madrid star Radamel Falcao, Audrit aims to create a completely new paradigm in the cause marketing space. Western Union’s ‘Moving Money For Better’ global campaign is, as Audrit explains, run along orthodox lines: “It was the classic, usual stuff with guidelines, photos, taglines, images, videos, dos

and don’ts, etc. But at that time we were already thinking a bit beyond. The way you build a brand these days is extremely different compared to what it was a few years ago. It’s moved from something that was bowling, where you hit hard with TV commercials and things like that, to something that’s probably closer to pinball – ‘ping, ping, ping, ping’. And the real mantra is really try to build a do brand, not just a brand that is saying things.” With the Europa League sponsorship, Audrit hopes to establish Western Union very much as a ‘do’ brand. Although he concedes the sponsorship is still essentially a work in progress, it is built around a core concept of social responsibility, rather than simply incorporating ‘tagged on’, charitable elements. Struck by something Eric Cantona once said when asked to describe his favourite goal – “he replied, ‘It’s not a goal, it’s a pass.’” – Audrit decided to build a

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Western Union’s links with Radamel Falcao and the Europa League give it a broad global reach

marketing concept around pass statistics in the Europa League. The basic premise is that for every pass completed in the competition, Western Union will fund a day of education somewhere in the world. “It’s not a marketing idea,” explains Audrit, a natural born storyteller, as he sets the scene. “It was built hand-inhand with our cause marketing folks. The pass is the most generous move on the pitch. It’s the same as we do in our business; there is a sender and a receiver. The recommendation was that we should focus on secondary education, which is still some sort of clean space where there’s not an army of people fighting and trying to fund. And the moment I heard that I started to make the connection. The good things that happen on the pitch should create or unlock something that is education-related in the countries where these players are from. It’s not scientific, it just comes from the business we’re in. I think 25 per cent of the money we move on a daily basis is somehow related to education. So it’s already there – big time.” While Audrit and his team are currently scouring the globe for NGO partners to help implement educational projects around the world, Europa League players are already ratcheting up the pass statistics. At the time of this interview in late November, some 80,000 passes had been completed in this season’s Europa League matches. “Over the next three

years we’re actually committed to creating a minimum of a million days of education and actually the stats will be below that on the pitch,” says Audrit, letting the cat out of the bag. “That’s why we are going to start finding ways for customers to start giving passes themselves, building engagement. There’s actually an average of 200,000 passes a year. But if Barcelona miss the Champions League qualification and go in the Europa League next year…” That scenario is of course highly unlikely but does lead to a question that Audrit is delighted to tackle: why choose to sponsor the Europa League over its much more prestigious sister competition, the Uefa Champions League? “The premiumness,” he replies immediately. “And I don’t mean the price, I mean the status. It’s brilliant what they did with the Champions League on the branding and commercial perspective. But I don’t think it fits with us. I don’t think we are a brand that is compatible with the Champions League today. We may well be one day but today, no. The financial slot is already taken by MasterCard, but to be honest should MasterCard announce tomorrow morning that they’re leaving I still don’t think it fits with us. What is interesting with the Europa League is it puts a stick in the ground and it opens the door. It’s probably easier to have a conversation with Falcao when you come with the halo of Uefa. It makes you

credible and it adds stature. It’s a catalyst for what you want to do.” There were other reasons to opt for the Europa League too. It is Audrit’s assertion that the only sponsorable properties that can hope to engage across all of Western Union’s 200 territories were music and soccer. He opted for soccer. “It’s the world’s number one sport but it’s a tricky topic,” he says. “We chose football, but then what? You have to find something that makes sense for the brand; something you’re comfortable with and something that can help to build relationships. We had a lot of long conversations with clubs, but we ended with the conviction that a club can be extremely polarising. If you have a deal with Manchester City, you alienate Manchester United fans. On top of that, let’s face it, the entry ticket is high. Title sponsorship of something like Manchester City is not even on the table. It’s locked. We were flirting in unreachable figures. “With a player, the moment you sign with [Lionel] Messi, you get Messi but you don’t get anything else; you have to build things around it. Messi is not a media platform.” The notion of ‘ownability’ was important in Audrit’s decision to sponsor the Europa League over another competition. A presenting partnership over an initial three-year period in an environment with few other visible

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FEATURE | SPONSORSHIP

Bigger than McDonald’s

Sitting on a goldmine

“

ust 15 years ago I would have told you I wanted to be Martin Sorrell or some top ad agency guy,” explains Marc Audrit. “But slowly I started realising how cool it was that a brand was built with a lot more things than just advertising. It sounds clichéd to say that today but 15 years ago it wasn’t so obvious. When I joined Western Union I had no clue to be honest with you what they were doing. What really motivated me was that there are very few examples of global brands that are still in the making, which Western Union is, which makes it a really interesting animal. We’ve been here in the US for 161 years, trading in Americana. But in the rest of the world we’ve been global for 15 years maximum. 15 years ago we basically had 50,000 locations, all of them in the US with a few in Mexico and a few in Canada. 15 years later we have half a million locations in the world. It’s 12 times bigger and it’s all over the place. Is that a big number? Yes, it is. I think McDonald’s have around 40,000 locations and we have the impression that they’re everywhere. So we’re 12 times bigger than McDonald’s.”

sponsors, he believes, gives him that. Visibility was also key. The Europa League is often criticised as a bloated and sometimes trivial competition, but the sheer number of games was a plus point for Western Union. “Europa League is 205 games with a season that starts in September and ends in May, so it’s a pretty interesting amount of inventory,” he says. Attaching the brand to a competition was the only option left on the table, but even when Audrit and his team had identified roughly where they wanted to spend their money, the game’s administrators, it seems, were determined to shoot themselves in the foot. “To be honest,” he says, “the first time we were pitched by Uefa we listened politely but really our first instinctive gut feel was that it’s not for us. The way they were selling it was extremely Euro-

still think there are so many things that clubs and leagues can do,” says Marc Audrit of his impression of having worked in soccer marketing for the last year. “It’s a bit complacent. One of the key words in marketing these days is content. I think if there’s one world where there’s a huge amount of content it’s sport. Then when you look at what people are doing with that, I think it’s frustrating, disappointing. When someone sees something like Chelsea TV everybody then just does the same thing. “In the last 12 months we’ve had deep conversations with Manchester City and honestly I’m pretty impressed by what they’re doing. They’re smart having [Patrick] Vieira [right]. You go into a meeting with these guys and the door is open and in comes Vieira. It’s an interesting commercial weapon. “But Manchester City are one thing, the vast majority of the others are not doing well at all. I bookmarked the website of every single Europa League team and keep monitoring what’s going on. It’s depressing. There are some beautiful examples, but most of them…. “And we are speaking about Inter Milan, Liverpool, Tottenham,

centric. It was just through having a long and deep conversation with them and forcing them to really shift the angle and look at it differently that we started to realise, wow, it was ticking an interesting amount of boxes. “I was reading somewhere that the NBA was really proud of having something like 30 different nationalities. In the last edition of the Europa League, something like 113 different nationalities were involved. That’s what I would start calling global. As a matter of fact I think in the last edition there were three times more Brazilian players than British players. “And then we started to say, ‘Hey Uefa, can you start mapping where these players come from?’ And all of sudden we saw the resonance of this competition; although it’s taking place on European

Marseille. And you just think, my God this is sad. They are sitting on a goldmine but they’re just extremely complacent.” pitches, the echoes it can create around the world can be interesting. It’s tough to live in the shadow of the Champions League to be honest. But at the same time there’s a level of inclusion in this competition that is so true to who we are that we thought, this is legitimate for us.” While Audrit reports that Uefa was initially sceptical of his plan to base the sponsorship around a cause marketing effort, he is pleased to recount that the European governing body has been delighted with the amount of work already done around Western Union’s fledgling sponsorship. When educational projects start getting off the ground in early 2013 – with the first likely to be in Senegal – Audrit is adamant that with the help of soccer, Western Union will be able to start pinballing a real impact around the world.

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Throughout its sponsorship of London 2012, Lloyds TSB found community-based initiatives to be by far the most effective form of activation

The Lloyds account

Lloyds TSB has given SportsPro access to its Programme Evaluation Report, an internal document telling the story of the bank’s London 2012 tier one domestic partnership. Written by Lloyds Olympic executives Sally Hancock, Gordon Lott and Stuart Beaver, this extract offers a revealing insight into the strategy of the first domestic partner to sign up with Locog. By Sally Hancock, Gordon Lott and Stuart Beaver.

Introduction o talk about Lloyds TSB’s partnership with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as just a sponsorship would be telling only half the story. London 2012 was never viewed by Lloyds as a sponsorship but instead as a partnership, where Locog’s success was as important to Lloyds as Lloyds’ success was to Locog. The partnership had a shared purpose to align 100,000 staff behind: a platform to help transform the bank’s reputation (even before the financial crisis); a vehicle through which the business would drive significant measurable commercial returns; and a programme delivered through multiple partnerships, by hundreds of people, for most of whom it represents

the proudest moment of their careers. In late 2009, the Lloyds TSB 2012 team made a pledge to document and share their story of Lloyds TSB’s partnership with the Games when it was over. For simplicity, where we reference just ‘Lloyds TSB’ within this document it will also reference Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group activities. Background and context Lloyds TSB became the first tier one partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in February 2007 – a landmark moment for the bank, and for Locog. This partnership was a unique differentiator for Lloyds TSB in a crowded financial marketplace and a

significant statement of self belief for the company, then the fifth largest bank in the UK. The bank was not encumbered by any other major sponsorship activity at the time, and was well aware from the outset of the need for a clear vision and phased strategy for the partnership to be fully integrated across all corners of the organisation, and a proper narrative to be developed that enabled the partnership to evolve over five years. The start of the journey: Early discussions Lloyds TSB were first approached regarding a possible partnership shortly after London won the right to host the 2012 Games in 2005. Locog hired McKinsey to undertake an independent

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assessment of likely income from sponsorship rights and at the time Locog’s expectations from the banking category were thought to be in the region of UK£150 million, with UK£60 million for insurance. The bank was quick to turn this down. These figures were later dismissed by all parties as ignorant of real demand, likely return on investment and sector variances. In October 2006, Nigel Gilbert joined the bank as group marketing director. He quickly set about reinvigorating the Lloyds TSB brand, creating the brand proposition ‘For the Journey’. In his view the London 2012 Games could be the perfect manifestation of a country on its own journey to the largest event most would ever experience in their lifetimes, which could be the perfect vehicle to bring the new Lloyds TSB brand to life. The business case On 28th November 2006 Nigel made the case to the GEC [Group Executive Committee] to enter into detailed negotiations for a tier one partnership in the banking category. The opportunity was positioned thus: • To enable the organisation to make a bold statement of self-confidence and belief, short and long-term • To provide a compelling reason for customers to join and stay with the bank • To create “a purpose beyond profit” • To significantly impact internal pride and motivation • To provide a point of significant differentiation as the chosen bank of the 2012 Games Three clear objectives were defined: 1. To drive incremental business 2. To increase brand consideration 3. To engage and motivate colleagues Creating a financial business case without any benchmarks to work from was challenging for us. We developed financial models with a range of scenarios, including increased revenue per customer and reduced customer attrition, in increments of 0.5 per cent, which we were confident we could influence directly through targeted customer programmes and by driving

overall brand consideration and advocacy through our partnership activities. These scenarios were vital in securing buy-in from the GEC and their confidence that we could deliver a minimum commercial return through the partnership. The importance of careful negotiation At the end of 2006, Barclays had declared that they would not be considering a 2012 partnership given their extensive portfolio of contracted sponsorships. At the time it was also rumoured that HSBC had approached the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a global sponsorship deal, but this had not progressed. We entered high-level discussions with Locog in November 2006 and made it clear that we were not prepared to get into a Dutch auction, and that we were seeking a window of exclusive negotiation around the contract. Both parties agreed, and we gave ourselves until 27th February 2007 to finalise the deal. By this stage the bank had also agreed to make an offer for the insurance category, too. There were a number of important contractual points we needed to agree: • Defining the “product category”, including capturing future likely trends (ie mobile banking) given the length of the agreement • Defining the list of competitors excluded from activity with London 2012 • Being clear on the distinction between tier one and two sponsors • Extensive discussion around warranties, indemnities and risk • Determining services that would be included as VIK and how these would be valued All discussions took place on neutral ground, both sides agreed on lead negotiators with support from in-house and external specialist counsel, and agreed that we would always seek to find a resolution to an issue that hit stalemate. It became apparent early on that Locog were not going to take into account any valuation of Marketing in Kind (MIK). In order to keep the deal to the value we had agreed in outline, we decided to make an early offer for a number of marketing rights that we

knew would be offered to other partners during the term of the contract. The decision to acquire these ‘additional rights’ was to prove very valuable – we were able to formalise our long-term plans with these activities secured, and did not have to revert to the GEC during the term for more rights budget. The additional rights were: • Olympic Torch Relay • Paralympic Torch Relay • Content, branding and credits on a network of live sites around the country • Sole partner with Locog’s ticket marketing programme • Sole partner of the Olympic Youth Camp – later to be known as World Sports Day – to take place in schools just before the Games On 27th February 2006 the first partner agreement of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was signed between Lloyds TSB and Locog. In addition to our core rights, our agreement also covered additional rights and a proportion of VIK. In addition, we put aside at this time an activation budget that was agreed with GEC, phased over the five years of the programme. The total cost of the partnership rights was split along profit contribution lines between the then three divisions of retail, wholesale and insurance. The partnership was launched on 1st March 2007. Setting ourselves up for success: The challenge of being first The 2012 partnership was unprecedented for Lloyds TSB, and at the time the management structure and level of experience within Locog was also relatively limited. We always took the view that the partnership would be a collaborative one, but early tensions did surface. For example, in early 2007 we saw the absence of the Olympic rings in their readily identifiable colours as a lost opportunity by Locog. In addition, we signed well before Locog had begun creating many of the basic building blocks that were to enable partners to activate. This included an effective approval system through to initiatives such as the 2012 Get Set

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BACK STORY | SPONSORSHIP

Lloyds’ activities around the Olympic Torch Relay were key in building awareness across the UK

education programme, central to our activation plans. As a result, it was very important for Lloyds TSB to recognise it was ‘first’ and try to establish a collaborative approach with Locog. Developing the strategy We were very keen to maximise our first-mover advantage and developed a strategy which we could launch internally to galvanise colleagues early. We created a vision which was to become the context for all our activities and remain consistent throughout the partnership: To inspire and support young people, communities and businesses all over Britain on their journey to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond. Within this, we agreed from the outset that we would treat the Olympic and Paralympic Games equally throughout all our activations. We also established a framework against which we would consider ideas for new internal and external activations. Initially, any activity needed to deliver within at least one of three ‘pillars’ of inspiration, participation, and support. Getting started We spent much of the first six months of the programme travelling up and down the country, conducting over 100 presentations to large and small groups of colleagues, using film, Olympic imagery and case studies from previous Games to seek their ideas and feedback on how we should use our rights and get people moving on adopting the partnership in

their own areas of the business. Establishing good governance We treated the partnership as a ‘change programme’ rather than a typical sponsorship or communications project. We established the London 2012 steering committee, with nominated executives from the retail, wholesale, insurance and operations divisions, as well as group HR, risk and finance. This met every other month, and was chaired by the retail CEO. Each member of the steering committee appointed a 2012 partnership lead, with a ‘dotted-line’ into the Lloyds TSB 2012 team, tasked with leveraging core rights and activation programmes day to day under the overall strategic framework. This ‘divested programme model’ was important. Too much central control and the programme would not have delivered beyond a basic marketing communications programme. Too little central control, and key messages and activations would have got lost. The governance model evolved in 2011 as the Games approached, with a need for tighter control of key elements of the programme, in particular the Torch Relay, Games-time operations, and hospitality. At this point, the Lloyds TSB 2012 team took more operational control and brought the divisional 2012 partnership teams and budget of the programme under direct line management. This was a hugely significant moment for the team – a powerful team spirit and shared purpose developed and we became more effective and efficient in developing and delivering plans.

Creating the right team In July 2007, Sally Hancock was appointed as director of the 2012 Partnership. Sally was the only person hired externally by any of the 2012 tier one partners to lead their programme. Initially the leadership team of Sally, Gordon Lott and Stuart Beaver were supported by a small team of four from within the bank, who were pivotal to the creation and roll-out of the strategy and plan. The team grew gradually over the years, and in late 2010 we recruited four external world-class Olympic experts to lead on hospitality, Games operations and the Olympic Torch Relay programmes. Creating a 2012 look and feel Insight from previous Games sponsors suggested that the early creation of a clear Olympic and Paralympic brand identity would enable the partnership to achieve early stand-out, and also enable the use of this ‘look’ around other bank sponsorship activity – even if in cases an explicit link to 2012 was not permissible, for example at the Lloyds TSB Cardiff Half Marathon. A simple ribbon device was created by the bank’s brand agency, Rufus Leonard, seeking to represent the dynamism and ‘journey’ of our 2012 partnership. Building the activation plan We adopted a phased approach to our planning, recognising we needed to take customers and colleagues on a journey before we could expect them to ‘engage’ in it, from becoming aware of our partnership through to ultimately

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45 of Lloyds’ Local Heroes reached London 2012, with Katherine Copeland (left) winning gold

recommending us as a result of it. Our vision translated into a mission to ‘take the Games to the people’, and alongside our framework, provided the context for designing activations. To be successful we needed to create a number of bespoke activities in addition to leveraging our negotiated rights, which were on strategy, executed brilliantly, and focused. Local Heroes In early 2008, we launched Lloyds TSB Local Heroes, funding and supporting 250 up-and-coming athletes per year across all Olympic and Paralympic sports. 45 Local Heroes went on to compete in London 2012, comprising six per cent of Team GB and ten per cent of ParalympicsGB. One Local Hero was one of seven young athletes chosen to light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony, and three others went on to win a gold, three silver and one bronze between them. In 2011, with the Local Heroes programme in full flow, our tracking research showed that of those customers aware of the programme, 41 per cent were more likely to recommend Lloyds TSB because of it and our sponsorship of London 2012. National School Sport Week In 2009 we launched Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week (NSSW), in a partnership this time with the Youth Sports Trust, designed to encourage children all over the country to play more sport through the inspiration of the 2012

