The sports-travel industry is a $182 billion business, responsible for
bookings of more than 47 million hotel room nights annually in the United
States. In the United States alone, 27 percent of all travel is sports-related,
and more often involves parties of three or more.
As a result of this thriving industry and in an effort for the state of
Maryland to become engaged in this arena, Gov. Martin O'Malley created the
Maryland Office of Sports Marketing in 2008. The endeavor is a strategic
partnership between the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Department of
Business and Economic Development. Its mission is to enhance Maryland's economy,
image and quality of life through the attraction, promotion, retention and
development of regional, national and international sporting events.
Terry Hasseltine, the former deputy executive director of the Kentucky Sports
Authority, leads the initiative. For his previous role, Hasseltine was
successful in developing a 24-member community marketing collaborative to
promote the state of Kentucky as a sports-travel destination. His
accomplishments included bringing the 2008 Ryder Cup and 2010 AllTech FEI World
Equestrian Games to the commonwealth.
Appointed in 2008, Hasseltine wasted little time establishing Maryland as a
significant player in the sports industry. During the past four years, the
Maryland Office of Sports Marketing has engaged in more than $1 billion in event
recruitment and secured more than $400 million in economic impact for the
state.
"My primary focus is to market and promote Maryland as a sports-event and
-travel destination," Hasseltine said.
In May 2009, the office launched its first significant marketing tool with a
state-of-the art Web site, MarylandSports.us, which features a searchable sports
facility directory. The site's intended audience is sporting- event and -travel
industries in the state, national and international markets. Currently, the
Office of Sports Marketing is expanding its online efforts, tradeshow presence,
marketing and attention to focus on a program known as TEAM Maryland
(TEAMMaryland.us).
"TEAM Maryland is a statewide initiative designed to collectively market
Maryland to the entire sports-event industry by creating a synergistic approach
to the way we market all of Maryland as a sports destination," Hasseltine said.
"TEAM Maryland is presently comprised of 13 county partners, but the network of
venue/facility, sponsor prospects, corporate support, service providers, media,
etc. … continues to grow daily here in Maryland, nationally and
internationally."
Under Hasseltine's leadership, the office has been instrumental in leading
various bid-development and event-support opportunities. Among the events and
initiatives that Hasseltine's office has played a significant role in securing
for the area are the Army-Navy Game (2011, '14 and '16); the NCAA men's lacrosse
Final Four (2010, '11, '14); 2009 World Football Challenge, in which
international soccer powerhouses Chelsea and AC Milan faced off before 72,203
people at M&T Bank Stadium; several key USA Track & Field events; the
Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer championship; and the Grand Prix of
Baltimore.
The Maryland Office of Sports Marketing was also successful in bringing one
of the world's premier season-long action sports events, the Dew Tour, to Ocean
City. Hasseltine said the tour's first stop in 2011, the Pantec Open, set an
attendance record, as 73,000 came to the event from July 21-24. According to the
SportsBusiness Journal, there were more than 1.3 million viewers for
the two days the Ocean City event was broadcast on NBC (July 23 and 24). That
represents a 1.3-percent audience spike from the previous year for the overall
five stages of the tour.
The event returned to Ocean City in 2012, and the Maryland Office of Sports
Marketing reported that the Dew Tour drew the largest attendance on record, with
93,000 spectators. The agency has secured the event for a third consecutive year
in Ocean City in 2013.
Tom Noonan is the president and CEO of Visit Baltimore, the official
destination development and marketing organization for the Greater Baltimore
region. He said that when he came to Baltimore in January 2007, he was surprised
to find out that Maryland didn't have a sports commission, and was glad when he
heard about the formation of the Maryland Office of Sports Marketing.
"Having Terry and his office has put Baltimore on the sports landscape,"
Noonan said, "and that didn't exist before. From professional sports to youth
sports, Terry is constantly looking at events to bring to our area and build our
recognition. From a city standpoint, we are continually looking at ways in which
we can help the Office of Sports Marketing become more successful."
Hasseltine said the office was working to solidify a number of additional
endeavors that would take place in Maryland.
Hasseltine said having good relationships with the Ravens, Orioles and the
MSA was critical to his office's success, and having the assets of the Camden
Yards Sports Complex was favorable and vital to its work.
Mike Frenz, executive director of the MSA, said the Maryland Office of Sports
Marketing had helped the state profit from the big business of sports, while
creating opportunities for citizens and visitors to enjoy new experiences in
state-owned facilities.
"Where Terry has been invaluable to the state of Maryland in general and
Camden Yards in particular is in identifying events and activities that are good
for prospective venues, and helping submit bids to attract them," Frenz said.
"Many facility operators around the state are not familiar with the process,
especially those involved in youth and amateur sports, a particularly lucrative
segment of the tourism market.
"Here at Camden Yards, Terry has been instrumental in big-ticket events, like
neutral-site college football. We have Maryland and Navy playing games here in
the next five years. … [We are] also welcoming the NCAA's men's lacrosse
championship back to Baltimore, where it enjoys great popularity, in 2014."
As the national and global sports landscapes continue to transform, the
Maryland Office of Sports Marketing has created a more robust means and
developed a communication plan for helping the state become a desirable
destination in the sports-event industry.
"We have helped numerous partners around the state grow existing events by
helping them gain access to more facilities," Hasseltine said, "and engaging
them in conversations with leadership that can make progressive changes to allow
more opportunities for success."
There are a number of case studies, best practices and formulas to determine
how sports affect the state's economy, but Hasseltine said the simplest way to
think about the impact of sports travel was a phrase he often uses to define the
measure of sports events on a community: "Heads in beds, food in bellies, gas in
cars, credit cards and cash on counters, butts in seats."
Noonan said the Maryland Office of Sports Marketing had benefited the local
community.
"We are starting to see more recognizable events," Noonan said. "What's great
is to know we have the right person going after those events. ... We have the
right guy in Terry as a partner."
October 2012 print edition of PressBox
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