MetLife Stadium Business Plan Ohio University Capstone 2018 Authored by Alec Koondel & Nicholas Kopka Edited by Katharina Elberti & Luke van Oort
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Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................
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2017 Year in Review ..........................................................................................................................
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Branding and Communication Branding Strategy .................................................................................................................... 10 Social Media ............................................................................................................................ 12 Convention and Visitors Bureaus / Trade Publications ........................................................... 14 Industry Opportunities Insurance .................................................................................................................................. PIANJ and PIANY Annual Conference ................................................................................... T3 Advisor Conference ............................................................................................................ PCI Annual Meeting ................................................................................................................ Health Care and Social Assistance .......................................................................................... Health and Wellness .............................................................................................................. Graduation and Commencement ............................................................................................. Sports .......................................................................................................................................
17 18 18 19 20 22 25 26
Outsourcing Event PSAV ........................................................................................................................................ 28 Social Tables ............................................................................................................................ 30 Freeman Expositions, Inc ........................................................................................................ 31
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
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Introduction MetLife Stadium is in a very unique position that many other stadiums and arenas cannot argue with. By hosting two separate National Football League (NFL) teams, MetLife Stadium can host games every week. Also, by being located in a large metropolitan area, the stadium can host a variety of concerts, shows, and other ticketed events. However, there is also a lot of space within the stadium itself, and the parking lot, that can be rented for non-ticketed events as well. These non-ticketed events are an excellent opportunity for sponsorship activation, ride-and-drive events, corporate meetings, conferences and tradeshows, and so much more. In order to continue to increase the revenue produced by these types of events, a review must be done on the current event structure, analyze potential branding and communication opportunities, determine new market segments in which MetLife Stadium can begin soliciting, and also consider creating a sales arm by partnering with event sales companies that have direct access to meeting planners. The following are demographic profiles of people that used convention centers / meeting destinations in the last 12 months. In order to make sure that the numbers represented were accurate, we took the results from the New York area and the United States as a whole to compare the two sets of numbers.
Demographic Profile - United States
Simmons Overview - Table 1
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Demographic Profile - New York
Simmons Overview - Table 2 The United States profile when compared to the New York profile below is not too different. The median household income is consistent although the median age, marriage, and children in household are different, these profiles may affect the types of events that MetLife Stadium hosts. The racial profiles are also much different, but as we stated, this is due to a much smaller sample size for the state of New York so that is why we are comparing these results to the entire United States profiles as well. It is important to obtain an understanding of the type of person that will be selecting potential venues so that sales personnel understand who their target demographic is. By doing so, we can begin building a buyer persona on the type of individual that would be interested in hosting their event at MetLife Stadium. Throughout the report, there will be examples of criteria that have been placed that will help develop the rationale behind selecting different branding and industry opportunities.
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
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2017 Year in Review In the year 2017 MetLife Stadium brought in approximately $1.6 million in total profit. The 2017 yearin-review provides a better understanding on where revenue was coming from and how it could increase further in the coming years. The year-in-review developed an understanding of what kinds of events that MetLife Stadium hosted. The way in which the information was gathered was by picking out key terms within the spreadsheet that supplied a comprehensive view on the events being hosted. Some key terms such as “event” were used which had its own meaning, but everything else was very specific which included: ride and drive events, bar / bat mitzvah, meeting, graduation and commencement, show, walk, expo and photo shoot. After developing the set of key words, a summation was used to identify the number of non-ticketed events were being held per category. Below is a table that provides further explanation.
Table 3 – Summation of Event Categories Profitability was another key factor that needed to be looked at to view which events were bringing in the most money and what events were contributing the least. In terms of profitability, you can see in the graph below that ride and drive’s and those events that were listed with the key term “event” in them were the most profitable, while graduation came in third and expo came in fourth. We can also see in the graph that meetings, walks, and photoshoots were some of the least profitable events that MetLife stadium hosted in 2017. This leads us to believe that these events are probably not worth the time and energy to attract, plan, and execute and that MetLife Stadium can make up for that by hosting other events that would yield higher margins.