Games. By 2012, 21,000 schools (84 per cent of all schools in the UK) and nearly nine million young people had taken part. 85 per cent of teachers said the week had a positive impact on pupil behaviour and learning, and 75 per cent of pupils indicated an interest in continuing to do more sport as a result of NSSW. In 2011, 39 per cent of customers who were aware of National School Sport Week and our 2012 partnership were more likely to recommend Lloyds TSB as a result. Local Heroes and National School Sport Week were at the core of our partnership, and key to the success of both was the identification of the right delivery partners. In each case the roles and responsibilities of the bank and the partner were defined from the outset, and we were very clear on the incremental value we could bring to each initiative. Olympic and Paralympic ticket marketing In 2011 tickets for the Games went on sale, and as official ticket marketing partner Lloyds TSB, through Cardnet, processed the sale of 8.8 million tickets. We took up our exclusive right for the distribution of 400,000 ticket guides through Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland branches that provided details of all the Games tickets available. Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays The Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays were always the ‘jewel in the crown’ of our rights and were among the outstanding

successes of our partnership. We received 17,000 Olympic torchbearer nominations through our public campaign; 3,000 schools took part in our ‘Flame Followers’ programme; we staged 700 celebrations at branches, schools and community centres with customers; and we distributed 900,000 ribbons and sweatbands to the cheering public. At evening celebration events, 66,000 people voted for not-forprofit organisations in their community to receive UK£5,000 grants from Lloyds TSB. Over 50,000 people had their photo taken with the torch. Driving additional business We provided financing to over a third of 2,000 companies who won contracts to make the Games happen, through the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and Locog and following a commitment to support the Games with UK£1 billion of lending to related businesses. We financially supported Locog and the ODA, like any banking customers, to support them across a range of financial areas. Our cards payments business, Cardnet, supported Visa through processing all the ticket payments for the London 2012 Games, and was the payment processor for all shops on the Olympic Park with over 3,000 point-of-sale machines. We also issued 60,000 Lloyds TSB prepaid Visa cards to other London 2012 partners, Locog, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), in addition to the main

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BACK STORY | SPONSORSHIP

In 2009, Lloyds TSB launched National Sport Week in partnership with the Youth Sports Trust

hospitality agencies and broadcasters for use during the Games. In total, to the end of the Games in September 2012, we had more than covered the cost of the rights of our partnership through new-to-bank revenue through our 2012 partnership. Creating Games-linked products – and when not to Throughout the 2012 partnership there was much debate about the merits and value of creating bespoke products linked to the Games. Customer insight says that simply ‘badging’ products or offering occasional Olympic-related prizes with product purchases would have little impact or benefit for the customer, in contrast to our community-led activity. A successful Team GB-linked mortgage offer in 2009 generated over UK£150,000 for the British Olympic Foundation and ParalympicsGB, but other than the creation of the new corporate pre-paid Visa card, very little other product activity took place. The importance of touch-point branding and owned media The Lloyds TSB 2012 team did not hold any incremental advertising budget to communicate the partnership so it needed to leverage owned media, and any request for advertising budget needed to compete against business-as-usual product and brand campaigns. It was agreed early on to include our 2012 partnership marks on all above and below-the-line product and brand

material, from branch posters promoting current accounts and savings to TV campaigns. We added our 2012 mark to all 1:1 material, including letters, ATMs, statements, inserts, envelopes, and perhaps most significantly of all, 25 million debit cards. The impact of this activity cannot be understated – this was ‘free’ advertising for our partnership, creating consumer awareness worth millions in traditional advertising spend. Setting KPIs and building the balanced scorecard In keeping with other bank programmes, the Lloyds TSB 2012 team created a balanced scorecard from the outset to keep track of performance. The balanced scorecard is the performance management tool used by the bank to manage and measure performance of the group, from divisions through to business units, programmes and individuals. Our aspiration was to be the best in class at tracking and evaluating our partnership – it was surprising how relatively few previous Games sponsors had prioritised this and how little available benchmark data there was. We added 2012 metrics to all existing internal and external bank research, minimising the need to spend significant incremental budget on bespoke ‘sponsorship’ measurement. We established monthly awareness tracking with our evaluation partner, Hall and Partners, and three annual surveys tracking key measures and attitudinal

responses to our partnership and individual activations. The framework contained both lead indicators (eg sponsor awareness) and lag indicators (eg likelihood to recommend). This approach ensured we focused on awareness, engagement and participation in our activations, which is considerably more important than awareness alone. Results continued to show customers valued how we were bringing the Games to them via our community programmes more than they valued the partnership in itself. The importance of political and stakeholder support Good stakeholder management played an important role in the success of the partnership. Our relationship with Locog continued in the same vein to that which we had established during the negotiation period. If we hit an issue, we would endeavour to resolve through negotiation with the client services and commercial teams without legal recourse. We were always very thoughtful of when to pick our battles. Locog were later to tell us that Lloyds TSB had been by some margin their lowest-maintenance 2012 partner! Our relationship with the British Olympic Association (BOA) wasn’t as close. A particular challenge we faced with the BOA was their continual need to raise more cash to fund their Games-time ambitions with few assets to commercialise having sold their rights on to Locog. We, equally, had a sizeable portfolio of ‘assets’ and found it

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An in-house Lloyds TSB graphic shows the roadmap towards London 2012 developed by the bank

challenging to be often asked for more money for the BOA. With hindsight we probably could have leveraged our Team GB rights more fully, but this was also challenging in the years leading up to 2012. The HBOS takeover Following the merger of Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and a period of interesting negotiation, we were able to agree with Locog to the 2012 rights being extended to the Bank of Scotland at no extra cost, effectively replacing the use of the 2012 marks for Lloyds TSB in Scotland. There were no activations which Lloyds TSB undertook that were not delivered through Bank of Scotland; however we did inherit a number of sponsorships in Scotland through the HBOS merger that we eventually stopped or re-aligned to our overall strategy. Creating an effective colleague engagement plan The internal audience was, in many ways, as high a priority as customers for the 2012 partnership. We worked with a specialist HR agency, Lane4, early on to help develop our plan and ensure we embedded the partnership across colleagues’ holistic experience with the bank, including culture and values, reward and recognition, internal communications, and coaching and development. Our partnership became a galvanising and unifying force for all 60,000 colleagues initially and then 110,000 colleagues after

the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS. Access to tickets and to torchbearer and Games Maker places was key to rewarding and recognising colleagues, and whilst some initiatives were run at a group level, the majority of assets set aside for staff were managed and distributed through business unit and divisional recognition schemes. While we enabled staff to benefit from the partnership, staff were also pivotal to ensuring its success. We needed colleagues to act as flag-wavers for the partnership, and over 2,000 volunteered to act as ‘2012 Champions’ in their workplaces and local communities. We also appointed 140 community ambassadors in each of the main celebration cities on the Olympic Torch Relay, who collaborated with local authorities, schools and community groups to make the very best of the relay when it passed through their towns, branches and offices. Creating an effective Games communications plan: When to start it, internally and externally In late 2010, our mission evolved into a consumer promise to ‘Bring the Games closer to you’. PR proved the most reliable and efficient channel at building awareness and bringing to life our brand promise through real, local stories of customers getting involved in the Games throughout our partnership, but it was important to amplify this further above the line and

through customer programmes. In February 2011 we launched ‘London 2012 Trackside’, the partnership’s direct, customer-exclusive programme. Promoted only through direct channels, 300,000 customers (over five per cent of the bank’s online customers) had signed up to it by the time of the Games, and the monthly and weekly emails had record open rates reaching a peak of 40 per cent. In June 2011 we launched our first major TV and radio campaign, reaching out to the public as well as customers to nominate torchbearers. In hindsight, we might have put social media even more at the core of our communications strategy to create greater reach, impact and brand advocacy. We launched our national Games TV campaign on 4th June 2012, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, peaking in the two weeks prior to the Games and through to the end of the Paralympics. In September 2012, our Hall and Partners brand tracking survey indicated that 76 per cent of our customers were spontaneously aware of Lloyds TSB as a 2012 partner. Lloyds TSB had oscillated between second and third position as the most recognised Games partner since 2010, largely as a result of PR activity and leveraging of its owned channels. We thought we may drop down the ranking during the Games as other tier one and TOP partners ramped up their campaigns, and we felt the fact that we didn’t was a significant achievement.

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BACK STORY | SPONSORSHIP

Games-time: The start of the Games period Unlike many other London 2012 partners, the length of time over which Lloyds TSB had activated the partnership meant that a significant amount of benefit had already been accrued by the time the Games started. However, the start of the Olympic Torch Relay on 18th May 2012 marked the beginning of an extraordinary four-month journey for the organisation. We had a team of 75 people on the road for the period, distributing premiums, working with branches and colleague sites, caring for and managing our torchbearers, liaising with the media, engaging with the public, and showcasing our five-year journey. Of all the activation undertaken through the partnership, it was the Olympic Torch Relay that came to represent everything that was true of our strategy and desire to take the Games to communities everywhere.

ensure complete buy-in from all parts of the business in the value of the tickets. Our programme was, in the view of iLuka, one of the most complex ever undertaken in an Olympic and Paralympic Games. We were extremely sensitive to a possible media backlash around our hospitality activity. Over 85 per cent of the guests travelled to their event by public transport, and more than 50 per cent were day guests only. The guest experience programme was one of the outstanding successes of the 2012 partnership. 93 per cent of the VIP guests hosted felt more valued and recognised as a customer of the bank, and 61 per cent felt their experience and the bank’s overall involvement in the Games had changed the way they felt about the company. 98 per cent of colleagues hosted felt their invitation to the Games made them feel more recognised and valued as a member of staff.

