NU Speaker Series| Exploring Sports Tourism and Economic Impact with Mark Neville, CEO of Sports SD

e we'll be getting started in just a moment waiting to let everyone in e we'll get started in just a moment please continue to enter in the chat where you're joining us from let's get started welcome to the National University speaker series my name is Dr Nancy Roland Heinrich and I have the privilege of serving as the Executive Vice President of community engagement for National University I am proud to be the founder and host of Our National University speaker series for the past four years we have held more than 40 webinars with notable presenters and subject matter experts on a wide array of topics please note that all these past sessions have been recorded and you are more than welcome to view them on the Nu website today is something new for us we have not had any speakers in the sports industry so we're excited for those of you joining whether you're an Alum faculty staff or Community member our speaker series is open to all participants and today I'm sure we have many sports fans National University was started in 1971 and has a rich history of providing accessible and relevant higher ed programs to meet the needs of non-traditional working and Military students I'm proud to share that we now have more than 50,000 students enrolled in more than a 100 degree programs national university has reached 200,000 graduates and a combined Alumni network of 240,000 which also includes our graduates from North Central University and JFK University today as mentioned we have a unique Topic in the sports industry you will be provided a behind the-scenes look and given an inside scoop of how Sports relate to economic impact marketing and the tourism industry I cannot think of anyone more appropriate to share his insight and knowledge on this topic than the CEO of Sports San Diego Mr Mark Neville Mark is a highly visible leader in the sports industry he is frequently featured on broadcasts regarding major sporting events Mark also serves as an announcer at events for NCAA basketball and at times for professional sports his true expertise is in recruiting negotiating managing and executing major sporting activities he is well known for his expertise in the bow industry in September Mark received the 2024 award for Innovation and economic impact from lead San Diego at their Visionary Awards Sports San Diego oversees the Holiday Bowl radi children's Invitational the Cal State Games and the sports commission for San Diego so today's topic will be interesting with a focus touching on youth Collegiate professional and international Athletics all encompassed in major sporting events following the session we will have a moderated Q&A today's moderator will be Mark Sawyer mark is the VP of marketing for Sports San Diego and Mark also joins us with tremendous expertise in Sports Marketing the bowl industry and major sporting events so let's find out more about the broader impact and complexity of sports on a region the community and what those economic drivers are today's format will be an interview style so please wait um you can submit your questions in the Q&A and those will be addressed after the formal interview between Mark and Mark so it is at this time it is my pleasure to turn the program over to Mark Neville the CEO of Sports San Diego who will be interviewed by Mark Sawyer audience I truly hope you enjoy this discussion Mark and Mark it's all yours all right well thank you very much Nancy hello good afternoon to everybody uh listening from looks like all over the country thank you so much for joining us as Nancy said we're pretty excited to to present today and as she said there's no person better than to talk about the impact of sports tourism than Mark Neville and uh as a preview today we plan to talk about some historical context about the sports tourism industry to set the backdrop the role Sports San Diego plays and all of that and if you're lucky a little glimpse into what's ahead and I think all of you at least some of you locals are excited about some of the sporting events of today go Padre's we're rooting hard for our hometown team and uh hopefully we can carry that through line today of of some of the great events that are happening here in San Diego so you know with that Mark thank you uh thank you for serving as our as our keynote today and as a jumping off point for this discussion uh if you could give us an overview of the sports tourism industry nationally and the impact it has I think that'd be a great place for us to start and Mark if you could come off from you bud and there we go and we 24 um thanks Mark and thanks Nancy for for having us this is uh we're we're really honored to to be part of your program this week um so Sports tourism is a huge industry uh in fact in 2023 over 200 million people in the United States traveled to a sporting event that's a huge number it's a number that is continuing to grow um it this is the numbers that we're at right now now are considerably higher than they were pre pandemic um we anticipate there could be another 10 to 15% growth in this year our current year 2024 uh it's a$ 52 billion industry That's Just Sports tourism that's not tourism that is just Sports tourism and uh it's something that here in San Diego we have just not been getting our fair share of the Pyon we we needed to to get more active in that space so that same Diego can be a better place um you're thinking nationally again um there were more than 3/4 of a million jobs created because of sports tourism um more than 20 billion dollars in tax revenues were created because of sports T tourism so again um that is really what prompted us to become more active to have more success to get a B our fair share of the pie uh of those 200 million plus people who travel last year so we use economic impact a lot in in in how we talk about sports tourism uh specifically as it relates to San Diego