There is no doubt that like many industries the sports industry is doing it tough at the moment. In addition, it is not just the Olympic Games that have had to be postponed, and with a lack of insurance many future sporting events are in jeopardy. Clearly there is going to need to be a tightening of the purse strings. (Claims The Sporting Calendar Will Constrict).
Crowd numbers were already diminishing across many sports globally before the Pandemic and those empty seats were causing many concern.
The FIFA World Cup in France in 1998 was possibly the first major tournament in which it became apparent just how many tickets were kept from general sale to accommodate sponsors and ‘hangers on’ within the game. The empty seats at the Final left many in shock. Yet the trend has continued across many sports.
When the new Wembley Stadium opened and England returned to play international matches there in 2007 the public were again witnessing a swathe of empty seats. In 2007 The Sun’s Adrian Chiles wrote, “I really can’t imagine how dispiriting it must be for the players. The very people supposed to be driving them on to immeasurable acts of heroism and technical brilliance are elsewhere, thoughtfully masticating on a bit of cheddar and digestive and draining the dregs of a bottle of over-priced wine.”
This echoed the comment made by Manchester United’s Roy Keane in 2000 when he famously said, “Away from home our fans are fantastic, I’d call them the hardcore fans. But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don’t realise what’s going on out on the pitch. I don’t think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell ‘football’, never mind understand it.”
Sadly these spectators have had an impact on the overall atmosphere at the various games. They and rising ticket prices also prevent many true fans gaining entrance to the game.
At the French Open Tennis in 2019 the organisers faced a similar problem. Even when 11-times French Open champion Rafael Nadal and 20-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer (both victories at that time!) started their semi-final the stands were not full. The organisers admitted that seats and boxes set aside for officials and corporate sponsors were often empty as ticket holders enjoyed the hospitality on offer rather than the tennis. To try and make the problem not appear so obvious they asked employees to fill the empty corporate seats. This was a case in the semi finals, and incredibly in the finals too!
In 2015 Wimbledon faced a similar problem and came under intense criticism as hundreds of seats were left empty while the ticket holders were still in the hospitality areas.
This has become a huge issue for many sports. It is now one that is going to hurt many sports financially as we come out the other side of the Covid-19 Pandemic. We have already witnessed a decline in the number of fans attending live games for a myriad of reasons. Which means that the corporate dollar is vital, but if those guests fail to watch the game and leave their seats empty, unbeknown to them they are in fact adding to the problem. No atmosphere and the game, the players and the fans lose the intensity of the contest. No atmosphere and the corporates struggle to find meaningful guests to invite. Eventually they pull their sponsorship.
As we have seen on television empty stands change the whole experience of watching sport. No matter how loud some commentators shout that is never going to change the flat experience an empty stadium gives the viewers at home.
The fans will come back, but the question will be can they afford to? Many will be finding life tough financially at the moment, and will be more cautious with their spending. Will the Governing bodies of the various sports take the same approach?
One question that many close to major clubs and sports are asking is can sports afford to have all these ‘hangers-on’ attending major events?
Some of the volunteers who have worked at major events and witnessed those in attendance in the corporate suites and VIP areas have been staggered at the levels of hospitality and catering on offer. Nearly all have been demoralised by how few in attendance actually watched the games.
Brian Glanville wrote the following when referring to the officials attending major events in his 1969 book “The Olympian.” “All they wanted was a certain deference; they wanted people to be grateful to them, to appreciate all the committees they sat on, all the phone calls they made, all the paper work they did. They wanted to be wanted; they wanted to be accepted at their own valuation. And they’d always win, by the very nature of things, because you can go on doing paper work forever, but you can only run and jump and throw for a few years.”
Does that evaluation ring true today? Is that why we see so many ‘hangers-on’ in attendance at major events, allegedly networking, or if not, enjoying the reward for a job they opted and or are paid to do?
Having tried to ascertain the budget from some clubs and sports on such hospitality, it was understandable that most were none to keen to reveal their spend. However while some staff are selected to go to ‘the party’ there will always be the workers who are left behind who will be disgruntled. Some of them were willing to share what they knew. It would appear that attending major global tournaments such as the Olympic Games, and World Cups, Board members and VIPs are frequently flown business class to the event, accommodation is paid for as well as hotel transfers and transfers to the stadium each day. Meals are also covered during their stay. To many it is an all expenses paid holiday, with the odd meeting thrown in. It would appear that the on ground budget per guest – not including airfares – is somewhere around USD$5-10k per person. Which is a major expenditure. Some would argue that this money could be better spent in areas that require investment, rather than purely on the entertainment of a select few. If they wish to attend then they do so at their own cost.
Many sports are extremely wily when it comes to such expenditure, organising a board meeting prior to the event, and then allowing their Board to stay on afterwards for the event. Yet in most cases these elected officers, even though the business has been attended to, still do not pay their own way. When you hear that you start to understand the position the Glanville described fifty years ago.