Managing Games tickets and hospitality planning We had the rights to buy, at cost price, a sizeable number of tickets and managing the allocation of these into ‘packages’ (tickets and hotel nights) across the 17 days of the Olympics and 12 days of the Paralympics was complex. Early in the process, the Lloyds TSB 2012 team recruited iLuka. Guiding principles for our approach were agreed at the outset:

Being ready to deal with the ambushers In 2006, six years before the Games, the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act came into force. It is important to remember the values and symbolism of the Games, and the equity held within those five rings and the Paralympic agitos; the value of the Olympic and Paralympic movements is in large part due to the manner in which they have been so carefully protected over the years. In our view, however, the Act and the manner in which it was often interpreted probably went too far. From our perspective, we would have preferred a more pragmatic view to be taken, which might have allowed for more community celebration, in particular around the torch relay.

• The programme had to be affordable, and not ostentatious. • It would be as simple as possible and we would not compromise on executional delivery, which was to be centrally managed. • A small number of package types, with indicative prices, would be developed and each division could indicate the number of packages they needed against each type. • Every ticket package had to be supported by a business case, which had to strictly adhere to the rules of the UK Bribery Act 2010. Building the programme from the bottom up resulted in each division taking responsibility for their guest allocation and invitations. While painstaking, it did

Becoming match ready – importance of Games-time operational planning Operational planning for the Games began over two years out from the event when significant disruption was anticipated in London, with high risk of terrorist activity, transport failure, and overcrowding in London. We established a Games Command Centre in central London, close to transport hubs, staffed 24/7 during the Games period. An operations and risk

sub-steering group was established, with accountable executives from each division, chaired by the group director of security and fraud. Individual project work streams were regularly reviewed for risk and mitigation, and in June 2012 a full London 2012 Games operations test was held. In the event itself, there was very little demand on our Games Command Centre; there were minimal issues throughout the relay or during the Games. Despite the lack of any major risks or issues at Games-time, the huge amount of work put in by people across the organisation in preparing for the worst was equally key in enabling us to deliver the programmes as well as we did. The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games The Lloyds TSB 2012 Team could not have been better prepared for the Games period – which for the bank, unlike most other 2012 partners, started in earnest the moment the Olympic flame landed in RAF Culdrose on 18th May 2012. The meticulous planning of Locog and the City of London, the Metropolitan Police and the Olympic Delivery Authority saw to it that the London 2012 Olympic Games were, without question, the greatest Games ever. For a Games sponsor, the Games themselves represented the icing on the cake – albeit a thick layer – of something much bigger. Throughout everything the bank experienced, from the moment of signing the agreement in February 2007 to the closing ceremony of the Paralympics in September 2012, the bank was overwhelmed by the genuine letters of thanks for the experience customers had in their community, at home, during the relay and at the Games. Stronger relationships were formed and it is widely acknowledged that the business benefits will be felt for many years to come. London 2012 gave us an inspirational platform and belief to change, innovate and take risks, and open our minds to doing things in new ways. For the entire five-year duration of the partnership, Lloyds TSB was recognised as the partner doing the most to support the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Roll on 2013 After it enjoyed a successful 2012 by delivering on a national stage, the fortunes of Media Action Sports look set for further growth in 2013 as the Spanish company eyes up international expansion.

n February 2011 sports marketing and media distribution agency Media Action Sports (MAS) acquired the Spanish Basketball Federation’s (FEB) national and international media rights, with the company’s founder Juanjo Marquez (right) vowing to “open the eyes of the international marketplace to how big the federation is as a property.” A little over 12 months later and, through the signing of a “multi-year, multi-platform, multi-million deal”, Marquez delivered on that initial promise. In April 2012 MAS brokered a four-year deal between the FEB and Spanish state-owned broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE), believed to be worth €3.5 million annually. “In a very difficult financial situation in Spain we found a formula with the sponsors to increase the value of the property and increase the income for the rights for the national federation,” says an understandably elated Marquez, reflecting on last year’s achievement. “For almost the first time in the past ten or 15 years we have partnered with a public television network for primetime after the news. It’s been a fantastic, incredible success.” As well as marketing the FEB and the annual nationwide tours undertaken by Spain’s national basketball team – which in 2013 will act as a precursor to the EuroBasket championship in Slovenia – MAS continues be an active force buying rights for the US, Spain and the UK. One of its priorities is to go on growing the King’s Cup, an invitational tennis tournament first established in 1912 that traditionally features the four top-ranked players in Spain. This year, Marquez explains, the clay-court tournament will go global for the first time in 88 editions. “For 2013 we will have a qualifying tournament in south Florida where the winner will get an invitation to play,” he says. With the inaugural US qualifying tournament set to take place in March and the King’s Cup main event scheduled

for the last week of Wimbledon in 2014, MAS intends to expand the global reach of its prestigious tournament yet further by introducing a second qualifying event in Latin America. The Americas also form the basis of Marquez’s latest sports media venture, a production company called Sum News, the US-based ofﬁce of which opened for business in February. “The main reason we did it was because there are a number of international sports icons playing in the United States on a seasonal basis,” says Marquez, using last year’s Ryder Cup as an example, “but instead of buying something from rights holders to cover them, many TV channels in Europe want to have some kind of personalised news items. We want to become that. We have the technology, we have the platform. “It’s a very good service and a very good product for broadcasters who can’t have a crew there all the time,” he adds, explaining that, at present, the MAS subsidiary has “25 different agreements with companies for almost every international or very big national event.” In addition to personalising news content for broadcasters – something that according to Marquez accounts for roughly 50 or 60 per cent of the company’s workload – the start-up is also involved in consultancy work “for brands, for sporting events and for technology companies”. “The main thing is to really establish and consolidate in the US,” Marquez says. “We are working with a number of clients internationally but we need to consolidate this in 2013. Our major area of expansion has to be the US but we have an interest in Brazil because we have partners from there and certain production facilities there as well that we want to be able to offer the international market.” If 2012 was a year of breakthrough success for MAS, 2013 looks set to be one of US consolidation and further international growth.

www.mediaactionsports.com

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DEALS DIRECTORY

SPONSORSHIP DEALS SIGNED IN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 Arsenal announce Emirates renewal

Arsenal have renewed their sponsorship agreement with lead partner Emirates. The airline will pay UK£150 million (US$240 million) to remain as the Premier League club’s front-of-shirt sponsor until the end of the 2018/19 season and stadium naming rights partner until 2028. In addition, Emirates branding will remain on Arsenal’s training kit, while the new deal also includes extensive marketing rights. Emirates first signed its deal with Arsenal in 2004 and subsequently assumed the shirt sponsorship in 2006. The airline’s sponsorship of the Emirates Stadium had been due to expire in 2021. Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said the renewal was “just as critical” as the original deal “to keep us at the top of the game in England and Europe.” The renewal also guarantees the future of the Arsenal soccer school in Dubai, which launched in 2010. Length of contract: 5 years Annualised value: US$48 million Overall value: US$240 million Sport: Soccer

Corinthians confirm huge Nike renewal

Corinthians have extended their kit supply deal with Nike until the end of 2022. The Brazilian soccer club’s partnership with the sportswear giant had been set to end in 2014 but has now been renewed for a further eight years. Reports in the Brazilian press indicate the deal to be worth a total of US$144.2 million, with Máquina do Esporte suggesting that Nike will spread the payments across the final two years of its existing term as well as the extension. The existing deal had been worth an estimated US$7.9 million a year. Nike’s renewal was confirmed by the club’s president Mario Gobbi at a press conference in Tokyo, where Corinthians won the Fifa Club World Cup in December 2012. Length of contract: 10 years Annualised value: US$14.42 million Overall value: US$144.2 million Sport: Soccer

Red Bull Racing seal first title sponsorship

Red Bull Racing, the 2012 Formula One constructors’ world champions, have announced that Infiniti will become their title sponsor from 2013. The Nissan-owned luxury car brand has been a partner of the team since 2011 and announced an extended deal at the end of that year. The package will also have a technical element. It is the first time Red Bull Racing have sold a title sponsorship deal since the energy drinks brand entered the sport as a fully fledged team owner in 2005. Financial terms were not released but according to the German newspaper Bild, the deal is worth an additional €15 million (US$19.66 million) a year for four years. Infiniti’s existing Red Bull sponsorship was understood to be worth an annual US$12 million. Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel, who in November became world champion for the third successive year, became Infiniti’s first global ambassador in 2011. Length of contract: 4 years Annualised value: US$31.66 million Overall value: US$126.64 million Sport: Motorsport

Telstra signs five-year NRL renewal

Australian telecommunications and media company Telstra has agreed a five-year renewal of its 2007 sponsorship and media rights deal with the National Rugby League (NRL). Finalised by Telstra and the recently established Australian Rugby League Commission, the deal will see Telstra retain the naming rights to the NRL. It will also form NRL Digital Media, a full-time production unit dedicated to online, mobile and tablet broadcasts, with Telstra Premiership, State of Origin and Test matches broadcast live via the official NRL mobile app. The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports the deal is likely to be worth AU$100 million (US$105 million). Length of contract: 5 years Annualised value: US$21 million Overall value: US$105 million Sport: Rugby

