The tagline for last week’s Leaders’ Sports Business Summit held at Times Centre in New York was “experience the future of sports”.
What is Leaders’ week? According to the organisers: the who’s who of global sport, technology and entertainment gathered in New York for a series of knowledge- sharing, experiential, networking for a week.
From sports betting to fan experience, broadcast to brand sponsorship, those in attendance were able to experience the future of sport and obtain tools and insight to be one step ahead.
The Leaders’ week got started on May 21 with a SAP Sports Forum where participants looked at data strategies, internationalisation and innovative technology while across at the City Football Group Offices, the future of women’s sport was explored with careful attention to the commercial opportunities. The sharing of learning and best practice was a priority. Major League Soccer(MLS) hosted a networking event, the chance to meet and mingle with global sport business titans in an informal environment ensured that the evening was a huge success.
The two-day flagship Sports Business Summit is according to the organisers—the most prestigious, content-rich event in the sports business calendar with 700 director level executives from all over the world to share intelligence and spark discussions that will help shape the future of sport.
The point repeatedly made at the summit is that the 21st century sports fan expects a 21st Century sports experience. How do you exceed the expectations of the ultimate fan by giving them the ultimate fan experience?
The summit partners and presenters were some of the most influential in the global sports business.
Included among the presenters on various topics were the likes of ESPN Major League Baseball, W Bayern, National Hockey League, Anheuser Busch inBev, Amazon, Dunkin Donuts, Liverpool FC, LEGO group, NBC, FC Barcelona, Juventus FC, New Zealand rugby union and New York Times.
It’s was all about the sport business, business development and leveraging assets. The speakers and conversations were focused on the future and reality of the global business of sport. Not one conversation was about sport politics, the IOC, FIFA etc. Interestingly sport tourism wasn’t part of the discourse.
It was pure business and most certainly a refreshing change from the nauseating petty and destructive dysfunctional focus on sport politics and poor governance.
One couldn’t help but be energised about the sport business.
Sport Industry TT 2019 will incorporate some of the ideas from Summit - “Go brave or Go Home”.