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Table 4 – Total Profit per Event Category
Table 5 - Average Profit per Category In Table 5 (above) is a look at the average profit that each event produced based on the total profit and the number of events that were hosted. The total profit for the year in each category was divided by the number of events that were hosted in the same category. Expo does have a unique outlier in which one event produced over $130,000 in profit. From there on, it shows that graduations, shows, bar / bat mitzvahs and ride and drives all allocated on average over $10,000 per event.
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Table 6 - Events Hosted vs. Total Profit
The last item that was developed produces an interesting metric on the number of events hosted and the total profit that was created. Table 6 explains that events whose total profit exceeds the number of events hosted provides clarity on which events are being more profitable than others that are not. For example, graduations produced more revenue than the number of events that were hosted whereas photo shoots had less profit than the number of events that were being hosted. This is another criterion in determining which events should be considered and which events can either wait or be declined altogether.
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Branding and Communication Branding and communication is incredibly important for MetLife Stadium in order to prospect meeting planners that would want to use the space for different events. It is also important to effectively communicate the offerings that a venue has so that the customer understands the value that they are receiving from the organization. This is something that AT&T Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium do very well. They successfully market themselves as a destination rather than a professional sporting arena. Below is an example of the value proposition that Mercedes-Benz stadium uses to inform potential renters of what the stadium has to offer and the other is MetLife Stadium. These two value propositions are no different in what offerings there are, but the messages are clearly different.
Mercedes-Benz Value Proposition
MetLife Stadium Value Proposition
MetLife Stadium Value Proposition Below is a suggestion of a new value proposition that MetLife Stadium can use: “MetLife Stadium is more than a sporting arena… It is a travel destination capable of making your dreams come true. We can host any event to fit the needs of our customer; whether that includes: bar/bat mitzvah, conferences and trade shows, ride and drive events, weddings, and so much more, our goal is creating a unique experience that you cannot receive anywhere else. We are home to a variety of spaces to fit the exact needs of the customer capable of bringing your dream to reality in one of the most well-known venues in the world.” Across the United States, teams and organizations are designing stadiums and arenas with fan experience in mind more than ever. In many of these new venues we see amenities that we have never seen before like barber shops, Topgolf, and state-of-the-art technology. This poses a unique opportunity for MetLife stadium as they move toward increasing their total revenue and non-ticketed events. MetLife stadium has a multitude of exquisite spaces in other event spaces located within and around the arena to provide a multitude of unique opportunities for private events. However, this is not enough in today’s day of age when you see all these new stadiums with an immense amount of opportunities to do many other different activities. We need to set the bar high for MetLife stadium to create an atmosphere that is like none other despite not having some of these added amenities that you see across other venues.
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
10 | Branding Strategy Communication is key and the importance of reaching a large audience is vital to creating a large selection of opportunities for MetLife Stadium. Below is an outline of how convention / meeting site selection profiles are finding out about various sites in the United States. Across the board, people that pick meeting / convention sites are being impacted in many different ways above the industry average. Some of the more notable ways to reach this demographic are through the “Work PC” and “Tablet.” There are also opportunities for “PC at Home” and “Newspapers.” Some of the items that you would not expect reach are items like “Game Consoles,” “MP3,” and “Television.”
Reach by Index - United States, Last 7 Days
SimplyAnalytics - Table 7
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In a similar report, we analyzed the New York market reach as well in order to maintain consistency in analyzing opportunities for reach. Again, the top opportunities include: “PC at Work” and “Tablet.” “PC at Home” was much larger than the numbers based on the overall profile creating. The ideal way to communicate with potential meeting planners is through their work PC or on their tablet. PC at home is another great form a communication and can be done so by utilizing social media. Creating Facebook audiences can target ads to people that may have looked at a ticketed event at MetLife stadium, but now receive ads about hosting their own events. Profiles can be developed on the social media platform that can determine location, age, gender, and any interests or behaviors that the person exhibits. This type of targeting can potentially increase the amount of RFP’s that the stadium receives to host an event.
Reach by Index - New York, Last 7 Days
SimplyAnalytics - Table 8
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
12 | Social Media There is a very unique opportunity that MetLife stadium can not only capitalize on, but lead the industry in. When analyzing the MetLife Stadium Facebook page, there was a noticeable need for improvement. There was also a unique opportunity because of all the traffic that their Facebook page attracts. The proposed idea includes promoting non-ticketed events on Facebook to create a personal relationship between the client and MetLife Stadium. As MetLife Stadium obtains various events, they should add the event to their event related tabs on their social media pages, such as the Facebook page below:
Koondel Bar Mitzvah Sat 2 PM . 300 guests
Due to the traffic that is driven to this portion of their social media page, viewers would not expect to see weddings, bar/bat mitzvah’s, conferences, etc. listed on the page because they would be looking for entertainment options instead. However, because consumers may not know that they too can host an event at the venue, this creates an opportunity to advertise the non-ticketed rental options without paying for any advertisements. Including this type of option would certainly be dependent on the publicity of the event and whether or not the customer would be willing to have that information posted online in such a public setting. The post would clearly be private so that strangers cannot add themselves to an event, but instead to promote the different offerings that MetLife stadium can provide to the general population. If the MetLife Stadium expected a 10% return on the events, then of the 117,000 Facebook followers, the expectation would be that MetLife Stadium could potentially host another 1,700 events. Event 1% of a return would create 1,700 potential customers for the wide range of events that it hosts.
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
| 13 Convention and Visitors Bureaus / Trade Publications Marty Bechtold of Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana explained the importance of developing a relationship with the local organizations that help attract meeting planners to a specific location. For example, if there is a conference that wants to come to Indianapolis and would like to host a small conference for those in attendance, the organization that would find an appropriate venue, Visit Indy, would contact Bankers Life as a potential option based on the availability with the venue. It is key to have these relationships in place because these organizations have access to meeting planners that the venues would otherwise not have. Below is an image of featured meeting places at the Meadowlands Liberty Convention and Visitors Bureau. Upon clicking the link, it takes the user to a map and then includes a quick excerpt about what the stadium can host and then it can take the visitor to the website for MetLife Stadium.
Marty also mentioned the fact that an NFL stadium has the luxury of knowing their season schedule well in advance to the start of the regular season, making it easier for the organization to know the availability of the venue. Releasing the schedule to various organizations is an advantage that can help bring meeting planners to MetLife Stadium. When organizations like Convention and Visitors Bureau know when your venue is available, they can easily determine which events that submit RFP’s can fit in the event calendar. Marty said, “Stadiums can do a better job than arenas and can push availability to meeting planners’ need.”
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
14 | Convention and Visitors Bureaus / Trade Publications Using another example from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, below is an example of the webpage that users find when clicking on the link hosted by the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Providing more in-depth detail on websites like those listed above only help make picking a destination easier for meeting planners. By including detailed information and an opportunity to submit an RFP on these websites it helps expedite the process of the meeting planner rather than hunting for information through different links. This obviously is not at the fault of MetLife Stadium, but if this means developing a stronger relationship with the Meadowlands Liberty Convention and Visitors Bureau and possibly investing in their infrastructure, this could go a long way in creating more opportunities for not only the region, but for the venue as well.