Ohio State gets US$97 million apparel deal

Ohio State University has announced that sports apparel brand J. America and online retailer Fanatics have signed a US$97 million deal to become the university’s licensed apparel and retail partners. Over the course of the ten-year partnership the university will receive US$85 million from J. America, which will manage apparel production and distribution, and US$12 million from Fanatics, which will assume management for all athletics venue retail. The agreement includes an upfront payment of US$23 million. J. America and Fanatics will also provide educational, internship and employment opportunities on Ohio State’s campus through a new retail showroom and design centre. Meanwhile, the university has also confirmed that it has partnered with Verité, an expert on global labour rights issues that will ‘assist the university in supply-chain management.’ Length of contract: 10 years Annualised value: US$9.7 million Overall value: US$97 million Sport: College sport

Pepsi steps up to US$70m IPL title deal

Pepsi has replaced realty company DLF as the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament. Pepsi will pay Rs396.8 crore (US$71 million) in total over five years. Airtel was the only other bidder. DLF spent Rs200 crore, around US$36 million, on sponsoring the league for its first five years. The news was broken by IPL chief executive Sundar Raman, who welcomed Pepsi as the new lead sponsor on Twitter. Pepsi has already backed the IPL, largely through team sponsorships, to the tune of Rs250 crore (US$45.3 million) for the last five seasons as a secondary sponsor. The sixth season of the IPL runs from 3rd April to 26th May 2013. Length of contract: 5 years Annualised value: US$14.2 million Overall value: US$71 million Sport: Cricket

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Broadcast French media company TF1 has confirmed it is in final negotiations with Discovery Communications to form a strategic alliance which would involve Discovery acquiring 20 per cent of Eurosport Group. An agreement is expected to be signed in the coming weeks and comes after a month of exclusive negotiations between the two firms. The alliance is based around three key areas: the development of pay-television content in France, the development of production activities in France and the development of Eurosport. Discovery will pay €170 million, or US$221.6 million, for a 20 per cent stake in Eurosport Group, which comprises Eurosport International and Eurosport France. There is an option for that stake to increase to 51 per cent in two years’ time. If Discovery chooses to activate that option, TF1 has its own option to sell its remaining 49 per cent share in Eurosport, making Discovery the 100 per cent owner of the pan-European sports broadcaster.

FFR extends with major banking partner

French financial institution Société Générale has renewed its sponsorship deal with the French Rugby Federation (FFR) for a further four years. The bank will remain as one of the FFR’s key official partners, alongside GMF, Adidas, Orange and Renault, until June 2016. Société Générale’s official association with French rugby dates back to 1987. According to a source with knowledge of the deal it is worth €3 million per season. Length of contract: 4 years Annualised value: US$3.9 million Overall value: US$15.6 million Sport: Rugby

Corinthians agree lucrative shirt deal

Caixa Econômica Federal has become the new main sponsor of Brazilian soccer side Corinthians. The deal, which will see the bank’s logo adorn the club’s playing shirts, is said to be worth R$30 million (US$14.3 million) to the 2012 Copa Libertadores champions. The contract will run for an initial period of one year, with an option for a further 12-month renewal. Under rules which allow clubs only one shirt sponsor during Fifa competitions, Caixa took exclusive rights to the Corinthians shirt as the team won the Fifa Club World Cup in December 2012. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$14.3 million Overall value: US$14.3 million Sport: Soccer

Onemain Financial joins Sadler at JGR

Citigroup-owned Onemain Financial has become the primary sponsor of newly signed Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver Elliot Sadler for the 2013 Nascar season. Onemain Financial will serve as the full-season sponsor on Sadler’s number 11 car across all 33 races in next year’s Nationwide Series. The company will also have associate logo placements on two other JGR Nationwide Series entries. Onemain Financial’s commitment is estimated to be worth roughly US$6 million. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$6 million Overall value: US$6 million Sport: Motorsport

Sponsors return to Newman’s Nascar ride

Four companies have announced sponsorship deals with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver Ryan Newman that cover the 2013 Nascar Sprint Cup Series. Returning as primary sponsors of Newman in the new Nascar season are WIX Filters, Outback Steakhouse, Aspen Dental and Code 3 Associates. The new deals cover ten primary placements in total. The overall value of the new sponsorship deals is estimated to be worth roughly US$5 million. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$5 million Overall value: US$5 million Sport: Motorsport

Brazil’s Santos pipe in new sponsor for 2013 Brazilian soccer club Santos have agreed a two-year sponsorship deal with Corr Plastik. The pipe and fittings company’s logo will appear on the hem of the shirts and shorts of the team’s playing kit from 2013. According to Brazilian online news source Terra, the deal is worth a total of around R$7 million (US$3.37 million), with Corr Plastik joining the likes of Banco BMG and Seara on the Santos kit. Length of contract: 2 years Annualised value: US$1.69 million Overall value: US$3.37 million Sport: Soccer

VfL Wolfsburg signs betting partner

German soccer club VfL Wolfsburg have signed a new sponsorship agreement with online gaming company Cashpoint. The agreement, which runs for an initial period of two and a half years, or up until the end of the 2014/15 season, sees Cashpoint become a second-tier partner of the Bundesliga outfit. Based on comparable agreements the deal is likely to be worth a low seven-figure sum. Vfl Wolfsburg become the 18th and final Bundesliga team to partner with a betting firm as Germany continues to impose a rather complex regional approach for its sports betting market. Length of contract: 2.5 years Annualised value: US$1.3 million Overall value: US$3.25 million Sport: Soccer

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DEALS DIRECTORY

IAM Cycling signs Scott deal

New Swiss Pro-Continental cycling team IAM Cycling has signed a sponsorship and supply deal with Scott Sports. Scott, founded in the US as a ski equipment manufacturer but currently headquartered in Switzerland, will supply bikes to the new second-tier cycling team. Although no financial details have been released, the deal is likely to be worth between US$1 million and US$2 million annually in cash and value in kind. Length of contract: 2 years Annualised value: US$1.5 million Overall value: US$3 million Sport: Cycling

Toyota title sponsors Richmond races

Toyota has agreed title sponsorship deals for the April Nascar Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series races at Richmond International Raceway from 2013. The ‘multi-year’ partnerships will see the Japanese car manufacturer put its name to the Toyota Owners 400 Nascar Sprint Cup Series and the ToyotaCare 250 Nascar Nationwide Series race; a doubleheader due to take place at the Virginia circuit on 26th and 27th April 2013. Financial terms were not released but based on typical race sponsorships in the two series, Toyota’s combined spend on the two sponsorships in 2013 is likely to be around US$2.5 million. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$2.5 million Overall value: US$2.5 million Sport: Motorsport

Castroneves keeps Penske sponsor Hitachi

Japanese electronics company Hitachi has announced it will sponsor Team Penske driver and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves for nine Indycar Series races next season. During the 2013 season Hitachi will serve as the primary sponsor on the Brazilian’s number three car at Indycar Series events at St. Petersburg, São Paulo, Detroit for two races, Iowa, Pocono, Toronto for two races and Sonoma. Based on similar deals, Hitachi’s commitment is estimated to be worth US$2.1 million. Hitachi and Team Penske began their relationship in 2012. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$2.1 million Overall value: US$2.1 million Sport: Motorsport

William Hill increases King George support British bookmaker William Hill has extended its sponsorship of the Winter Festival at Kempton Park racecourse for a further three years. The new deal, which includes the prestigious King George VI Chase, lasts until 2015 and will take William Hill’s sponsorship of the two-day event to seven years in total. The new agreement also sees William Hill support other race days at Kempton, including the William Hill Lanzarote Day, the Dovecote Hurdle on RacingPlus Chase day, and William Hill Jump Sunday in October. Although specific financial details have not been revealed, the deal is likely to be worth between UK£250,000 and UK£450,000 annually. Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$550,000 Overall value: US$1.65 million Sport: Racing

Great Clips gives Kahne greater cut

US hair salon franchise Great Clips has announced it will sponsor Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne in three Nascar Sprint Cup Series races next season. Great Clips will serve as the primary sponsor on Kahne’s number five car during the races at Bristol on 17th March, Indianapolis on 28th July and at Loudon on 22th September. Though financial terms were not released, a three-race primary sponsorship deal in the Sprint Cup is typically worth around US$1.5 million. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$1.5 million Overall value: US$1.5 million Sport: Motorsport

EFF toasts Heineken sponsorship

The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) has announced a new deal with Heineken. The two-year agreement will see the international beer company paying out US$1.3 million in sponsorship over the life of the agreement. Heineken’s sponsorship concerns Ethiopia’s national soccer team, the Walias, who will shortly take part in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa after a 31-year absence from the competition. Length of contract: 2 years Annualised value: US$650,000 Overall value: US$1.3 million Sport: Soccer

Panthers sign sleeve sponsorship

Car rental company Hertz has agreed a deal with Australian rugby league side Penrith Panthers to become the team’s sleeve sponsor for the 2013 and 2014 National Rugby League (NRL) seasons. According to an official press release, Penrith Panthers and New Zealand prop Sam McKendry will represent the Sydneybased club as the ambassador for this new partnership. Based on comparable apparel sponsorships, Hertz’s deal is estimated to be worth around US$500,000 annually. Length of contract: 2 years Annualised value: US$500,000 Overall value: US$1 million Sport: Rugby

Golden State Warriors clean up with deal

Clorox has agreed a partnership with National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise Golden State Warriors. The California-based company, which specialises in bleach and cleaning products, will become a gold alliance partner of the Warriors for the 2012/13 NBA season. The partnership is said to cover ‘sales and marketing elements related to the 2012/13 season, including retail, radio, print, social media, online and in-arena messaging that will highlight the company’s various brands,’ in addition to community-focused projects. According to The San Francisco Business Times, Warriors officials have previously valued gold alliance sponsorships at US$1 million. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$1 million Overall value: US$1 million Sport: Basketball

Airtricity ups support for Irish soccer

Airtricity has renewed its agreement to sponsor Ireland’s top soccer league after striking a new deal with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). The company will also become the official energy partner of soccer in Ireland. Airtricity became title sponsor of the league in 2010 in a three-year deal understood to be worth around €750,000 annually. The new agreement is expected to be worth a similar amount despite the addition of the new elements. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$967,000 Overall value: US$967,000 Sport: Soccer

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Licensing The PGA Tour has agreed a multi-year licensing agreement with global restaurateur HMSHost that will see the creation of a PGA Tour-themed airportbased restaurant chain. The PGA Tour Grill restaurants, developed across multiple locations in the first four years, will be customised to reflect local PGA Tour tournaments and Tournament Players Club golf courses in the communities surrounding the various airports in which the restaurants will be located. Senior vice president of retail licensing for the PGA Tour Tim Hawes said: “We are absolutely confident that the power and consumer connection of the PGA Tour brand, combined with the unmatched industry knowledge of HMSHost, will deliver an experience that consumers will enthusiastically embrace. The theme of the restaurant fits perfectly with the PGA Tour’s overall focus on health and wellness.”

Bath Rugby renews with Novia

Wine sponsorship for Illawarra Dragons

African cycling team goes mobile

GWS Giants sign Dyldam to three-year deal

Online wealth management platform Novia Financial has renewed its sponsorship of Bath Rugby, extending a two-year deal signed in June 2011. Novia’s logo will continue to feature on the front of Baths’s playing and training shirts while the East Stand of Bath Rugby’s 12,000-capacity home will remain known as the Novia Stand. Financial terms were not officially released but Novia’s current commitment to Bath is thought to be worth an annual US$800,000. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$800,000 Overall value: US$800,000 Sport: Rugby Samsung Mobile South Africa has agreed a three-year sponsorship deal with cycling’s Team MTN-Qhubeka. The ‘multi-million rand’ agreement will see the mobile electronics brand support the UCI Pro Continental cycling team financially and supply team members with its smartphone and tablet products. Financial terms were not officially released but, based on similar deals and Team MTNQhubeka’s profile, Samsung Mobile’s annnual commitment is estimated to be around US$250,000. Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$250,000 Overall value: US$750,000 Sport: Cycling

Australian winery McGuigan Wines has signed a three-year deal with National Rugby League (NRL) team St George Illawarra Dragons. According to an official press release, the deal will see the Australian winemaker become the Dragons’ front-of-shorts sponsor until at least the end of 2015. Though the exact financial terms were not released, based on similar shorts sponsorships in the NRL McGuigan Wines’ deal is valued in the region of US$225,000 annually. Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$225,000 Overall value: US$675,000 Sport: Rugby Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Football Club has announced a new three-year deal with property development company Dyldam which begins in 2013. Having initially supported the Australian Football League (AFL) expansion team during the 2012 season through corporate hospitality and match day signage, Dyldam has now signed up as GWS’s official shorts partner. Based on similar deals, the New South Wales-based company’s commitment is thought to be worth US$200,000 a year. Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$200,000 Overall value: US$600,000 Sport: Australian rules

Brumbies strike deal with Land Rover

The University of Canberra Brumbies rugby team has added Land Rover to its roster of partners. The deal, announced at a press event in the Australian capital, will see Land Rover logos appear on the sleeve of the team’s jersey and clothing for the next two years. The sponsorship will kick in when the new Super Rugby season kicks off in February. Based on other similar Super Rugby sponsorships, the deal is likely to have a total annual value of around US$250,000, although that figure was not verified by either the club or by Land Rover. Length of contract: 2 years Annualised value: US$250,000 Overall value: US$500,000 Sport: Rugby

Boost for Botswana Volleyball Federation

Mascom Wireless has extended its sponsorship agreement with the Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) for a further two years. The mobile phone company is the current title sponsor of Botswana’s national volleyball league and the new deal, announced on Twitter by the BVF, is worth some US$380,000. Further details of the renewed partnership have not currently been made available. Length of contract: 2 years Annualised value: US$190,000 Overall value: US$380,000 Sport: Volleyball SportsPro Magazine | 123 122

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DEALS DIRECTORY

Personal endorsement World number two tennis player and 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer (left) has signed a personal endorsement deal with Moët & Chandon champagne. It is the first major new endorsement deal for Federer since he left IMG with his agent Tony Godsick this summer. Federer will become the champagne house’s new brand ambassador and will star in Moët & Chandon’s spring 2013 advertising campaign, due for launch in March. A series of photographs celebrating the partnership has already been commissioned and shot by Patrick Demarchelier in Paris. “Roger Federer personifies the glamour of achievement, great generosity and tremendous style, values that have been key to our house throughout its long history,” said Stéphane Baschiera, president and chief executive of Moët & Chandon, which is also the official champagne of the ATP World Tour.

Huddersfield Giants renew with Q-Connect Office supplies company Q-Connect has renewed its sponsorship of English rugby league team Huddersfield Giants. The agreement renews a sponsorship first inked in 2011 and will see the company’s logo continue to appear on the front of the Giants’ playing shirts in the 2013 Super League season. The deal is estimated to be worth US$300,000. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$300,000 Overall value: US$300,000 Sport: Rugby

Brewin Dolphin renews with Durham

Investment management firm Brewin Dolphin has renewed its sponsorship of Durham County Cricket Club. The company’s logo will continue to feature on the front of Durham’s playing kit in the LV=County Championship for an additional three-year period. Though financial terms of Brewin Dolphin’s sponsorship extension were not released, based on deals of a similar nature the company’s commitment to Durham is estimated to be worth a low six-figure sum, roughly US$100,000 annually. Brewin Dolphin’s 2010 agreement with Durham was the first sporting sponsorship signed by the London-based company. Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$100,000 Overall value: US$300,000 Sport: Cricket

Brooklyn Nets aﬃliate signs jersey sponsor MGM Resorts International has signed a deal that will see the logo of its MGM Springfield casino appear on the front of NBA Development League team Springfield Armor’s jerseys. The deal will last for the entirety of the 2012/13 NBA D-League season and also includes a logo on the court of the Armor’s home arena, the MassMutual Center in Massachusetts. It is likely to be worth in the region of US$250,000 to the Armor, which is affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets NBA team. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$250,000 Overall value: US$250,000 Sport: Basketball

The Brumbies sign Cantlie sponsorship

Recruitment company Cantlie has been announced as the new coaches sponsor of Australian Super Rugby side the Brumbies. The Canberra-based firm’s logo will appear on the Brumbies coaches’ apparel and throughout the coaches’ box on game day at the 25,000-capacity Canberra Stadium for the next three rugby seasons. In line with similar sponsorships of Super Rugby teams in Australia, the agreement is estimated to be worth US$75,000 per season. Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$75,000 Overall value: US$225,000 Sport: Rugby

Wolves agree new shirt sponsorship

English rugby league team Warrington Wolves have signed a sponsorship deal with accountancy firm Brookson. The Warrington-based accountants will replace previous sponsors Bensons for Beds on the front of the Challenge Cup holders’ playing shirts in 2013. The deal is estimated to be worth around US$200,000 per year. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$200,000 Overall value: US$200,000 Sport: Rugby

JLT Group replaces Sharp at Rapha Condor

UCI Continental road cycling team Rapha Condor has signed a title sponsorship deal with the JLT Group. The British-based multinational insurance brokerage will replace Sharp, which has joined the toplevel Slipstream outfit. The deal is likely to be worth a low-six figure sum. Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$200,000 Overall value: US$200,000 Sport: Cycling

For more information on these and other deals, visit

www.sportspromedia.com

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SportelRio_A4.indd 1

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INDEX

Index of companies and people AEG

BROOKLYN NETS

26, 68

DENVER NUGGETS

AFC

BRUMBIES

DFB

AFC AJAX

Bryan, Bob

DHL

AFC WIMBLEDON

Bryan, Mike

AFL

56, 60

Bryant, Kobe

AGON

128

BSKYB

AIBA

Ainslie, Ben

BUDWEISER

AL JAZEERA

Burack, Josh

Allaster, Stacey

CAA ELEVEN

6, 26

Allen, Ray

CANAL PLUS

ALLIANZ

CARDNET

112

AMG MERCEDES

Carr, Jimmy

AMRP

CHANNEL 5

AMWAY

CHANNEL 7

Anschutz, Phillip

CHANNEL NINE

ANZHI MAKHACHKALA

CHANNEL TEN

ARCHER CAPITAL

CHELSEA FC

Armas, Alexandra

104, 130

Armstrong, Lance

26, 38

Chernyshenko, Dmitry

ARROWHEAD

CHEVROLET

ARSENAL FC ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES OF AFRICA

16, 90, 96 16

CLARO

104

CLASSROOM CHAMPIONS

CLICKSQUARED

CLIPSAL

22, 26, 38, 46, 52

CLUB ATLÉTICO TIGRE

130

COCA-COLA

Cochrane, Tony

AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE COMMISSION

COLORADO AVALANCHE

COLORADO RAPIDS

AVIVA

CONCACAF

Azarenka, Victoria

Cossau, Guillaume

BARCLAYS

26, 38, 68, 112

ATP

Auerbach, Red

Cowell, Simon

BBC

CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY

Beaver, Stuart

112

CREDIT SUISSE

Becker, Boris Becker, David Beckham, David Bettman, Gary

46 16 14, 90 26

Bin Hammam, Mohammed

Blatter, Sepp

9, 72

BMW

104

BOARD OF CONTROL FOR CRICKET IN INDIA (BCCI) Bolloyev, Taimuraz

8, 26 78

BOSTON CELTICS

Bouzou, Joël

16, 78

BRADFORD BULLS

100

BRITISH OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION ATHLETE COMMISSION

