Sponsorship and Technology in Sports - Coursework Example

Mohammed Al-Motawa Sports Management June 20, Sponsorship and Technology in Sports Introduction No one can rebuff the important role of sponsors in sports. However, I had not fully understood the significance of sponsor in sports until I went for the London trip. The trip was a not just overwhelming but a complete training session on different sports. However, sports sponsorship fascinated me most. This paper will discuss different aspects of sports but will mainly dwell on the issue of sponsorship as well as importance of technology in sports. Different aspects of sponsorship will be discussed. I will make use of my experiences during the trip to emphasize on the different aspects and demonstrate why the trip was very important to me as an individual. I have always wondered how names such as Emirates Stadium and IBM got into the world of sports. By the end of our trip, the questions of how the sports world is organized, and why sponsors are inevitable in sports had fully been answered. Each day was a new experience as I got to learn the different sports sponsors in United Kingdom as well as the role that sponsors have played in transforming the world of sports. To demonstrate the role of sponsors and technology in sports particularly in United Kingdom, I will mainly focus on three days of the trip, which, include experience at the Arsenal Club, visit to the Wimbledon court, and stopover at the BBC Journal. In each visit, we looked at the role of sponsorship, the advantages, and disadvantages of sponsoring large sport events especially on the risks that, such sponsorship entails which may lead to failure within the sports industry, the events, the players, the participating brands, and the sponsors. The information in this paper will not only demonstrate my tremendous experience but will be useful for those hoping to venture in the world of sports (Sport England Web). The United Kingdom is unquestionably a lovely country rich in culture and history, and a commendable source of business and expert knowledge not just in sports but also in different fields. On May 30, I set off for Arsenal stadium to get the facts about the team I have always adored but only watched them play on the TV. It was a fascinating experience to learn that Arsenal migrated to another stadium because they were losing businesswise due to lack of enough seats for fans. The old stadium could hold less than 40,000 and they have to put about 20,000 persons in the waitlist (thestadiumguide Web). The new Stadium is the third-largest football stadium in England after Wimble Stadium and Old Trafford, and holds approximately 60,350 fans that are slightly above the roughly 59,500 fans attendance. This great move helped maximize income to invest in other areas such as acquiring more players and in new technologies. This novel stadium “The Ash Burton Grove,” popularly associated by its sponsor by the name “Emirates Stadium” is current home of Arsenal Football Club and is situated in Islington, England. We also learnt about sponsorship, which is defined as a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property (mainly sports, arts, entertainment, or causes) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property (Sport England Web). For example, the Arsenal Stadium is named after it major sponsor, the Emirate Airlines who paid 100,000,000 of the total cost which was 400,000,000 pounds, Nike Company paid 90,000,000 and the Diamond Club Member paid 82,000,000 (thestadiumguide Web). However, the contract with the Emirates Airlines will last for 15 years, after which Arsenal Club will lose stadium naming rights and shirt sponsorship. In my opinion, a long-term brand and stadium name is important since frequent change in name and sponsorship rights can be confusing to fans and hamper their relationship with the team, which can impair performance of the team. I realized that sponsors are very crucial in United Kingdom as compared to America where a stadium like Yankee Stadium had to be fully funded using tax payments (The Associated Press Web). In Europe, money came from the club savings and sponsors. Governments such as that for United Kingdom are unwilling to fund construction of stadium for private clubs. Another interesting fact is the way the Arsenal saves money by focusing on investing in good young players instead of the expensive veteran ones. Additionally, Arsenal is trying to get funds through global marketing by organizing friendly matches with different teams outside Europe to attract new sponsors and bond with fans. They currently have acquired big sponsors brands such as Nike and O2. Another marketing strategy that Arsenal is using to acquire fans is social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social websites that have proven to be a useful technology enabling fans to associate different sponsors and brands with the team. From a fan’s point of view, it was interesting to notice the passion that European fans have for their teams as opposed to Americans fans who are less zealous. This visit changed my point of view on how football or any sport team works. I was mistaken to think that clubs obtain most funds from ticket sale but I now know that sponsorship is very crucial for sports financing. On May 30, we visited Wimbledon, one of the best tennis tournament court and club in the world. “The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, is responsible for staging the worlds leading tennis tournament, is a private Club founded in 1868, originally called The All England Croquet Club (Aeltec Web). It is also one of the Four Grand Slam Tournaments others being Roland Garros in France, Melbourne in Australia, and the U.S. Open. I got to learn a lot about tennis including its history, and tournaments. It was surprising to learn that tennis started as a men’s only club. In 1884, the Ladies Singles and Gentlemen’s Doubles were inaugurated. Maud Watson became the first female champion. Gentlemens Doubles trophy was donated by the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club after the end of their doubles championship, played