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Industry Opportunities When determining industry opportunities, Fortune 500 companies that were located within the New YorkNew Jersey metro area created a starting point on geographical location and type of industry that would have events that could be hosted at MetLife Stadium. There are a lot of companies that are within the financial and insurance sector, healthcare and social assistance, and health and wellness. Another criteria when picking various industries was relatability to the venue. MetLife Stadium hosts a wide array of sporting events and so determining industries in which sports played a role or fit a criteria within the demographic profile, the three industries listed above were chosen. Two other industries were chosen because of the relatability to the stadium and based on the 2017 year-in-review which includes: sports conferences and graduation / commencement ceremonies. The industries are broken down according to the map in the sections below. This provides the number of businesses within a certain radius of East Rutherford, New Jersey and gives more confidence in the type of impact that MetLife stadium can make for these various companies and their respective industries. However, the number of businesses cannot determine the benefit from hosting an event with MetLife stadium. Numerous other criteria were developed that would allow which opportunities would be most attractive. Below are some of the criteria that were used when determining trade shows, expos, other opportunities for MetLife stadium. • Duration of event • Number of participants • Space required • Proximity of registration base These criteria above should set a benchmark and establish the foundation for the types of events that MetLife stadium hosts. While looking at the year 2017, and the events that were hosted, we recognize that there were opportunities like the duration of the event in space required. Proximity and number of participants are not nearly as important because we want to focus on the New York-New Jersey area, but the number of participants does assist in determining the amount of space that is required which could lead to different needs in terms of room availability.
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Insurance Insurance provides a very unique opportunity for MetLife Stadium. The image below shows the number of insurance related business within an approximate 250-mile radius of East Rutherford, NJ. It is evident that in many parts of this region there are a limited number of insurance and finance related industries, especially as you venture north and in parts of Long Island. However, within 30 miles of East Rutherford in all directions, there are approximately between 26 and 100 of these types of companies currently operating. These firms will either serve some parent company or they will be sole proprietors that need to have up-todate industry offerings. SimplyAnalytics - Table 9
This leads towards attracting conventions and conferences that will serve the needs of the people operating in these businesses. There are many different types of insurance firms and offerings. This is why it is important to recognize insurance as a key opportunity in terms of hosting a conference. On IBIS World there were approximately two dozen different types of insurance industry profiles and this presents a wide array of opportunities. There needs to be some criteria in which MetLife stadium can pick and choose which events it would like to host. We follow the criteria that was set in the first paragraph above and focused on specifically proximity of the event, duration of the event, the number of registrants that would be attending the event. Below are the top three conventions and conferences that would be great additions to the event portfolio: • PIANJ and PIANY Annual Conference • T3 Advisor Conference • PCI Annual Meeting
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
18 | PIANJ and PIANY Annual Conference The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey and New York host an annual joint conference in which over 2,000 of insurance representatives descend upon a location in which they educate, network and learn from each other about new concepts developed in the insurance industry. This event includes a fun run in a trade show. There are also sponsors and advertisers throughout the entire show. Currently, in the year 2018, the conference will be hosted in Atlantic City, New Jersey at Harrah’s Casino and Resort. Due to the fact that there are multiple aspects of this conference which also includes a fun run, MetLife Stadium can take advantage of renting out multiple aspects of their facility so that you can have one large event within a smaller defined region. The fun run can take place outside around the stadium in the parking lots, depending on the size of the conference on an annual basis the field or one of the larger club spaces can be rented, and possibly the need for renting multiple spaces could occur as well. PIANJ and PIANY Annual Conference Revenue Expenses Rent F&B Reimb. Stadium Tour (1,000) Estimated Profit
$60,000 $5,400 $25,200 $10,000
Staff Other
$27,000 $4,500
$69,100
T3 Advisor Conference The T3 Advisor Conference is an annual conference that brings technology providers together to discuss upcoming trends, digitizing businesses, and looking into the future. The conference focuses on technological solutions that can enhance the financial sector. In 2017 the T3 Advisor Conference was held in Anaheim, California, where there were over 630 registered attendees. Some of these attendees traveled from as far as the UK, Japan, and Australia.
T3 Advisor Conference Revenue Rent F&B Reimb. Tour (400) Estimated Profit
$40,000 $7,200 $33,600 $4,000
Expenses Staff Other
$36,000 $6,000
$42,800
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| 19 PCI Annual Meeting In 2017 the PCI Annual Meeting held its conference in Chicago, IL and this year it will host its annual meeting in Miami, FL. This is a three-day conference that takes place in October and includes over 1,000 members that will be in attendance. The conference includes partners and sponsors that bring in several hundred thousand dollars in revenue just in terms of sponsorship. They have only hosted their conference in various hotel spaces and because New York is a hub for insurance and financial companies MetLife Stadium would be a great place to host this type of conference.
