Summary

The global sports industry is worth around $620 billion, and its current growth outstrips that of the GDP growth of most countries. Sports events are a major part of the industry, and as sports have grown, so too have the events. These days, events are bigger, more exciting and bring in more revenue than ever before. Fans from all over the world tune in to watch some of the biggest sports with mega events like the Olympics bringing in billions of viewers.

These events all require dedicated teams of event managers, staff and volunteers to make sure they go to plan. With so many different moving parts, multiple teams of athletes, venues, and thousands of live spectators, a sporting event can be challenging to organise. That’s why qualified professionals who understand the industry are so vital.

Facility management and sports event management are more or less two sides of the same coin. Both roles are critical for the success of an event and will each have different responsibilities and duties, before, during and after the event. For an event to go to plan, all of the staff have to be aware of the aims of the event, and there needs to be a coherent plan for achieving those aims.

This plan is formed long before the event takes place, and most of the work of the event manager goes into creating and optimising the plan. Any event will need a lot of care and attention to detail during the planning phase to ensure that the venue, hospitality, staff and risk assessment are all taken care of. Event managers have to create memorable experiences for the fans, but more importantly, they also have to ensure the safety of fans and participants.

Technology has helped to revolutionise sports. The radio, TV and then the internet have all made watching sports and sports news easier than ever before. As sports become more accessible for fans to watch from home, event managers have been tasked with creating new ways to draw in thousands of spectators to ever-growing stadiums and arenas.

Just as technology has helped to improve sports for fans at home, it has many applications for fans watching live from the venue. Large displays, better seating, improved stadium design and apps have all helped to create a better match-going experience.

For sports to continue to grow and develop, sports event managers need a deep and clear understanding of the industry. Simply knowing how to plan an event isn’t enough, they also need to be able to learn from previous events and innovate and adapt as the industry changes. In a few decades, sports events have rapidly changed, and it’s hard to predict how they might change in the future. What we do know is that sports event and facility managers will still be required to put in the hard work behind the scenes to make them possible.

What You’ll Learn

· What sports event management involves and the key skills that an event or facility manager must have.

· Why sports event and facility managers are so important for the sports industry.

· The differences between closed and open sports events.

· How the Olympic Games are organised.

· What are the differences in planning between one-off events and regular events

· The differences between a single day event and events that take place over multiple days.

· The requirements for a sporting event to be held successfully.

· The stages that go into planning an event.

· How facilities including stadiums, training grounds and arenas are constructed.

· The importance of human resources in planning and holding sporting events.

· Why the use of volunteers is so common in the sports event industry.

· How staff are hired and managed to make sure the event is a success.

· The process of bringing in officials and athletes to star in the event.

· The importance of event hospitality.

· How food and beverages play an important role in the success of a sporting event.

· What corporate hospitality is and its role in the sports event industry.

· How communication with the fans is the responsibility of the event managers.

· Why event planners and facility managers should strive to create memorable experiences for fans.

· The importance of risk assessment and management for economic, legal and security risks.

· How a risk assessment is created and how risks can be minimised.

· The importance of master and contingency plans.

· Why sponsorships are such a big part of the sports event industry.

· What companies get out of sponsoring sports events.

· How to find and secure the right sponsor for a sporting event.

· What social responsibility is and its role in the sports industry.

· Whether sporting events are doing enough to be sustainable.

· The ways sporting events are making an effort to be more sustainable.

· How technology can change how sports events take place and their impact on fans.

· How might events such as the COVID-19 pandemic affect the sports event industry and why the industry needs to be adaptable.

Words from the Author, Saam Momen:

I have a true passion for teaching! I have proudly taught university courses in Switzerland, USA and Brazil. My career spans over 15 years in the sporting industry with jobs at the London Olympic Bid Committee, UEFA, CSM and TEAM Marketing. I possess a Master Degree in Sports Management and an Executive Education diploma at Harvard Business School on The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports. I hope that throughout this course you are able to have a wonderful learning experience! Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any queries.

Why Choose This Course?

This course has been specifically designed to give you an understanding of how sports events are planned from the ground up. If you’re aiming for a career in the sports industry, particularly in events or facility management, this course will prepare you and help to provide you with the knowledge you need to succeed. Perhaps you’re just looking for more information on what goes on behind the scenes of major sporting events, or you’d like to hold your own event. Everything you need to know is explained in this course.

The sports industry is worth billions of dollar,s and each year and thousands of events are held around the world each year. Sports events come in all shapes and sizes, with hundreds of different sports each with their own specific requirements. The role of the sports event manager is to understand these requirements and the needs of the spectators and make sure everything comes together.

To give you a broader idea of sports event, several key areas are discussed, but there is also a chapter that explores three case studies in detail. You will see real examples of three very different sporting events and how the planning process differed for each one. You’ll see the effects that sports events can have on the local area, on the fans and on the people taking part. It’s important for sports event managers to consider the social effects of the events and what it means for the wider sports community.

This course uses lots of real examples to help you to understand the theories explained throughout the chapters. Each chapter will give you an insight into a different area of event management. You’ll discover all the different types of sporting events, including multi-day events, one-off events and open events and their counterparts. You’ll learn the challenges and requirements involved in the planning stage of each and what it takes for a sports event manager to successfully hold each event.

You’ll also learn about event feasibility and what goes into the early planning stages of the event. This includes how an event chooses its aims and the way that the aims of the event will shape much of the planning phase. This also includes learning about how facilities are constructed and how sports events need to consider certain areas when designing and constructing new arenas and stadiums.

The course will also explain the role of event managers in hiring and managing staff, creating memorable experiences for the fans and risk assessment. All of these are important areas, and the course will cover each with real examples and clear explanations of the work that goes into these aspects. There’s also discussion on event sponsorships, including learning why sponsorships are so important to the events and why companies pay big money to sponsor sports. The course even shows how a sponsor is chosen and the importance of selecting the right sponsor for the event.

Technology has been a major cause of the growth of the sports industry over the years, and the course covers how it is being used to improve sporting events. You’ll learn about how technology is being adapted to give fans a better experience in the stadium and how facility managers can make sports venues a more comfortable place to visit.

Finally, the course also covers the changes that the sports industry may face over the coming years. Situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic have cast doubt over the future of many major sporting events, and event managers need to adapt to these changes. Part of being a successful event manager is being able to adapt your plan to new situations as they occur. This course will give you an idea of how these adaptations can be used to protect the future of sporting events and how fans can continue to watch and enjoy live sports thanks to the work of sports event managers.