It is an interesting conundrum as one staff member explained, if they attend an event in a working capacity the company policy is that they cannot stay on after that event is concluded for a holiday. So why when Board Members are being flown to attend a meeting does the same rule not apply? That once the meeting is concluded they too do not have to head home.
As some staff explained often the invited guests will take their families with them. Many it appears will pay separately for their airfares and accommodation if the children come too, some don’t. More often than not though the host will extend the hospitality and game day tickets to the additional family members. Is this right in this day and age?
At a time when fans are going to be cautious when it comes to travel and the cost of attending live sporting events, the sports themselves cannot afford to have those corporate guests and VIPs lingering in the hospitality tents when the game has started. The value of a sporting event comes from more than just ticket sales and the sale of corporate boxes.
The attendance of bona fide fans and the crowd engagement are huge factors which have possibly until now been underestimated by many. The right atmosphere created by a packed house with fans from both sides full of nervous energy and excitement helps build the excitement surrounding the game. An excitement that is infectious. An excitement that broadcasters can transmit into our homes, our cars or wherever we choose to watch or listen. This helps make the viewer at home feel a part of the game. Without that, unless you have an interest in one of the teams playing, it becomes very hard to watch, even mundane. Not even piped crowd noise can replicate what the true fans deliver.
One of the great things about the broadcasting of sport is seeing the joy on a fan’s face when a goal or a try is scored, or a wicket taken. The interaction between a player and the fans bridges the gap and gives that moment reality, the hero connecting with their adoring passionate fans. On the flip side we get to feel the anguish of defeat on the face of the opposition fans. Moments that can be summed up with a well chosen line from a commentator, or sometimes require no commentary at all. A picture as they say speaking a thousand words. Empty seats have shown how much we miss this key ingredient.
Researchers have stated that never has it been more important than to build stronger connections between sports, teams, and their fans. Which in the long term could benefit sport more than many realise. US Researchers claim that “when consumers perceive influencers as being more sincere, the products the individual endorses look more appealing.” So if a player is sincere in their actions the fans are more likely to engage. When they kiss the badge on their chest it should not be a glib gesture, they have to mean it.
Think back to the great Denis Law scoring the goal for Manchester City that condemned his former club Manchester United to be relegated. Law won huge respect by not celebrating that goal at all. He was a former Manchester United player, and still had great affection for the club, his actions were genuine that day. There was no joy in that goal. He did not want to see United relegated. HIs actions have ensured that he is loved today by both sides of Manchester.
Empathy is a word rarely used today, in fact this writer was told the other day that today few people would know what empathy was. That may be true, so for those who are unfamiliar with the word it means having “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”
Sport is about feelings and emotions, whether you are playing or watching. Never has it been more important for sports and teams to be empathetic. The current situation globally is not going to disappear overnight. Many families and many individuals are doing it tough, financially, physically and mentally. Those who understand that and empathise with their supporters are likely to have their support for the rest of their lives. Many sports and clubs have professed to be ‘a family,’ now will be the test as to whether they live up to those claims. While the average fan is doing it tough, can your sport or club afford the extravagances of the corporate box, where guests don’t even watch the game?
If sport is to continue down the path it was headed pre Covid-19 then it is going to struggle. It was already heading towards a situation where the only people attending games on a regular basis were your diehard fans or your corporations and their clients or customers; and of course the ‘hangers on’ who have ‘earned’ their free ticket.
Just as in the 1990’s the days of the long lunch had to come to an end, when it comes to sport it is time that the hospitality gravy train was looked at. Maybe all catering should stop once the game begins and all invited must take their seats. Maybe when they accept an invitation they are given an option to stay at the function and watch the game on a television screen or to take their seat. However like the theatre they must take that seat for the start of the game. Sport may need the corporate dollar, but how much is that corporate dollar costing the sport? No club or sport can survive in the long term with swathes of empty seats, so it will be a balancing act for many to accommodate the corporate sponsors and the fans who create the atmosphere and pay to watch.
It appears that every expert who has looked at the problem of declining crowds has come up with the same solution to the problem, but it seems that few in power are taking heed. For the past two decades clubs and sports have looked to diversify their product in order to make the match day experience more appealing to a wider audience. The hope has been that they can pull in a new audience, and then once inside the venue they will turn them into new fans. Yet rarely does the uptake match the investment. The other issue is the more you diversify the more you move away from your core business, which will eventually impact on that core business, which is sport and competition.
The expert advice has been repeated time and again. Talk to your fans. Find out why they are not coming, why they are no longer watching. If you fail to engage them no amount of diversification or corporate boxes will save the core business.
One area though that clearly needs serious attention is the issue of the perks afforded those within the game, and the cost attached. