Redesigning Sport in a post-COVID world – #SportsBizZoom replay

This calls were recorded on 28th &  29th July 2020 as part of our weekly #SportsBizZoom calls.

Topic was Stadiums & Venues.

Opinions expressed on the call are personal only and may not reflect the view of the employer.

We want to maintain #SportsBizZoom conversations to be as open as possible so please respect that.

Below is a transcript the Zoom chat so you can connect with attendees.

20:00:58 From Sean Callanan : Welcome please share your Name, Location, Work & Linkedin

Sean Callanan, Melbourne Australia, Sports Geek – https://linkedin.com/in/seancallanan  @seancallanan

20:02:15 From siddeshsarathy : Siddesh Sarathy, Melbourne Australia, Senior Growth Hacker- Treiner.Co, https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddeshsarathy/

20:03:29 From Corey Kirby : Corey Kirby – COO – PTI Digital (London, UK about to relocate back home to Melbourne) https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjkirby19/

20:03:30 From Phil Cotton : Phil Cotton, Founder & CEO, Elevate Sports, London. https://www.linkedin.com/in/commercialdirectorsport/

20:03:33 From Brett O : Brett Osler, Perth, https://www.linkedin.com/in/bosleraus/

20:03:52 From Ben Kerswill : Ben Kerswill, Brisbane Australia, General Manager Consumer Business – Brisbane Lions AFC, https://www.linkedin.com/in/benkerswill/

20:04:10 From Ned Coten : Ned Coten – CEO of SportsRM and President, Basketball Austyralia

20:04:23 From Ned Coten : https://www.linkedin.com/in/nedcoten/

20:04:27 From Alex Hamilton : Alex Hamilton, Head of AO Operations, Melbourne https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhamilton83/

20:04:38 From Julianne Hamilton : Julianne Hamilton – Ticketing Manager, Cricket Australia.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianne-hamilton-48872074/

20:04:48 From Mosstyn Howell : Mosstyn Howell Melbourne Australia Founder of UbiPark https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosstynhowell/

20:04:50 From Malcolm Pulling : Malcolm Pulling, Vice President, Beaumaris Sharks Basketball Club, Melbourne https://www.linkedin.com/in/malcolm-pulling-228a3919/

20:07:32 From Travis Anderson : Travis Anderson, Operations Manager, Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association, Western Australia

20:07:36 From Travis Anderson : linkedin.com/in/travisanderson6430

20:16:39 From Matt Kemp : Matt Kemp, Sports & Entertainment Attorney, Cape Town , South Africa; linkedin.com/in/mattkempsports

20:17:10 From Brett O : Some time in the next few weeks for the Hawks

20:21:00 From Adam Jackson : Adam Jackson. GM, Commercial @ Benchvote – fan engagement and sponsor activation solution. Sydney – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-jackson-34b99159/

20:38:24 From Brett O : Hawthorn is balloting who gets in for the Eagles and Dockers matches and urging members to go to this week’s Carlton game

20:46:46 From Brett O : @Alex  – will we see a limited number of patrons be able to seat between games 1-2 change of ends instead of waiting until post game 3 ?

21:00:32 From Phil Cotton : Thanks Sean

21:00:52 From Mosstyn Howell : Thanks Sean

Below is a transcript the Zoom chat so you can connect with attendees.

10:00:02 From Sean Callanan : Welcome please share your Name, Location, Work & Linkedin

Sean Callanan, Melbourne Australia, Sports Geek – https://linkedin.com/in/seancallanan  @seancallanan

10:00:36 From Dominic Remond : Dom Remond

Principal at Grow Step – Helping businesses grow and monetize their audience and customer base, focusing on strategic partnerships, marketing strategy, digital and technology led transformation.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-remond

10:00:53 From Michelle Morris : Michelle Morris

10:00:55 From Danny Taylor : Daniel Taylor – Marketing, Insight and Market Research professional based in Philadelphia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dtaylor87/

10:01:21 From Louise Jeffs : Louise Jeffs, Melbourne, Corporate Sales Manager Cricket Australia https://www.linkedin.com/in/gardinerlouise/

10:01:28 From David Haigh : David Haigh, GM – Sydney Uni Rugby, linkedin.com/in/david-haigh7

10:01:30 From Michelle Morris : Michelle Morris – Associate Principal at MI Associates focusing on events, venues and advisory services across Sport, Major Events and Arts & Culture

10:01:31 From Craig Green : SprtsHQ : Hi all. Craig Green. Launching a new Sports tech platform soon – SprtsHQ.

