Revenues Are the #1 Stat in Sports PwC reports in its 2016 Sports Outlook that total 2015 revenues for the North American sports market actually exceeded its estimate of October 2015 of $63.598 billion, with an actual total of $63.857 billion, or a 5.6% increase. 2016 revenues were also significant, at $67.206 billion, a 5.2% increase. Gate revenues were the largest in dollars, at $18.721 billion, with media rights a close second, at $18.218 billion; however, media rights had the largest increase, or 11.7%. Despite these increases, many major sports leagues, the NFL specifically, have had significant decreases in TV viewership. The primary issues may be the aging of fans and fewer younger fans, which are the prime target audience for advertisers.

Big Dollars for Better Seats According to the PwC report, premium seating is more than 15% of all seats for North American professional sports teams and accounts for as much as 40% of a club’s total seat revenue. In an attempt to make seats more affordable for the average fan, more than 40% of major league pro clubs have moved from pre-set to flexible pre-paid seat packages. Plus, ticket exchanges allow consumers to redeem unused tickets for alternative dates. Fan zones, or dedicated decks or plaza space, are now found in more than 50% of major pro league venues; however, they have displaced general seat sections and caused concourse space to be repositioned in venue renovation projects.

Women Keep Pitching for Recognition As reported in last year’s Local Sports Teams Profiler, many women’s sports continue to have problems attracting fans and generating revenues; however, attendance for all 2016 NCAA Women’s Basketball games increased 21.9%, compared to 2015. Although the 6 teams in the National Pro Fastpitch League attract just 1,500 to 2,500 fans for an average game, Rawlings announced during 2016 that it would award league players the prestigious Gold Glove, which is well-known in Major League Baseball. Although the USSSA Pride was the top team during the 2016 regular season, the Chicago Bandits, third during the regular season, won the Cowles Cup for the team’s second consecutive National Pro Fastpitch Championship.

The Diversity of Sports Fans Data for the Louisville, KY and Buffalo, NY markets from The Media Audit’s 2016 surveys reveal that 65.1% of women are sports fans of the Louisville Bats, but 73.1% of men are fans of the Buffalo Bisons, both teams are in the AAA International League. Age group comparisons find that adults 75+ are the largest group of Bats fans, at 22.8%, while they are only 12.3% of Bisons fans. Adults 35–44 constitute 19.2% of Bats fans, but 31.3% of Bisons fans. Although Latino Americans are only 3.5% of the population of Buffalo, 15.3% of them are Bisons fans. Conversely, 10.5% of the population of Louisville is African American, but they are 18.7% of all Bats fans.

Take Advantage of the Tour When It Comes to Town The 51 PGA tournaments during the 2016–2017 season provide local advertisers, many in smaller markets, with promotional opportunities to reach a highly affluent audience, with 172% more likely to own weekend or second homes than other major sports fans. Jay Monahan, the new PGA Tour Commissioner, is considering major changes, such as moving the PGA Championship from August to May, completing the FedEx Cup playoffs by Labor Day and launching its own cable TV network. The official PGA Tour Website is the #1 site in golf, with 38 million monthly visits, 9.5 million of which are unique; a monthly social media audience of 7.42 million on all devices; and approximately 42 million minutes spent on mobile apps.

Looking for New and Greener Pastures advertising and promotional opportunities for local businesses. Major League Baseball (MLB) is considering Montreal, Mexico City and Portland for future expansion. The San Diego Chargers of the NFL must decide by mid-January if the team is moving to Los Angeles and Mark Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, says he is committed to moving to Las Vegas.   The Las Vegas market, which was the fourth largest US city without a major professional sports team, will have an NHL expansion team for the 2017–2018 season. MLS and MLB are giving the city another look, as they are less concerned with sports gambling.

Advertising Strategies There are many promotional opportunities for local retailers with local sports teams: During “bring-your-dog-to-the-game” night, promote an obedience seminar before the game. A premium-seating area could feature a high-end furniture store’s merchandise. Smaller retailers with women as their prime target audience may be able to generate more sales by supporting local women’s pro sports leagues. Schedule team members’ appearances in store and/or distribute coupons/flyers to all ticket buyers at a game. A limousine service could promote a contest to female executives who are golfers, with the winner receiving free transportation to and from a PGA golf tournament scheduled for the market.

New Media Strategies Local teams should encourage their players to use social media to reveal their non-sports interests, hobbies and skills and make a personal appearance at a local club matching their interest: painting class, gardening, photography, etc.   Promote the “You-Be-the-Star” social media contest. Ask fans to share their best athletic moment as a weekend warrior when they came the closest to excelling like a pro athlete. Ask everyone to vote for the best and provide a prize for the winner. Ask members of local amateur softball teams to submit videos of them at bat and then have the best batters of the local pro baseball team to choose the one that needs the most help and provide a private batting lesson. Post a video of the lesson.