PCI Annual Meeting Revenue Rent F&B Reimb. Tour (800) Estimated Profit
$30,000 $5,400 $25,200 $8,000
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
Expenses Staff Other
$27,000 $4,500
$37,100
20 | Health Care and Social Assistance The Healthcare and Social Assistance industry has seen major growth from the Child Education and Development sector. The US child care services industry consists of approximately 54,000 commercial facilities totaling $25 billion in annual revenue (Dun & Brandstreet First Research, 2018). According to IBIS World industry research, “The industry has benefited from an increasing body of research promoting the importance of early education.” Approximately 11 million children under the age of five are enrolled in some form of child care. There are three subsidiaries of the Child Education and Development industry that make up the revenue for the group. • Pre-primary Programs (27.5%) • School-age Programs (62.5%) • Recreational Programs (10%) Trade shows for this industry will be growing and become more important over the next several years as child care franchise operators are investing in greater technology integration within their centers. Another factor for this growth has been the rapid introduction of new products and brands.
Child Care Services Industry - New York Metro Area The image illustrates the Child Care Services industry is heavily occupied within the New York Metropolitan region. The most popular areas are the Queens and Brooklyn region of New York City (Simply Analytic) .
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| 21 Trade Show Opportunities • Young Child Expo and Conference • National Association for Family Child Care Conference • Early Childhood Education Entrepreneurship Expo Young Child Expo and Conference Each year, there is a Young Child Expo and Conference held in New York City at the Wyndham New York Hotel. The event rotates locations each year and covers numerous educational topics such as the following: • • • •
Effective intervention techniques for young children New strategies to help young children Key takeaways and insights from a variety of keynote speakers Networking opportunities with professionals in the industry
The conference lasts three full days and covers many workshops, presentation, keynote speeches and group breakout sessions for professionals on unique tracks. Attendees include many educational professionals such as teachers, early childhood professionals, psychologists and physical therapists. This expo would best fit in the Chase Club or Toyota Club locations of MetLife Stadium. These rooms provide a theatre and reception area for all attendees to conduct their programming for the three-day event. Young Child Expo and Conference Revenue Rent F&B Reimb. Estimated Profit
$10,000 $1,800 $8,400
Expenses Staff Other
$9,000 $1,500 $9,700
National Association for Family Child Care Conference Now in its 28th year, the Family Child Care Conference covers a wide range of topics relating to family management. The annual conference typically hosts approximately 800 attendees. The focus of the conference is on creating the ultimate child care environment. Attendees are looking for training and networking experiences from professional to mentors to advocates. This year’s exhibit will take place in Chicago from June 28th - June 30th. National Association for Family Child Care Conference Revenue Expenses Rent F&B Reimb. Estimated Profit
$30,000 $5,400 $25,200
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
Staff Other
$27,000 $4,500 $29,100
22 | Early Childhood Education Entrepreneurship Expo Now in its 19th year, the Early Childhood Education Entrepreneurship Expo provides a platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their products and grow their business on a big stage. This year the event is taking place at the UIC Forum in Chicago, IL on June 17, 2017. The forum’s all-day agenda covers a wide variety of entrepreneurship topics from launching your business to diversifying your revenues and the best practices in the daycare. Expected attendees for this event vary from 300 to 500 people. Early Childhood Education Entrepreneurship Expo Revenue Expenses Rent F&B Reimb. Estimated Profit
$10,000 $1,800 $8,400
Staff Other
$9,000 $1,500 $9,700
Health and Wellness This industry is in the growing phase due to the increased awareness and interest in fitness and health. As a society, health and fitness are becoming a bigger priority, which has been seen in the baby boomer from, which is expected to purchase more gym membership. As healthcare costs continue to escalate, there is bigger emphasis on disease prevention rather than disease treatment. Physical fitness has served as a valuable platform to promote disease prevention and healthy lifestyle. There are many major players in the Gym, Health & Fitness Club sector. Fitness International, also known as LA Fitness controls 6.3% of the market. Other fitness clubs are Life Time Fitness, Equinox Holdings, 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Town Sports International Holdings, and Gold’s Gym International. Many of these fitness clubs promote the holistic concept of the healthy lifestyle as they have moved beyond simply promoting their fitness equipment. Now these clubs, such as Life Time Fitness, promote more value to their customers through their healthy food options, spa facilities and special wellness classes. Housing the New York Giants training facilities, MetLife Stadium has the marketing appeal for a fitness trade show to be featured at the Meadowlands.