what unique impacts does Sports have uh in terms of kind of that real life application of where that economic impact is felt well I mean here locally in San Diego um you it creates thousands of jobs the the economic impact in fact I'll tell you um from who we are we were I know we'll get into this in a little bit but just as a snapshot from what we used to do our organization sport San Diego used to just run the Holiday Bowl holiday bow football game and when we were doing the holiday bow we were driving between 15 and 25,000 uh room Knights a year uh during a very slow period of time now with what we're doing to sport San Diego and this is an indication of the success and the impact that we now have um in our first year as Sports San Diego the year that ended June 30 202 three we did over or we did 100,000 room nights so we went from 15 to 25,000 to 100,000 in just one year um the second year the year that ended this past June 30 we did 130,000 nights so and that that impact is felt with you know with terms of economic impact for not only the hotels but for our locally owned shops and locally owned restaurants our local attractions um it creates tax revenues that helps to fill potholes and address the homeless issue that we have here in San Diego it while it it looks like on its face it's just yeah we're putting we're bringing a soccer tournament to San Diego on the impact of it is is very far and wide so you alluded to this earlier of kind of the some of the evolution that's been felt Sports San Diego as a brand name is is is a relatively new name in town and uh but the history seems to run a little bit deeper you you referenced the Holiday Bowl take us through the Journey of of how Sports San Diego came to be so the organization the Holiday Bowl which we ran for for many many years for 45 years now when that started it was under the umbrella of the greater San Diego Sports Association which at the time was the sports commission um I start as you can tell by my my slightly receding hairline I started here um a long long time ago uh in 1991 and at that time we were still under that umbrella when um and then in the mid 90s we separated off Sports Commission went one way and the holiday bow went another way both organizations thrived um in big ways were very impactful um on the sports commission side it it thrived until the last Super Bowl that was here uh in 2003 um and after that the the group that was running the sports commission at the time um the focus changed a little bit in that they went the direction of recognizing local athletic achievement and to this day they do an amazing job like a tremendous organization and there have been Sports commission efforts in fact um it was underneath our our local tourism Authority for a few years um and so everything things were were going all right um it was in 2018 was a big year for us in 2018 um we hosted we in the Navy versus Notre Dame football game huge success for San Diego is the the last sell out in our old stadium um big numbers uh for hotel room nights economic impact during an off peak period it was in late October and when that game ended at our next board meeting we um had a conversation about doing more for San Diego and by doing other sports events could we reassume that role of being the sports commission um and our board uh there they're a bunch of Visionaries I will tell you and so they took it on like let's do it and so I would say maybe a week after that we had our first meeting to host a basketball tournament here in San Diego um and then we started the process of of becoming sport becoming the sports commission and other things so with um it took a lot of work a lot of dialogue a lot of cooperation in the community um and fast forward to February of 2022 was when we announced that we be became Sports San Diego and under that umbrella of Sports San Diego at the time was the holiday bow the Direct TV Holiday Bowl um taking on the sports commission efforts uh and and then that was basically it at the time we were also taking on another event called the California state games um but it really I'm not sure Mark if you want me to keep on going to what we look like today absolutely um but we we really took this on we we didn't just dip our toes in the water here we we jumped in head first into the pool and and uh so with Sports San Diego is our parent company is that's the own that's our nonprofit um big name it's this logo on my shirt that is our that is the top of of the organization chart and then we have four four verticals that that feed up into that name one being the Holiday Bowl of course another being the um the sports Commission uh another one being the r children's Invitational which is that basketball tournament that we got started uh a year ago on Thanksgiving and then finally the California state games uh which we also own and operate it's the the largest Olympic style sports festival in the state of California uh which is sponsored by National University by the way and uh and so with all of that that's how we've started to generate these crazy great numbers for for the region so no shortage of things uh that you're dealing with sounds like you've got kind of two unique business pieces you've got your owned and operated events that you outlined between the Holiday Bowl the ready children's Invitational and the California State Games as well as the sports commission that seems to have more of a recruitment element to it why as as why bring those Under One Roof and more specifically why do you choose to own and operate events so the well first your first question why we have each of these lines of business is that Sports tourism requires a singular effort um it needs to have a focus on Sports tourism and so then to get into your your next question about uh why we do these other events so everything that we do and and where we are ultimately going to get is that we want to drive 250,000 room nights and $250 million a year for