10:01:33 From GregS : Greg Sleigh

10:01:57 From GregS : Greg Sleigh https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-sleigh-a44b7323/

10:02:05 From Hugh Bowman : Hugh Bowman, Bastion EBA, Melbourne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugh-bowman1/

10:02:09 From Krystal Dykes – TBJ : Krystal Dykes, Toronto Canada, Assistant Box Office Manager Toronto Blue Jays https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystaldykes

10:02:20 From Laura Partington : Laura Partington, Sydney, Event Manager for Sydney Thunder https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-partington-a02331b3/

10:02:27 From Tyrone Andres : Tyrone Andres, Ticketing Manager, Tennis Australia – Melbourne.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyrone-andres-4227096/

10:02:39 From Jacob Clifton : Jacob Clifton – Senior at Wilmington University

10:02:47 From Dave Lyall : Dave Lyall, Sydney Sixers MarComms Manager – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-lyall/

10:02:48 From Felix Koehler : Felix Koehler, Account Exec, FanHub Media – Digital Fan Engagement, Melbourne, https://www.linkedin.com/in/famkoehler/

10:02:51 From Michael Blackburn : Hello all, Michael Blackburn, National Sponsorship Manager @ Qoin linkedin.com/in/michael-blackburn-87006370 Qoin is the latest digital currency, soon to be global

10:03:04 From David Mackay : David Mackay, Partner @ SPP, Melbourne, https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmackay/

10:03:10 From daniel.toscano : Hi everyone, Daniel Toscano, SCG Events Manager: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-toscano-787b4388/

10:03:11 From Tod Caflisch : Tod Caflisch – TechFoundry – Sports Tech Consultant – Dallas, TX – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tcaflisch/

10:03:23 From Leah Watkins : Hey Everyone! Leah Watkins | Winnipeg, Canada | Director, Business Operations Winnipeg ICE (WHL) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahjaywatkins/

10:03:37 From Jamieson Doyle-Taylor : Jamieson Doyle-Taylor (Founder, G2G Sports – Accredited AFL Player Agent & Grassroots Coach) https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieson-doyle-taylor-b580b0133/

10:03:57 From Michelle Morris : Michelle Morris https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-morris-mba-8435b11/

10:04:05 From Paul Bains : Hello everyone Paul Bains the founder of New Zealand Sport Radio https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulebains/

10:04:28 From Hugo van Rhijn : Hi Hugo again from FlyFan in Atlantic Canada

10:04:34 From seblear : Seb Lear, Head of Partnerships at InCrowd Sports https://www.linkedin.com/in/seb-lear-25101991/

10:05:24 From Alex Grant : Alex Grant, Founder & CEO, INTIX Ticketing, https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsgrant/

10:05:29 From AilsaJ : Ailsa Jack, Sydney, Event Manager Sydney Sixers https://www.linkedin.com/in/ailsa-jack/

10:05:43 From Danny Taylor : amazing – let’s go Blue Jays!

10:06:52 From Doug Mann : Hi all, Doug Mann, Membership Sales Manager at Victoria Racing Club, happy to connect – https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-mann-905018a/

10:07:07 From Simon Grunstein – SCGT : Simon Grunstein, strategy at SCG Trust

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simongrunstein/

10:08:23 From Paul Bains : And will have the NZ Breakers having to play in Australia as well I expect

10:08:55 From Jim Dorash : Hi everyone Jim Dorash, EndZone Global SME/Sport Consulting – Brisbane Australia – please connect on https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimdorash/

10:09:41 From Brian Borowsky : Brian Borowsky – Head of My Occ Health Record, which happens to have a COVID-safe app with sports and venues applicability:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianborowsky/

10:20:24 From Paul Bains : We are the out liers here in NZ where we are back to normal

10:23:15 From Tyrone Andres : Simon – whats the length of time to check each staff member?