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This image illustrates, the New York Metropolitan area is comprised of a vast amount of Fitness and Recreation Centers. The market and demand for a trade show and convention is here with the saturation of local businesses and franchises. (Simply Analytics)
Fitness, Sports and Recreation Centers - New York Metro Area Trade Show Opportunities • National Wellness Conference • FitnessFest at TheFitExpo • NYC MANIA Young Child Expo and Conference 2018 National Wellness Conference This year, the National Wellness Conference will be held in St. Paul from June 18-20. The conference has three core values: • Build knowledge & skills in health & wellness promotion • Experience personal enhancement activities • Connect with future partners, clients and mentors With approximately 700 professional in health and wellness attending this event, this conference would be an excellent fit for MetLife Stadium to be hosted in the Toyota Club or the Chase Club. National Wellness Conference (3-day event) Revenue Expenses Rent F&B Reimb. Stadium Tour (700) Estimated Profit
$30,000 $5,400 $25,200 $7,000
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
Staff Other
$27,000 $4,500
$36,100
24 | Trade Show Opportunities Each year, Fitness Fest hosts six expositions around the country. Now in its 20th year, the FitnessFest expo offers an atmosphere that allows attendees to meet new customers, collaborate in workshops, bring together ideas and sell products or services. With approximately 500-800 attendees, the topics covered during the event are total body conditioning, group fitness, weight loss, movement mechanics etc. The next event will be in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on April 28th - 29th. At MetLife Stadium, this fest would utilize the field for workshops and some of the stadium event rooms for networking opportunities and receptions. Fitness Fest @ TheFitExpo (3-day event) Revenue Expenses Rent F&B Reimb. Stadium Tour (700) Estimated Profit
$115,000 $5,400 $25,200 $7,000
Staff Other
$27,000 $4,500
$121,100
NYC MANIA Hosted in New York each year, the three-day convention comprised of group exercise instructors, personal trainers, mind/body instructors and business leaders. The event agenda covers a wide variety of topics from fitness education, group exercise, personal training, sports nutrition and much more. Since there are 9 regional expos per year, the NYC MANIA expo usually gains regional attendees from the tri-state area. If this event were to be hosted at MetLife Stadium, attendees would be able to utilize the field for training sessions, workshops and group activities. Meanwhile the locker rooms and indoor event space would be utilized for the exhibits and receptions. NYC MANIA (2-day event) Revenue Rent F&B Reimb. Stadium Tour (1,000) Estimated Profit
$70,000 $3,600 $16,800 $10,000
Expenses Staff Other
$18,000 $3,000
$79,400
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
| 25 Graduation and Commencement In the state of New Jersey, there are 11 public four-year universities and 8 private four-year universities. Each year, in the month of May, these schools have their annual spring commencement ceremony. With the average graduating class size from these institutions varying between the 4,000-6,000 range, MetLife Stadium is the perfect venue to host these graduations for families, students, friends and faculty to attend. When it comes to spring commencement for these universities, many of these schools hold their main graduation ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Here are the following schools that have their graduation at the Prudential Center in May of 2018. • • • • •
Kean University Montclair New Jersey City University New Jersey Institute of Technology Ramapo College
Some other venues that host a university commencement are: • Nassau Hall - Princeton University • PNC Bank Arts Arena - Monmouth University Many of these schools happen to be closer distance to MetLife Stadium then the Prudential Center in Newark. MetLife offers a greater value proposition with accommodations and space to host multiple postgraduation receptions on site along with the beautiful spring outdoors setting for an on-field graduation ceremony.