San Diego um that would be huge and so so our staff knows this um our board knows this like every decision that we make um from uh from now moving forward whe either indirectly or directly must um get us to that 250,000 per year number a hotel room night number and so that can be directly or indirectly um directly by bringing in events that are going to drive hotel room nights and and tourism but we also need to make this a sustainable effort and a huge challenge for us um is funding um it is you know I'd love to say that this is just a piece of cake you know we're doing all this we're doing great but we've also had some challenges too financially and and so um we've been working really hard at making this a sustainable model well one of the ways to do that is by owning and operating your own events um you know the the Holiday Bowl and it's Heyday um is generating you know we were adding two three $400,000 a year on it um right now it's about a break even entity just because of all the changes in college athletics um but these other events can help Drive revenues um to help make our effort sustainable for the long term um we are also doing some other fundraising efforts as well the sponsorship efforts are very important um support by the community is very important um from our Civic officials and Civic Partners um very important and so everything like every literally every decision that we make has to get us to 250,000 room Knights one way or the other so you mentioned that's probably a nice segue as we kind of look to the Future and again for those of you listening uh we are moderating the Q&A and we will Reserve time at the end to do to answer some of those questions so make sure you open that question and answer box as we go throughout this and we'll be sure to to get some of those questions at the end but Mark you mentioned kind of the end of the road and that North Star of 250,000 room nights um you know let's let's get a little inside baseball here let's put pull back the curtain a little bit what's on the horizon for Sports San Diego right now anything you can share in terms of uh what the team's working on or at least what you're excited about yeah I I will tell you that we are really grateful and lucky to have and San Diego is really lucky to have pretty amazing team here um be at our board of directors or our uh red coat ambassadors which is our primary volunteer group and our staff is is remarkable um there are a couple of events that that we have already announced that are out there on the horizon right now that are going to be a big help towards this um one for example the world Athletics Road running championships are coming to San Diego uh next September um big event Global event Global participation um the last time this event was held was last October in 2023 in Ria lvia um the event has been in Spain um after us it's going to be in uh Copenhagen Denmark um an event that that will have a huge impact for us um the Breeders Cup is going to be here in the region up at delmare for um the next two years um that event has been a tremendous success the last times it's been here um very confident it will be again this year and next year um we have a couple major events that are coming to Southern California or be part of Southern California coming up um obvious viously the Olympics in 2028 uh is something that we have our our eyes set on to to be able to to attract business for that number one um we want San Diego to be a training site for Olympic teams um and pretty confident that we will have some success we've already been having lots of meetings and discussions about about that um right now there's four Sports um that don't have homes yet U so can one of those come down here to San Diego I don't know um but we certainly will'll give it a try uh and then going and and also for fans we're we're just a 100 miles south of of downtown Los Angeles here so um would love for for Global visitors to to spend time in San Diego so there's some really great opportunities there um the World Cup in 2026 you know we're working on that right now as well uh would love to have teams train here um in the leadup and and and make this their home for for a couple few weeks um so that's really exciting we're already going out into 30 2031 and 2033 um the the Rugby World Cup the men are in 31 and and the women are in in uh 2033 huge events monster events um and as we've seen over over the summer we we hosted the All Blacks and and Fiji here and it sold out Snapdragon stadium was one of the best experiences I've had um since I've been working here for for 33 years um and then you know that that doesn't those are just like more The Spectator events you know there's a participation events that that people don't even you know that that might not make it into the newspapers and and TV news but are significant have a significant impact um on the region for us like we just had um us flag football was here with flagfest that probably was a 6,000 room night generator um with that event um and so we're working on a ton of things it is it's constantly working on bids um accepting rfps um and again wanting to do as well as we can for the region so I'm hearing everything from flag football to rugby to soccer to I think we have USA Ultimate Frisbee as well we got pickle ball coming in January so pickle ball yeah yeah pickle ball is on its way USA pickle ball certainly no shortage not to mention Olympics which is every sport so certainly no shortage of for those of you fans out there a lot of things to get excited about from a spectator sport perspective but again from a participant perspective there's quite a few that maybe fly under that radar a little bit um so you you mentioned World Cup you mentioned Olympics obviously there's uh a lot that goes into putting in a bid for any of these respective events whether it's a Collegiate event professional vent or otherwise I gotta ask what type of an advantage do you feel San Diego