BRITISH ROWING

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS Djokovic, Novak

15 26, 38, 46, 52, 130

ICC

16, 26

IEC IN SPORTS

16, 50

IIHF

56, 60, 90

ILUKA

112

Fox, Richard

IMG

26, 52

FOXTEL

IMLA DE COLOMBIA

FULHAM FC

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE

Gaillard, Vincent

INFRONT SPORTS & MEDIA

9, 26

GALA CORAL

INTERNATIONAL CANOE FEDERATION

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SPORT SECURITY (ICSS)

84, 130

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF POKER

128

INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION

INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY FEDERATION (FIH)

FORMULA ONE MANAGEMENT

16, 104

FOX INTERNATIONAL

FOX SPORTS

DORNA SPORTS

Downs, David

Doyle, Jim

Gallop, David

16, 60

Drewett, Brad

26, 38, 46

Garnett, Kevin

Eastwood, Nick

Gazidis, Ivan

EBU

GENERAL MOTORS

Ecclestone, Bernie

Gilbert, Nigel

112

Ecvet, Fahri

Gill, David

EDUCATIONWORKS

Gimelstob, Justin

EDWARD JONES

Girard, Cedric

GLOBAL MEDIA & SPORTS

INTERNATIONAL MIND SPORTS ASSOCIATION

128

Ellis, Di EMIRATES

GLOBAL SPORTS BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

IOC

64, 112, 128

ENGLAND RUGBY 2015

GLOUCESTER RFC

IRB

EREDIVISIE MEDIA AND MARKETING

ISAF

Isinbayeva, Yelena

GRASSHOPPER-CLUB ZÜRICH

104

Isner, John

ISU

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

ITF

GREENHILL CALIBURN

Ivanišević, Goran

Jagger, Mick

James, LeBron

Jay-Z

ESPN ESPN STAR SPORTS ETIHAD

15, 90 26 8

EUROPEAN CLUB ASSOCIATION

EUROPEAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

EUROSPORT EUROSPORT GROUP EVERLINK Evert, Chris Fabsik-Swarts, Julie

15 50 90 52 16

GOLD COAST SUNS Gotham, Rich

Griffin, Matt

GUGGENHEIM BASEBALL MANAGEMENT

Guiguet, Olivier

JEREZ CITY COUNCIL

Gutiérrez, Esteban

104

Johnson, Earvin ‘Magic’

HALIFAX BANK OF SCOTLAND

112

JUVENTUS FC

Kaltenborn, Monisha

104

KASPERSKY LAB

130

Keane, Robbie

Keller, Nick

130

Khan, Imran

Khan, Omar

100

Khodabakhsh, Ivan

FACEBOOK

26, 104

HALL AND PARTNERS

112

104

Fairweather, Kelly

Hamilton, Lewis

104

CRICKET AUSTRALIA

Fang, Shiny

CUERVO TEQUILA

104

FC BARCELONA

CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS

Federer, Roger

da Costa Alegre, João

Davenport, Lindsey

De la Rosa, Pedro

104

DECCAN CHARGERS

DECCAN CHRONICLE HOLDINGS

Del Piero, Alessandro

Del Potro, Juan Martin

Dell, Donald

Demetriou, Andrew

Demoff, Kevin

DENTSU

DENTSU SPORTS ASIA

16 26 26, 38, 52

Hanauer, Adrian Hancock, Sally Hanzab, Mohammed

90 112 84

HARVARD BERKMAN CENTRE

128

Fellaini, Marouane Felli, Gilbert

Havelange, João

King, Billie Jean

50, 53

FFA

Hayatou, Issa

Kinsbergen, Michael

FIA

Heidfeld, Nick

104

KNHB

FIE

Heineman, Robb

Kobayashi, Kamui

104

FIFA

6, 9, 16, 26, 72, 84, 128, 130

Helfant, Adam

26, 78

Henry, Thierry

KONTINENTAL HOCKEY LEAGUE (KHL)

HERBALIFE

Kournikova, Anna

50, 52

Kozak, Dmitry

Kroenke, Stan

LA DODGERS

26, 96

LA LAKERS

26, 68, 96

Filiol, Geraldine

FINA

FINE ARTS SOCIETY

Fish, Mardy

Hingis, Martina Holden, Phil Hood, Peter

50, 52 16 100

HSBC

112

HSH Prince Albert II

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LA MANGA CLUB

LACOSTE

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR

LAGARDÈRE UNLIMITED

16, 26, 50, 52

Murray, Andy

26, 38, 52

26, 90, 96

NBA

16, 26, 52, 68, 90, 96

PRESTIGE TICKETING

Prokhorov, Mikhail PROVIDENT FINANCIAL

NBC SPORTS GROUP

LEICESTER CITY FC

NEC

104

Lemon, Paul

Negre, Leandro

Leoz, Nicolas

Nesson, Charles

128

112

LOCOG

16, 78, 112

Logan, Gabby

LONDON LEGACY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

LONDON WASPS RFC Lott, Gordon LYCOS Malone, David MANCHESTER CITY FC MANCHESTER UNITED FC

112 68 56 8, 26 8, 16, 26

MANLY SEA EAGLES

130

Manners, Tom

Marin, José Martin Marty, Florent Massa, Felipe

NEW JERSEY NETS NEW YORK YANKEES

26 16 104

26 26

NEW ZEALAND RUGBY LEAGUE

NEWS CORP

NFL

26, 90, 96

NHL

6, 26, 90, 96

NIKE

16, 26

NISSAN 16

LEADERS

26, 90

Townsend, Taylor

PREMIER LEAGUE

LLOYDS TSB

PORTSMOUTH FC

NBC

LIVESTRONG

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Tobias, John

Năstase, Ilie

Le Tissier, Matt

LIVERPOOL FC

Tiriac, Ion

8, 16, 26

26, 38, 46, 50

100

SKY SPORTS

Nadal, Rafael

112

LI NING

SKY

15, 24

LAWN TENNIS ASSOCIATION

100

Platini, Michel

Mutko, Vitaly

LANE4

Lewis, Richard

Pierce, Paul

NORTH AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE (NASL)

16, 90

Nottage, Ken

Novitsky, Jeff

Novotna, Jana NRL

50 16, 56, 60

OAKLEY

OCTAGON

OCTAGON GREATER CHINA

Smith, Colin

56 16

TRIATHLON BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL

Smith, Dave Snowball, Neil

Tsar Nicholas II

SOCHI 2014

TWITTER

90, 100

SOCHI STATE UNIVERSITY

UEFA

100

SONY ERICSSON

PUNE WARRIORS

Sorokin, Alexey

6, 15, 16, 24, 26, 78, 130

Putin, Vladimir

UEFA PROFESSIONAL STRATEGY COUNCIL

QADBAK

104

SOUTH AFRICAN HOCKEY COMMITTEE

UK SPORT

Qin, Jimmy

SOUTH AFRICAN SPORTS CONFEDERATION AND OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

UIPM

QANTAS

UK TRADE & INVESTMENT

RABOBANK

RADIO SHACK

Radwańska, Agnieszka

Räikkönen, Kimi Raksriaksorn, Aiyawatt

104 16

Raksriaksorn, Vichai

Ratner, Bruce

RCS SPORT

Reagan, Ronald

REAL MADRID CF

REAL OVIEDO RED BULL REGENCY ENTERPRISES RFU

8 104 50 16

Spahn, Helmut

SPEED

UNITED FOOTBALL LEAGUE

SPORT CLUB CORINTHIANS PAULISTA

130

UNIVISION

US POSTAL SERVICE

USA SYNCHRO

USADA

Usmanov, Alisher

USOC

V8 SUPERCARS

Valcke, Jérôme

Van der Sar, Edwin

Vaughan, Stephen

VERSUS

Vettel, Sebastian

104 46

SPORT INDUSTRY GROUP SPORT1

130 50

SPORTACCORD

78, 128

SPORTFIVE

16, 26

SPORTING KANSAS CITY

SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED

ST LOUIS CONVENTION AND VISITORS COMMISSION

ST LOUIS RAMS STAR GROUP

RICOH

STARBUCKS

Vilas, Guillermo

Ridge, Conor

Stephens, Sloane

VISA

112

Rondo, Rajan

Stern, David

Wakkie, Johan

Rousseff, Dilma

STRATBRIDGE

WARATAHS

Strong, James

WASSERMAN MEDIA GROUP

Watts, Mike

WESTERN FORCE

Wiggins, Bradley

Williams, Serena

Williams, Venus

WIMBLEDON FC

Winkelman, Pete

WOOLWORTHS

16 128

ROYAL CARIBBEAN

ODA

112

RUFUS LEONARD

112

SUN TV

McCourt, Frank

Ogier, John

100

SUPER RUGBY

McIlroy, Rory

16, 26

OLYMPSTROY

RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Sutcliffe, Gerry

100

MCKINSEY

112

ONE HD

SWISS SUPER LEAGUE

104

ORANGE

RUSSIAN FOOTBALL UNION

McLachlan, Gill

TEAM ORACLE

MCS TV GROUP

ORLANDO MAGIC

Safin, Marat

Teixeira, Ricardo

MELBOURNE REBELS

OUEST-FRANCE

Sam, Gideon

TELMEX

104

MERCEDES

Pakhomov, Anatoly

SAUBER F1 TEAM

104

TELSTRA

Mesler, Steve

Papachristou, Voula

100

Sauber, Alex

104

Tendulkar, Sachin

Milchan, Arnon

PARKER

130

Sauber, Peter

104

THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

8, 16

WORLD CHESS FEDERATION (FIDE)