10:24:03 From Paul Bains : Interesting that here in NZ even though we are at level 1 (Normal but closed boarders) when ew have our election that is going to be run as if we are at level 2 with 2m distancing, hand sanitiser, etc…

10:24:05 From Louise Jeffs : Has there been any issues with fans understanding the changes implemented at stadiums?

10:26:30 From Tyrone Andres : Mask-Free Sections 🙂

10:27:25 From Paul Bains : Will the FnB sales be down if people are wearing masks?

10:28:07 From Danny Taylor : Masks provides a great merchandising opportunity. Seen plenty team colors here, people representing their team!

10:28:58 From Dominic Remond : How have ticket prices changed to reflect either limited supply or limited interest

10:29:25 From Suzy George : What have trends & impact on viewer numbers been?

10:29:30 From Suzy George : (television)

10:29:50 From Alex Grant : Ticket Prices: Based on averages we’ve seen with clients, slightly higher to account for lower capacity requirements

10:31:13 From Tyrone Andres : Greg does it cost you significantly less to run on 50% cap than 100% cap?

10:31:37 From David Haigh : @Greg, did you physically block off every other row?

10:32:17 From Tod Caflisch : Suzy, here are stats on US televised sports numbers … Since sports coming back in May, fans have tuned in at record numbers

— @WNBA avg'd 540K viewers for its opener, 20% increase from 2019

— @Bundesliga saw a 725% rating increase

— @EnglishPremierLeague afternoon matches up 31%, down 17% from before the shutdown

— @NWSL opened the Challenge Cup with 572K viewers, beating the previous NWSL record

— @UFC’s debut on Fight Island drew 1.3M PPV buys, most since 2018

— @MLS is Back Tournament’s opening game avg'd 464K viewers, the 5th highest most-viewed regular season broadcast in 5 seasons

— @NASCAR’s first broadcast this year had 4.37M viewers, a million more than in 2019

10:33:34 From Paul Bains : In NZ they are saying that there’s a 75% increase in attendance and viewership since lockdown

10:34:07 From Tyrone Andres : We've (AO) created 64 ticket pricing models to cover a variety of endgames for the event.

10:34:45 From Felix Koehler : @Tod although some of those numbers are so high because there wan’t much sport around in general ie. Bundesliga was one of the first sports to come back. Hence the high viewership

10:35:37 From Danny Taylor : @Krystal, out of interest, what % of fans have rolled over?

10:35:45 From GregS : @Tyrone- there are economies but we've also maintained 100% of the seating bowl opened, 100% concessions opened etc to enable distancing

10:36:32 From Paul Bains : We’ve had 7 rounds of Super Rugby Aotearoa different teams have seen different attendance “trends”

10:36:40 From GregS : @David – the only physical infrastructure we've implemented is to define the quarantine area for players. We have physically cordoned the rows to sit in from the rows that you can't

10:37:02 From Krystal Dykes – TBJ : @danny – still in the renewal period at the moment so no final numbers yet

10:37:18 From Tod Caflisch : @Felix what do you mean no sports? Haven't you been keeping up with Corn Hole on the Ocho? 😎

10:37:24 From Paul Bains : EG Chiefs 23K 15K 10K but losing but Hurricanes 20K 16K 20K

10:37:27 From Felix Koehler : Hahaha. Good point

10:39:01 From Tyrone Andres : One of the modes we are considering has the Ground Pass ticket limited to the number of ACTUAL seats that we have on site.

10:39:11 From Paul Bains : Getting a fan on the pitch for halftime contests I guess are now not happening when there’s reduced numbers

10:39:38 From Laura Partington : No giveways or on field activations is latest I've heard under new restrictions!

10:40:28 From Tyrone Andres : Greg – was entry times an issue for you for the FRE/WCE game?

10:40:43 From Dominic Remond : How is the impact of the additional cost associated with safe grounds impacting commercial viability of actually hold..like theatre etc

10:41:57 From David Mackay : Looking at other industries:

Wine tastings now have to be booked, no open cellar door

Restaurants are booking only

It may be that for events to take place in a more restricted environment where there are still active cases that these approaches may be required. e.g. activations at the AO may need to consider booking approaches.

10:42:39 From GregS :  @Tyrone- Not really. We looked at what we might do to stagger times and the Dept Transport made a decision that we'd maintain transport delivery as though we had 100% capacity. The actual effect is that it appears to be better spaced on transport to matches than it would be on a day to day commute.