as a destination gives you I I mean this is no disrespect to everyone who's out there who's doesn't live in San Diego um but it's tough to argue that there's anywhere else in the world other than San Diego that has a better climate on a yearr round basis sure and again we're a little biased here in San Diego but it's a pretty awesome place um very attractive destination for sports um and so that definitely is u a benefit of ours that said um there was a survey done by um event organizers of what they look for when they are going to uh when they're considering where they're going to take their their event um and the single most important piece and it again it's largely Financial is what that Community is going to do for them you know are they going to provide free rent are they going to uh underwrite police services and permit fees and and things like that um that's number one number two uh is the cost you know how much is it going to cost them to to have an event um for their participants and things like that so those are are two things that we actually don't score well on you know San Diego is an expensive place um we don't have a lot of incen incentives for them um we cannot rely on just being in a really cool city um so we are actually working on a couple programs to that end um we want to make San Diego we want to make California um more attractive for event organizers there are models out there first on the the state side um you know Texas is very successful Florida's there there I think right now there's 23 or 24 different states that have programs in place to incentivize events to come to their states um and so we are working on a program right now with with uh kesi all the other sports commissions the big Sports Commissions in the state of California and uh working with Cal travel and and to try to create a similar fund that will help make California more uh competitive in that regard uh on the local side here in the state of Cal or the city of San Diego um we don't really have programs in place currently that incentivize events to come here um and so we are working on a plan um at City Hall currently um that would be a zero lose um uh scenario for the city um and it would be such that there would be funding that we can access essentially this is a reader digest version of this but where we can we're not going to be able to provide free rent or free services or things like that but what we can do is provide funds um to an organization that we can prove is going to provide x amount of tax revenues well we can give a percentage of that to them and it would only be given to them if they're coming so it and for the city it would be a zero lose proposition only a gain um and I think if we get success with those two in those two regards um we'll realize greater success um in bringing more events to the and you know selfishly to the city of San Diego so let's get into some of the there's some sports questions that are always top of Mind here in recent years as the college landscape has certainly changed um has from from what I've heard between between uh nil deals NCAA changes um you know everyone you know the billion dollar question everyone's always asking is you know where where does everything go from here but certainly over the past you know months and years now there's there's been updates of what the nil landscape is and how that's going to impact college sports as an organizer of two collegiate sporting events that you own and operate as well as an organization that actively bids on recruiting other events to come to San Diego how do you see nil impacting your day-to-day owned and operated events and and where do you see things going from here from your if you're going to put your expert cap on here for a second to prognosticate well how is it going to impact us it already has um in significant ways and um you know there it's it's it's interesting because there haven't been any guard rails put in place to really govern how nil is is is is governed um and so I'll just speak to the football game um in particular you know a lot of it um there there's there's so many more issues than just nil um in college athletics and and um in in college football there's a lot of things especially in the postseason um where we've been challenged Through The Years um and more and more every year is student athletes are opting out at the games because they're being told by agents and um their agents are talking to their parents that the bowl games don't mean anything and just don't even play in the games anymore U fortunately not everyone buys into that and they shouldn't um because I always think of college football or football as being the greatest team sport there is and I'm not a big fan of when when uh kids back out or quit on their team um during the bowl games but you have that you have um you have coaches that are leaving their jobs or getting fired right after the regular season you have uh this thing called an early signing deadline where coaches are more focused on um recruiting than they are on the bowl games um and then nil is a big piece of it you know and so um we are working on a few programs where nil can actually help bowl games um you know I'm not saying that's where it's going to go but at least there are good attempts at it uh and so and then in college basketball you know we as part of our program you know we pay teams to come here and now we we do get questions every once in a while um from teams is that rather than paying the teams can we contribute to um nil collectives that you know can go to the players um I don't really have any problem with that at all um I think it's great that that players can can monetize their their name and image and likeness um but it has totally upset the apple cart you know there's I college athletics I think is the greatest I I love college football and I love college basketball and I Love College athletics I you know with with all these changes in college