MILTON KEYNES DONS FC

Paulson, Andrew

128

Schindler, Stephane

WORLD SERIES BOXING

THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE

26, 90, 96

PEACE AND SPORT

Scudamore, Richard

THE JOCKEY CLUB

Wozniacki, Caroline

PEPSI

SDM

130

THE LION FOUNDATION

WTA

Perez, Sergio

104

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

PERFORM

16, 50

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

THE SPORTS CONSULTANCY

26, 38, 46, 50, 52

Peterson, Bill

Sharapova, Maria

Thorne, David

YES NETWORK

Sherwood, Phil

TICKETMASTER

YMCA

Shilai, Liu

TIRIAC HOLDINGS

YOUTH SPORT TRUST

Massey, Sarah

MLB MLS MOËT & CHANDON

26, 90, 96 38, 52

Morganella, Michel

100

MP & SILVA

Murdoch, Lachlan

PETRONAS Phelps, Annamarie

104 16

Rush, Sam

68 46

SportsPro Magazine | 126 127

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THE LAST WORD

It’s all in the mind Patrick Nally Patrick Nally, co-founder of West Nally, has pioneered innovation in the sports marketing industry throughout his career. His next column will appear in the April edition of SportsPro.

aving been involved with the launch of the major marketing programmes of Fifa and the IOC as well as many other international sport federations and major events, I must confess I was quite surprised recently to hear that an American entrepreneur has plans to launch the mind sport of chess in a similar manner. Chess is the only sport in which I can claim any form of personal success. Having been a schoolboy champion, I have no doubt that my chess skills have been of considerable help to me in my chosen career. Andrew Paulson, a 54-year-old entrepreneur born in Illinois, has recently bought the rights to develop and market the World Chess Championships for the next 11 years from the World Chess Federation (FIDE). At his launch event – The World Chess London Grand Prix at Simpsons in the Strand, from 20th September to 3rd October – he announced he has plans to turn chess into a sexy spectator sport and unveiled a new striking logo with the tagline, ‘The Best Mind Wins’. He also announced that he was going to invest in a cable TV magazine programme with technology that will allow him to screen coverage of over 100 events a year, as well as creating a new ‘cockpit’ to see chess being played in a gladiatorial environment where heart rates, blood pressure, perspiration levels and even eye movements are tracked and presented on screens. It is interesting that Andrew’s launch of The World Chess London Grand Prix follows not long after the launch last year of the Match (duplicate) Poker Nations Cup by the International Federation of Poker (IFP), a Swiss-based federation which has grown from seven founder members in April 2009 to 50 national members today. Match Poker championship events

incorporate a notion adapted from duplicate bridge, in that identical cards are dealt simultaneously on all tables. Teams are therefore given exactly the same opportunity to win, no longer affected by the random dealing of cards. Many regard this format to be the purest test of poker ability where skill most certainly beats chance. The IFP is currently developing Match Poker for online and mobile use, enabling its members to train and compete in poker’s most progressive variation. The impact of the first IFP Match Poker Nations Cup held in London in 2011 attracted great interest from national poker federations for this form of skill poker, and December 2012 saw 12 European nations battling it out in a qualification event in Vienna for six places at the European Nations Cup final event to be held in March 2013, with Estonia winning top spot followed by Lithuania, Serbia, Poland, Hungary and Bosnia. Research commissioned by Andrew’s company, Agon, revealed that over 600 million people worldwide play chess regularly while another report calculated that 285 million play chess online. Poker itself also claims in excess of 600 million people play regularly online, and poker has joined the ranks of other mind sports within the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as an observer. Poker, therefore, in all its variants is being presented as a game of skill fully equal to the intellectual rigours and challenges of chess, bridge, go and draughts. To quote Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson, “Poker, of all the strategic mind sports, is the best training ground for the conceptual thinking involved in behavioural and financial economics, and for emotional skills involved in legal advocacy and negotiation. I have used poker play both in my coursework and extra-curricular activities. No strategic game better links

logic and emotion. None offers more powerful metaphors for the interplay of worldly rhetoric and power.“ Despite the significant educational benefits and tremendous online support for poker and chess, it is my view that neither of these mind sport colossuses will ever become a spectator sport. The future for chess, poker and other mind sports, in addition to being massively supported online, is to combine together into multi-sports events. This is a view shared by SportAccord, the umbrella organisation for 107 international sports federations and organisations, which launched its own annual World Mind Games in December last year in Beijing, when it took the world’s best players from chess, bridge, draughts and go to deliver a top-level performance. It is anticipated that poker will participate at such events in the future, and although I believe passionately that mind sports are going to become much more relevant and acceptable on the global stage, I feel their success will be driven largely by the digital media. We have seen the recent development of a Mindsports Research Network at the Harvard Berkman Centre for internet and society, which is building experimental frameworks to better understand all human strategic thinking and intuitive thinking of top competitors, and explore potential educational, emotional, intellectual and economic benefits for students who cooperate and compete in mind sports. It is interesting, therefore, that both top educationalists and top sports marketing entrepreneurs are galvanising together to see how mind sports, especially chess and poker, can be better presented. For archive material from the early development of sports marketing go to www.westnally.com

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14.12.12 12:44

DIARY

by The Scribbler

Record breaker The Scribbler has held a dim view of naming sponsorships ever since a crafty attempt to sell his own title rights to Parker pens ended in an inky mess. Unless the fit is just right, this type of deal doesn’t make sense. The longer the commercial name is in place, though, the stronger the ‘authenticity’ will become. But what kind of impact the Manly Sea Eagles were hoping to make with their recent naming rights deal with Kaspersky Lab, heaven only knows. Forced to backpedal frantically after an initial press release announcing a change of name to the Kaspersky Sea Eagles received a frosty reception, the commercial folk at the Australian rugby league team issued another communiqué clarifying that the new name was to be used ‘internally purely as a sponsor benefit’, before sending another memo less than an hour later saying the whole thing had been a big misunderstanding. Still, at two hours long, Kaspersky and the team hold the record for the shortest naming rights deal in history.

A face for the camera The Scribbler popped down to the House of Lords the other day for some upper-crust nibbles and top-level chit-chat with the chaps from the International Centre for Sport Security. Having shown the assembled bigwigs a promotional snippet for the ICSS’s next event in Qatar in March, the presenter on stage was moved to remark that, since the turn of 2012, he had not yet seen a sports industry video clip that did not feature Nick Keller (right). It was a light-hearted remark that spoke of the international progress that Keller’s Sport Industry Group and sister business Beyond Sport have made of late. Keller, though, was not at the event; he was on his way to Qatar to speak at the Doha GOALS conference, and no doubt to feature in the upcoming promotional video for the 2013 edition.

Making an ass of himself Home truths Corinthians’ victory over Uefa Champions League winners Chelsea in the final of the Fifa Club World Cup in December was another boost for Brazilian soccer. As the 2014 World Cup approaches the Brazilian domestic game is booming, with the clubs feeling the benefit of finally being able to compete economically with their European counterparts. The events of the Copa Sudamericana final in São Paulo recently – where the alleged overzealousness and threatening behaviour of security staff led to Argentinian side Tigre forfeiting the game at half-time – were therefore a brutal reminder that much work is left to be done before Brazil can welcome the world for the World Cup in 2014 and its warm-up event, the Confederations Cup, this year.

Novak Djokovic is a fine tennis player, but it seems the world number one is also a first-grade economist. Showing a fine grasp of the laws of supply and demand, Djokovic recently bought up the entire 2013 output of donkey cheese. The unique Serbian product, pule, can sell for over US$500 a pound and Djokovic wanted to ensure that he got the best price to keep his new chain of Serbian restaurants in pule for the foreseeable future. A champion tennis player, yes, a smart economist, perhaps, but a restaurateur? The Scribbler will have to taste it to believe it. A man doesn’t acquire a nickname like ‘The Djoker’ for nothing.

Size matters SDM, the organisers of the recent Amsterdam 2012 event in which six conferences were grouped together at the same time, at the same venue in, well, Amsterdam, are going one better for their next trick. Or indeed 12 better. The 2014 event – date and venue to be confirmed – will feature a staggering 18 conferences. The Scribbler can hardly keep standing for one.

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IAAF 2011

10 - 18 August

2013 MOSCOW

CREATING HEROES