Facilities Management Article

Because the US is experiencing an economical hardship due to several different

reasons, the sporting industry has, is , and will have to deal with the challenging economical climates.  According to the article Economic Research, “Sports Still Draw Fans Despite Recession” states that the south is more supportive of the colleges and professional teams than other places, which is the reason sales of tickets, merchandise, and other revenue producing entities are still on the rise.  According to the article, “Five of the top 10 revenue producers in college football in the 2007-08 academic year were Southern schools:  Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, and LSU which brought in a combined $303 million, according to Street & Smith Sport Business Journal.  Because of the unconditional love for the teams, fans find resources  on a regular basis to go and watch their favorite players perform which allows television networks and teams to make a huge profit by agreeing on substantial television contracts.  But others in the industry are having to readjust to the economical changes of fans not spending their hard earned money on sporting events anymore.  This is causing the television industry to create new ways of making money on the televised events.  Economic Research states “ESPN and CBS amid a severe recession earlier this year and agreed to pay the Southern Conference SEC- home of the top five schools listed above , and seven others $3 billion to broadcast mainly football games over the next 15 years”.  Creative bargaining is a must in these pressing times, and those who drag their feet in coming up with other ways to generate money will eventually become powerless, with having to lay off and close down their businesses, in this multibillion dollar industry.  Every sport is feeling the crunch but the larger organizations are keeping afloat with only a small decline in sales and layoffs. Smaller teams or less popular are being eliminated completely.  For example, tennis teams at schools located in Louisiana and even the University of New Orleans have discussed dropping athletics all together due to the economical hardships.  On the professional level, Arena Football in Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando, and Tampa Bay shut down in 2009, leaving only a few teams to compete.  The list goes on and on concerning how our sports industry is being effected by negative change.  In my opinion, in other for the industry to whether the storm of this recession, sports officials must join together to operate as a one-business entity in order to survive.  For example on a college level, athletic departments must get involve in their communities, so that their fan will feel appreciated and want to support their schools.  Also the bigger schools need to carry the load of the smaller schools during these hard-times and share some of the money that they are receiving from their great accomplishments.  On a professional level, teams need to stop fighting over money, because it’s making their fans feel differently about supporting them.  They are making billions of dollars and the greed is causing them to lose focus of what’s important, which is their fan.  They need to also be more involved in their community, by having fundraisers for varies needy organizations, and fan appreciation events on a regular basis.  These efforts will bring in positive media exposure, which will make fans feel like they want to spend their hard earned money on supporting their team.  Furthermore teams need to cut back on giving extra money out when they really don’t have to.  There is still a lots of money being generated among these teams but if everyone don’t band together as a whole team, will cause everyone to suffer.  

http://www.frbatlanta.org/pubs/econsouth/econsouth_vol_11_no_3_sports_draw_fans.cfm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOggf9v7JTk