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
26 | Sports There are a wide variety of sports related trade shows and conferences across the United States on an annual basis. These shows include: National Sports Forum (NSF), Connect Sports Marketplace, and National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) Symposium. None of these conferences were located within a stadium or arena; however, there are on site activations within some of the arenas and stadiums at the host sites. As stadiums and arenas move towards the non-ticketed event space, what better way to host a non-ticketed event then to do so within the industry segment that they are already involved in. Below are three opportunities among the many in the sports field, that MetLife Stadium should consider hosting within the next few years. What makes these types of conferences so unique are the relationships that the organizers have within the industry and the opportunity to visit venues like MetLife Stadium. Another component that makes this opportunity attractive is upselling stadium tours. This creates ease of access for not only hosting the event, but in also creating extended revenue opportunities as well. Below are three opportunities: • NASC Symposium • Connect Sports Marketplace • National Sports Forum
National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) Symposium The NASC Symposium is an annual conference that brings together approximately 1,000 destinations, event owners, vendors, and exhibitors under one roof for a reverse trade show. This show allows destinations to meet with different event owners and potentially bid on their events. In the last few years, members have had the opportunity to visit the Golden One Center in Sacramento, California and this year they will visit U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These are additional features that the host committee and NASC prepare for together, but in combining these two different aspects allows for ease of mind in terms of transportation and conference structure. NASC Symposium Revenue Rent F&B Reimb. Tour (500) Estimated Profit
$60,000 $10,800 $50,400 $5,000
Expenses Staff Other
$54,000 $9,000
$63,200
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Connect Sports Marketplace Connect Sports Marketplace is a part of a much larger conference that includes various corporations, associations, expos, and specialty shows as well. This conference houses over 1,500 people at once and provides a great experience for those organizations that are both related to and not related to sports. In 2017, the conference was hosted in New Orleans, Louisiana and in August of 2018, the conference will be hosted in Salt Lake City, Utah. This type of conference is especially unique because of all of the different types of businesses that are associated with the entire show. Members that attend the conference will have an opportunity to visit a historic stadium and indulge in the amenities that it has to offer.
Connect Sports Marketplace Revenue Rent F&B Reimb. Tour (750) Estimated Profit
$80,000 $7,200 $33,600 $7,500
Expenses Staff Other
$54,000 $6,000
$68,300
National Sports Forum National Sports Forum is the largest annual sports business conference in North America, gathering teams, executives, and properties from various leagues, both professional, and amateur. The people that attend include: sponsorship sales, marketing, ticket sales, and business development. In 2018 the conference was held in Frisco, Texas and next year it will be in Las Vegas, Nevada. What is unique about this opportunity is that many members that attend will come from a professional sports background that will see the value in hosting a conference like this at MetLife Stadium. National Sports Forum Revenue Rent F&B Reimb. Tour (1,000) Estimated Profit
$50,000 $9,000 $42,000 $10,00
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Expenses Staff Other
$45,000 $7,500
$58,500
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Outsourcing Events Outsourcing can sound like a dirty word and many times companies might interpret this as a way of saying people are going to be let go of their jobs or the company is moving in a different direction. However, outsourcing creates a branch that extends from the current team and now combines two teams in which they can work together in enhancing the portfolio that MetLife stadium has to offer. In recognizing that MetLife stadium wants to increase the awareness of their venue, outsourcing their sales and marketing increases the amount of people working with and informing organizations of MetLife Stadium as a unique opportunity. There are many companies that operate in this format across the United States. These companies are full service providers that include: technology, event production, sales, consulting, and more. Below are a few examples of companies that operate in this space that would provide MetLife Stadium an increase in their market reach: • PSAV • Social Tables • Freeman Expositions, Inc These companies work with venues across the United States, offering a wide range of solutions to their event planning needs. However, in the case of MetLife Stadium, the goal is to increase exposure and continue to increase event revenue.
PSAV PSAV started out as an audio-visual company that has since become a do-it-all organization that offers a wide variety of services to its clients. They are over 80 years old and have developed an extensive list of partners that they work with across the United States. What makes PSAV unique is its extensive network of event planners that they can reach out to on an annual basis as events rotate across the United States. PSAV operates approximately 1.5 million events nationwide. However, they are not exclusively operating their own events because MetLife Stadium already has their own event production staff, but in this case sales are key. PSAV provides MetLife Stadium an opportunity to increase their sales by attracting different meeting planners to the venue that PSAV has within their network. Below are the types of events that PSAV works with: • Concerts • Sporting events • Tradeshows
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Business Example PSAV provided a unique example to show how their services work in the sport industry. Fenway Park at one point operated approximately 100 meetings/events that were not related to baseball and they struggled in finding the capacity to make this part of their industry grow. Fenway Park entered into a contract with PSAV and over the course of five (5) years, PSAV and Fenway Park ended up attracting over 650 events by the end of the fifth year. The event profit in the beginning of this partnership was approximately $36,000 and now is over $750,000, nearly a 2,000% return over the course of five (5) years. PSAV became the exclusive partner of Fenway park and the following is the breakdown of what the deal looks like: • Fenway Park will receive 100% of space rental • PSAV and Fenway Park split the catering • Fenway Park also receives an allotment of money from PSAV to use at their discretion The cost structure is a cost avoidance model where Fenway Park has not had to pay in any new technologies as they get to use the event services provided by PSAV and PSAV also pays for all production costs as well including: sales, operations, etc.
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
30 | Social Tables Social Tables operates in three different capacities within their organization which includes: event sales, distribution, and operation. Their sales platform allows venues to directly work with event planners by creating a direct channel that allows companies to build direct booking experiences. They operate by matching companies with the right group whether that includes the type of business, price, dates, and time. Social Tables has 120 employees and 4,000 customers in 100 countries. Over 1 million events have been planned inside the Social Tables event technology. Clients include Hyatt Hotels, Under Armour, TCU, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, and more. This platform allows venues like MetLife Stadium to sell more spots with lead intelligence by offering: • Space to meet thousands of planners • Generate leads from the MetLife Stadium website • Focus on qualified leads
Business Example Social Tables has been used in a lot of different spaces including organizations like Under Armour, Baltimore Ravens, Singapore Resort and Spa, and so many more. Social Tables provides these companies with a platform to better connect with customers and meeting planners. Social Tables allows companies to use 3D examples of even spaces that are better suited to close deals. The Baltimore Ravens specifically used Social Tables to track attendees and better operate check-in for their training camps. This allowed the organization to know when fans were checking in and how they could better accommodate their fans as they were attending the practices. Below is a table that shows how the Ravens used Social Tables to better suit their event service’s needs.
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
| 31 Freeman Expositions, Inc. Freeman Expositions, Inc. works with a variety of event planners, brands, exhibitors, and show organizers on creating an experience that ends with the final customer. The work with a variety of different businesses that are in need of planning and executing events that will engage a specific target audience. The service that Freeman offers extends beyond 90 global offices and their focus is on creating businessto-business opportunities that allow companies to drive innovation across their industry. Everywhere events meet Freeman to be included in their extensive network that allows companies to meet with a variety of organizations that can help push their brands out to their target customers. They are an all-in-one service and manage the teams, through a network of highly skilled partners while continuously evaluating and training partners to ensure every global market. According to Freeman, the overall exhibition industry is expected to increase 11% between the year 2016 and 2019. Marketers view events as the most effective way in implementing a brand strategy and also allow customers to have a face-to-face interaction with various groups in attendance at these events.
MetLife Stadium | Business Plan
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Thank You!
Alec Koondel
Nicholas Kopka
Katharina Elberti
Luke van Oort
aleckoondel@gmail.com
katharinaelberti@gmail.com
nickkopka@gmail.com
lukevanoort@hotmail.com
Ohio University Capstone 2018