athletics it's definitely threatening um threaten that uh and so where it's going to go there is not one person on the planet that can tell you where this is heading um you know we like to be proactive when we're planning things um but with the changes you know whether it's conference realignment or playoff expansion um for football um there are so many changes it's really hard to be proactive you know we do a lot of scenario planning around here you know depending on which direction it's going to go so we can be as Pro Pro active as possible um you know I mean we're thinking of things I really can't get into right now that are so outside the box um that and we have to and really every organization like ours like ours that is engaged in college athletics really needs to be thinking outside the box really needs to prepare for whatever scenario will play out um so you know rather than being completely reactive everyone is kind of on the Forefront of it and having as good of understanding I will say there are things that have happened in the last year or two that uh I didn't see coming you know and that's going to continue to happen um as we move along all right so you've got you you you have combined two Unique Industries so you're the CEO of a civic-minded nonprofit whose focus is to drive economic impact through Sports so you've got this Sports yet civic-minded nonprofit that you have to BL all that together you've mentioned funding as challenges in the past uh what's a challenge of being a leader of a sports Centric nonprofit that most of us probably wouldn't realize what are some of the unique challenges in your world unique so it is there's a lot of competition out there for in the sports tourism marketing place there's a lot of competition for bowl games there's a lot of competition with ba college basketball tournaments um there's competition for the tourism dollar you know for the sports tourism um what we do uh we're not that traditional nonprofit right it's a little different we're not you know like the make A- Wish Foundation which is great R children's h i mean there's so many great Charities out there um we're a little different and that what we do is really important um but it's hard to we're challenged by making people aware that we're important you know people see us putting on to Direct TV Holiday Bowl and and you know it's a football game it's great um people don't the basketball tournament the radi children's Invitational it's great that that you know we have one of the most respected if not the most respected um charities in San Diego um so involved in that game not only as a sponsor but as a beneficiary um but we're not R children's hospital so what we need to do is get out there and tell people why we are important um not only in the San Diego Community but in in the in the sports landscape and uh so it's a little harder for us I feel I I think we we to to raise money because again we are budget this year is 12.5 million and there's only ex so many revenue streams that that we can tap into currently um to get that $ 12.5 million and to fill that Gap uh that's why we are getting creative and some of the things that we're thinking about that can be additional revenue streams um we need to let San Diego's uh corporate Community know why we do what we do we're not just having fun putting on a football game now don't get me wrong it is a lot of fun putting on a football game a lot of fun bringing in these events it was a lot of fun um being a part of of you know bringing Manchester United here the last two summers bring the All Blacks in Fiji here um this last summer it is fun work it's great work um at the same time it's hard um and where my stress level comes from and where I struggle sleeping at night is thinking long term on how we're going to continue to be able to pay the bills year in and year out um because the the revenue streams are limited I do think we are getting better I think you know our our way of thinking um accessing Revenue opportunities that we never have even tried in the past is going to serve us well um but I will say you know raising money is is a challenging Endeavor for us so we're gonna ask I've got one more question before we get into the the question and answer portion of this but you know one of the as as huge partners of National University sport San Diego obviously one of the things we love most about National University is how much they support the military here locally and I know for Sports San Diego historically for the Holiday Bowl the military has been an integral part of of really um the fabric of the game and now the the nonprofit at large what role does military certainly as an industry play Within San Diego in sports tourism but specifically how are you integrating with the military and what role do they play yeah I mean one thing that people don't realize even San diegans don't have a clue about this a lot of them don't that that San Diego that the the has the largest concentration of military service members in the world the largest concentration of military service members is here in San Diego and so um I mean it it it for us we need and want to tap into that and so you know as long as I've been working here and as long as as the holiday Bulls been around um we celebrate the military you know we weage engage them in as many things as possible um and to showcase our how proud We Are to host the Navy and the Marines and and the Coast Guard and um to a lesser extent in terms of numbers the Army and the Air Force and um and the defense industry is really big and and so we we love celebrating um our military community and um and there's even events you know we we just had um the department of defense's War Warrior games were were here last year out in Coronado um at Naval Air Station North Island which is an awesome event a tourism driving event in its own right um so uh we are very fortunate to have the military um here in San Diego they're