LIVE SPORT
Kicking off again As both of Australia’s footy codes resume this month, live sport remains more important than ever as a driver of pub trade. BESIDES BEING able to attend the pub, one of the things Australians have missed the most of late has been live sport. With the NRL resuming on 28 May, and the AFL following closely behind on 11 June, Australia is leading the way in offering captive audiences professional sporting contests once more. Pubs have always used live sport as a way to attract patronage and increase spend, but as the general public still cannot attend live matches — and will likely be unable to do so for quite some time — broadcasting live games in venue is more important than ever. The Public House at Highfield Caringbah is the unofficial home of NRL in Sydney’s Shire region, with 80 screens including three massive TV walls, along with state of the art TAB facilities. Having missed it in the first quarter of this year, live sport has a renewed importance at this Feros Group pub. “Pubs and live sport have always gone hand in hand. The simple pleasure of going to the pub with your mates to have a beer and watch the footy is a way of life for many people,” said Ben Auricht, group marketing manager of Feros Group. “With this in mind, having live sport and the NRL being played in our pubs again has never been so important. It brings back a level of
28 | Australian Hotelier