from 1879 to 1883.” (Aeltec Web). During the visit, we met the CFO of Wimbledon, and toured the new and old court plus the museum. The CFO talked about the Wimbledon club’s sources of resources, which include TV, merchandises and retail, sponsorship, tickets, and food and drinks. The proportions are as in the pie chart Though sponsors contribute 10%, they remain important for tournament success and long-term welfare. TV advertisement is very crucial in the tournament and help fans associate the brand with the tournament. Ticket are cheap at around 35 pounds, which when multiplied with 11,438 seats in the stadium provide a considerable capital. It was interesting to learn that IBM, a technological company, was one of Wimbledon main sponsor is IBM, is the Official Information Technology and System Supplier, and consultant of the championship. Some of the main characteristics of the Wimbledon Information System (WIS) include advanced multi-media system designed and developed by IBM and the Club, providing all information on this and previous Championships including the players bibliography from 1999. It also has commentators’ screens, which presents a tailored view of the match and statistics. IBM provides precise speed guns that can tell where the ball landed (Wimbledon Web). I learnt how technologies such as instant replays and Automatic Information Systems (AIS) are becoming important into tennis (Basketball, tennis, and racing). Leagues using instant replay technology in official decision making include the National Hockey League, National Football League, Canadian Football League, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball. In contrast, football, FIFA does not permit video evidence during matches, although it is permitted for subsequent disciplinary sanctions. In my opinion, it is important instant replay technology is important (Sharp Web). Another great experience that focused on sponsorship was the BBC day, on May 21 where we learnt a lot from the main speaker of the day, in addition to two other experienced professionals from the sport business. In 2012, BBC will be broadcasting world-class events like the Olympic Games, Diamond Jubilee, Champion League and the New Year eves. We learnt of the several reasons why BBC is excited to sponsor this event which include ability to focus on the events in UK, Sports, global news coverage, legacy to increase viewers, and incorporation of digital technology. This visit demonstrated the wide range of technologies BBC is using such as the planned broadcasting of event on BBC 1, 2 and while launching a new technology called Super Hi-Vision in BBC 3, a programing approach that will focus on the fans and atmosphere of the game. BBC is impressively integrating technology into their website. Such as a system that can tell game and player’s information in real time. For example, I would be able to look at Qatar results of games sooner than expected or view missed games online. BBC broadcasters are excited about broadcasting and sponsoring the Olympic Games, and will use the logo “Every Season, Every Sport, and Every Day” in addition to providing online results on their well-designed and user-friendly website. This could grant BBC popularity but it has a disadvantage since it will require a lot of focus, funds, and planning which might be a constraint and could affect other broadcasting sectors. If BBC is not careful, enough they might harm their classic customers and this is dangerous in a long term. We were able to learn a few aspects on the value of sponsorship, for example, Adidas and Nike are struggling to be sponsors of the channel and the event. Other areas visited during the tour include the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) where we learnt about the government and sports in the United Kingdom, the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and Anti-doping. This was helpful since I will be working in Qatar Olympic Committee. We also visited the Rugby Union and we had a presentation and tour in the big Stadium. During the tour, we met Christos Michaels, who talked about the film industry. I had a fantastic day since familiarized myself with Rugby, and I learnt several benefits of films industry. We also visited Chelsea football club and met the CFO, Paul Ramos who talked about the strategies the club uses to obtain money and the new law s issued by UFEA. We also had a chance to visit the O2 arena and attended Jay –Z concert about the management of the arena. Conclusion For a sporting event to run efficiently and effectively, sponsorship crucial since it aids in funding new equipment, drinks, decorations, and advertisement a perfect example being construction of Emirates stadium funded by Emirates airline. A sports world without sponsors would be unimaginable. As much as money does not build a team spirit, a team needs capital infusion to survive, and sponsorship is a key way of getting funds. The way sports managers are using technology is encouraging, and the direct involvement of the sponsors somehow makes it a controversial topic like in case of instant replay technology in Soccer. The sports industry is rapidly growing, and though it has its pros and cons, I think it is a worth industry for sponsors to invest in. One of the most important lessons that I learned was that all around the world sports bring people together irrespective of their faith, color or the believes. I am happy that I can differentiate sports funding strategies between USA and UK and different aspects of sponsorship. Works Cited Aeltec, About Wimbledon - Information Sheets Information Technology." 28 June 2010. Web. 18 Jun 2012. . Sharp, Drew. "Instant replay wont make for better games in any sport." USA Today 11 Feb 2009 < http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/sharp/2009-11-01-instant-replay_N.htm>. Sport England. Sponsorship. 2012. 12 July 2012 . The Associated Press. "New York State Assembly questions Yankee Stadium funding." Daily News 13 June 2008 thestadiumguide. Emirates Stadium. 2012. 12 July 2012 . Wimbledon. The History of the Championships. IBM Corp. 2011. Web. 12 Jun 2012. . Read More