awesome you know the whole country celebrates them well we're in their backyard here with so many of them and uh that is a really rewarding part of of what we do here at Sports San Diego so at this point we're going to open it up for those of you that haven't yet please uh submit your questions in the question and answer portion of uh of the dialogue box there uh just not to be confused with the chat box I know we've got two places there mark we've had a few come in so I'm GNA rapid fire some as they come in um first off um uh our friend Nicole asks if you're working towards sustainability do you partner with SDSU and specifically the school of hotel and tourism management Recreation uh enter as a management for internship opportunities for students uh the quick answer to that is yes we do um we actually have had several interns from from that program um they've been involved in doing surveying for us as well separately than than the internship programs um we've spoken uh to their classes several times Through The Years man I bet I've probably spoken there 20 times over the last 30 plus plus years so um yes we are we are engaged with that program and and it's it's a great one uh and Parker asked me the uh you made a transition earlier this year uh for the holiday bow the venue change you went from Petco Park to Snapdragon kind of speak into the process of of of what went into that and what you're excited about here now with the new venue yeah so I I will say first and foremost um a go Padres note um when when our Stadium Qualcomm Stadium sdcc Stadium at the time um was raised uh we needed a place to play excuse me and um the Padres were there for us and so we worked very closely with them um to and making that a great football facility and I'm going to cough again so I'm going to mute for a second excuse me okay um and so um it was a great venue the fans who came from out of town um loved it down there many of our out of town guests who come for the game stay in downtown properties uh we have a series of events that are downtown leading up to the Bowl game and that the fact that Petco Park is right downtown it was it was awesome great venue I mean it's going to be rocking tonight um going back to to Snapdragon Stadium or going to Snapdragon stadium is really going home for us um I will tell you the primary reason for the move is that Snapdragon stadium is a football stadium um Petco Park is not uh it can accommodate football um and it did really well for the two years that we played there uh but the uh Snapdragon stadium is a football stadium and if you can imagine you know we're bringing in sod um downtown at Petco Park and there are expenses there that we don't have to absorb at Snapdragon and if Snapdragon Stadium wasn't a great venue we wouldn't have even considered it regardless of the cost um but since Snapdragon stadium and for those of you who have been to it um it's awesome you know there's not a bad seed in the venue uh it's very open we're going to be able to activate in ways that we have never in our 45 years I've ever been able to activate and uh so it we've heard it from our ticket holders that they're very excited about the move um and uh we're excited as an organization to be to putting it on back in our old home in Mission Valley so what uh what future events are you hoping to secure I'm sure there's ndas and things you can and cannot talk about but uh Parker asked about Champions League matches what's what's kind of the scope of what you dream and what you're hoping to achieve yeah I mentioned a lot of them you know that we want to capitalize on you know we have had some success here uh and this is really specific I I won't even say specific to Snap Dragon stadium because it's beyond that um so with soccer you know we've had success with soccer having uh the the conera women's Gold Cup was just here the leagues cup was here um and then we attracted uh Manchester United here twice you know these last two these last two summers um and Snapdragon Stadium sets up as a great soccer venue we see it with San Diego wave um San Diego FC being here starting next year um it is a great soccer venue but it's not just that venue that makes San Diego attractive um for clubs uh like Manchester United and and uh real Bettis from another European team um we had Bundesliga team here in Dortmund um last summer Manchester United you know they're one of the biggest professional sports franchises in the world and they trained up at UC San Diego on campus there and they their manager said that that is the best facility in the United States um for training and um so that's something UC should be really proud of it's something that I'm proud of as an Alum um but we also have other great places uh for training also here in San Diego so um we are going to be working on more uh International matches um of course we'd love to get some English Premier League teams more English Premier League teams we're actually having dialogue about that kind of thing right now we want to get more active in the promoter space so for us taking on the risk of those matches but also hopefully yielding some reward for us as well um and it's not just soccer though either you know we're we're working on we want to U get more success in the lacrosse space um we want to get like with the world lacrosse or things like that um and in rugby you know rugby it was magical that Manchester or that all black and Fiji match that was here in July um that was one of the most special events I've ever been to and uh rugby is has such a loyal following um so we would like to get secure more International Rugby matches as well and um we're going to be working hard at that we're already engaged in that um lacrosse is another sport that that um is is quickly growing and and a lot of the sports that are going to be in s or in La 2028 uh we want to capitalize on those you know whether it's like squash for example uh we've had meetings about squash and