10:42:47 From Felix Koehler : Are there any field activations and half time contests that can be moved to digital? Every fan has a phone in their pocket. Are there any new projects planned here?

10:42:51 From Brian Borowsky : @David I think that's right. Any activation activities will need to be bookings-based.

10:43:40 From AilsaJ : For WBBL we operate in venues that are largely big hill areas and/or small stands of GA seating…managing of social distancing in this environment is going to be an interesting challenge!

10:43:53 From Tyrone Andres : Related to the question about broadcast – does anyone have any stats or data on increase to website visitation and is that an opportunity to replace non-deliverables in a contract?

10:46:22 From David Haigh : @Alisa, we're the same. We painted grids on the hills for physical distancing, stickers on outdoor stands and roaming security/COVID guards, which all worked well – until it rained. Everyone then flooded under cover and disregarded protocols.

10:46:33 From Alex Grant : @AilsaJ – check out – https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/intix-develops-world-first-contact-tracing-technology-for-events/

10:48:46 From Alex Grant : This NBA feature was also a use of technology – https://www.nba.com/article/2020/07/24/in-venue-and-broadcast-enhancements-2019-20-official-release

10:50:19 From daniel.toscano : to Gregs point about things moving so quickly, does place a lot of pressure on venues/ stadia with no certainty, especially if Gov't/ local authorities changing regulations so rapidly

10:51:51 From Danny Taylor : will there be waivers for attendees to complete re attending events – so the venue/team isn’t liable if they are infected?

10:52:48 From Felix Koehler : On the last one Sean: https://caposts.com/video/formula-1-driver-lando-norris-denied-access-because-of-high-body-temperature-then-he-holds-a-cold-water-bottle-at-his-forehead-and-so-he-can-enter-the-paddock/#:~:text=Video-,Formula%201%20driver%20Lando%20Norris%20denied%20access%20because%20of%20high,he%20can%20enter%20the%20paddock.

10:53:06 From Brian Borowsky : Everyone should play the video of the Bunnings manager to their customer-facing staff. A nice lesson in staying calm in the face of difficult customer.

10:53:33 From Alex Grant : @Danny – https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2013/may/majority-baseball-rule-limits-spectator-liability/ is COVID like being hit by a baseball?

10:53:38 From Tyrone Andres : Really useful chat today Sean

10:54:00 From Laura Partington : Thanks everyone for sharing your insights/learnings. Very helpful!

10:54:02 From Tyrone Andres : 5*s

10:54:24 From Leah Watkins : Thanks Sean & Everyone! Great questions and topics to take away.

10:54:27 From Aaron Wharton : thanks Sean, I need to hop off now. very helpful discussion today 🙂

10:54:27 From Suzy George : Great chat today, thanks Sean!

10:54:40 From David Mackay : Bunnings is roughly equivalent of Home Depot for US attendees

10:54:46 From Danny Taylor : thanks @Tod, interesting read. The interestingly timed Tulsa rally of Mr Trump and the waiver made me think of it

10:55:04 From Paul Bains : Also with NBL I assume you’re going to host the NZ Breakers in Australia somewhere

10:55:26 From Danny Taylor : sorry the thanks is for @Alex!

10:57:13 From Jamieson Doyle-Taylor : @Michelle – grateful if you could let me know the authors of The Sports Strategist

10:58:06 From Michelle Morris : The Sports Strategist (2015) Developing Leaders for a High Performance Industry Irving Rein, Ben Shields, Adam Grossman

10:58:06 From Laura Partington : Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown is another good one for anyone looking to work on ways to focus on whats really important and spend less time/energy on things that aren't actually that important!

10:58:25 From Jamieson Doyle-Taylor : Thanks, @Michelle

10:58:35 From Michelle Morris : Also wrote a great book called “The Elusive Fan”

10:59:08 From Doug Mann : great session thanks all, so much happening worldwide so quickly!

10:59:19 From Felix Koehler : Thanks Sean! Great chat again

10:59:28 From Hugh Bowman : Thanks Sean!

10:59:29 From Jamieson Doyle-Taylor : Thanks all

10:59:32 From Krystal Dykes – TBJ : Thanks Sean!