um and sports that I've never played and and know very little about um but they they're they're they wonderful followings and can be impactful for our region so so that's a that's a good segue here uh friend of the program Chris codington asks how does Sports San Diego make money by helping to bring an event to San Diego so whether it's an example like the All Blacks and there's probably a little bit more business to that is you know there's what we're trying to stand as a benefit for the city but how is Sport San Diego stand to make money from any of these events and how Chris coton was allowed to ask a question in this forum uh just kidding Chris um so it's it's a really good question um because a lot of times we don't realize any revenues um for it you know it's just something that we work our purpose our our charge is to bring events to San Diego now there are times um and and we provide a lot of services for free um be it Hotel sourcing or venue sourcing um helping to secure additional funding um for those organizations um we do that just because that's what we do as a sports commission um there are times though and I'll say uh the All Blacks matches the the the match the the uh Manchester United matches um we do get contracted to help with certain things be it with pageantry uh volunteer sourcing um many other things but there we will enter into contracts every once in a while with events that are here just because we're boots on the ground we have a local knowledge um I would put our group group up against any you know in terms of um an expertise in in producing events um and having a wealth of experience uh be it positive or negative um on what works uh in San Diego so we do receive um some funding that way from events um that come into town but I will say very little though it's it's a fraction of of what our overall budget is so a couple questions that have come in that uh the first one was how can someone get involved with sport San Diego that's a great question that's my favorite one um if you go to our website at sportsand diego.org there is um an opportunity there where you can sign up um and then you'll be you'll be uh uh someone on our staff will reach out to you immediately um and get you lined up so you can get in the in the no for uh um participating in certain events that come up and uh maybe even more engaged than that too so um please if you want to join us please do it's a it's a fun it's a fun place to go and then for people involved in the organizing side of sports how does someone go about sending an RFP for a future sporting event so how how are we going about that right so in terms of is the question about if we want or somebody wants to bring their event here the question was how does someone go about sending an RFP for a future sporting event so I think so probably both sides of it ideally yeah yeah so one way you know when when an organization uh like I I will tell you the perfect example of bid that we won was the world Athletics Road running championships which is the world championships for the mile 5K and a half marathon and it's the world's best Runners U but also uh any any recreational Runner can participate as well really amazing event um but that event they send out the or World Athletics sent out an RFP to communities all around the world and it was a thick one very thick RFP um and so we seek them out oftentimes you know so if we're looking to bring an event we will find them on websites or we go to conventions throughout the year you know four or five conventions throughout the year um where we learn about RFP processes and things like that um for events we don't necessarily send out RFP um because we're we're more on the other side of the coin and so we're trying to get those events here um get those National governing bodies here or what have you um so either we receive them because people want to come to San Diego and they ask if we will that happens quite quite often um or on the other side we will seek them out we got to be aggressive with it if you just kind of rest on it you're not going to realize much success another friend of the program here richel Kilwin's got a question about uh sports that are culturally significant to San Diego so think skateboarding surfing how did those type of sports figure into the growth of Sports San Diego and sports tourism specifically so we we do we do actually have and and hi Richard um we do actually have a lot of those those events here you know BMX is pretty big um we did secure the world surf leagues Junior World Championships here um up to Cardiff um or not at Cardiff up at um oh gosh just north of Grand View anyway um and uh and so we do try to capitalize on that we're going to be able to do so even more now with the Olympics coming um and some of the sports you know like surfing for example which is a part of the Olympics um very important um you know it's those are lifestyle events that lifestyle sports that you know we're some cases were born here in Southern California so we like to capitalize on those um a lot of those events are becoming bigger and bigger you know evidenced by the fact that they made it into the Olympic Games and so and the Advent of X Games and things like that so uh Richard to be sure uh we want more of those those Sports here in San Diego no doubt about it and then I caught a note also in the chat from Bonnie of um really looking at some of the things we do to dress up San Diego to host a sporting event so you know what types of needs does each organizer have as it relates to hospitality or Fitness accommodations or Food Services or is it just about the facilities the local culture like how what is it about San Diego and all the amenities that you need to present yeah so that that's a really good question and I can answer it in many many different ways but I will say um so for the holiday bll for example you know we bring all these people to town to me and I'm sure many of you have traveled to a sporting event before and as I have many times and the events that I enjoy the most are the ones where the community really buys into those events um and I will tell you an event that I like probably the most fun event that I've gone to um just because the community gets so into it is the Indianapolis 500 um in Indianapolis that whole Community is behind that event you get off the airplane there's race cars in the airport and check Flags everywhere you drive through the communities the the the you during the day it's black and white checkered flags all over the place if you go through through uh neighborhoods and I know this because my my wife is from Indianapolis and um there all the neighborhoods are decked out like it's it's it's Christmas um but it's for car racing and it just makes it a lot more fun um and so it's a challenge you know we try to do that when people come into town for any of these events we want them to realize that they're here and that they that San Diego welcomes them um and there's so many ways you can do that whether it's through restaurant programs or or um uh ticket programs where participants get discounts to things um whether it's decorated the community is decorated and and I I frankly I'll tell you I think we can do better here in San Diego with that um ComicCon I think is probably the best at it you know there's a lot of money that goes be it but ComicCon there's no doubt when you come into San Diego during ComiCon that you're here for ComicCon um you know I would love for that to be replicated more I know not to that degree um but I think it's important for uh the big events that are making a big impact here in in the community that um that they are celebrated and and uh more welcoming to to people coming into town so uh and and thank you everyone for your Q&A we may not be able to get to everybody's questions and I know we want to be sensitive to time most importantly for those of you making your way to Petco Park got first pitch coming up here you know um Mark want to leave it with with with a question as it relates to um Again Sports San Diego being a new brand and you having this opportunity today to speak to a lot of enthusiasts of around the country and certainly San diegans here locally what's one parting thought what's something you want people to take away from today as it relates to the Impact Sports San Diego is having um and certainly any ways that uh they can get involved or certainly want to support this organization yeah and I know there's there's people from all around the country um watching this um for San diegans uh it's just really important that you know that our organization Sports San Diego that people understand not only what we do but why we do um most people I'm sure even today you know if you think of our most popular brand it is the holiday Bulls it's been around forever um there's a really great history here in San Diego um but and and the Direct TV holiday is going to continue to be significant impact player for the community um but what it is important for us that the community understands what we do we now are not only the holiday bow we also are the r children's Invitational Basketball Tournament we are the California State Games we serve as the sports commission to bring all these amazing events um and I got to tell you like I I can't thank our team enough you know our staff is incredible um and our volunteers are amazing and we San Diego is really lucky um to have that group and um but more we need more people to know what we do and why we do it um because for us to be able to continue to to to have this crazy success you know going from 15 to 25,000 room nights to 100,000 to 130 and on our way to $250,000 we can't do it on our own um we are going to need uh our corporate support Civic support and we already do get some of that there's no question about it that it's so we're so grateful to have it um but we for us to be able to continue to do so we need more support no doubt about it so with that either Heather or Nancy I think Mark and I are are more than happy to answer any last minute questions either from yourselves but really really appreciate the opportunity to share with all of you today hope you hopefully you learned a few things got a glimpse into what's going on but uh thank you very much for for having us today well Mark and Mark you've done just a phenomenal job and because of background noise because yes I am on my way to the Padre game I'm gonna have Heather go ahead and close us out but I do believe that all of our audience has learned so much more about just the you know all the idiosyncrasies of the sports industry how it you know there's so many twists and turns and it's a very competitive Marketplace and I know Sports San Diego has really helped make economic impact on San Diego because of sports but Heather let's turn it over to you thank you Nancy and thank you Mark and Mark for both being here tonight um I know I learned a lot and I could tell from the engagement our attendees we're very excited to learn from you as well so if you had further questions or you'd like to be in touch with Mark um for any future events or to get more involved with Sports San Diego the Sports San Diego website's on the screen um and you're welcome to reach out to Mark Sawyer directly M Sawyer at Hol holiday.com um and then we're going to show you a few upcoming events um for especially for our alumni Lindsay I'll advance that quickly so here's some events we have coming up in the in the next couple of weeks I'd like to draw your attention particular particularly for alumni to the alumni association meeting um a fun event our virtual Halloween party um and then the next Anu speaker series featuring one of our uh alumni Shan loer um so we look forward to seeing you at those events and thank you all for joining us tonight go Padres thank you everyone

2024-10-14 11:02

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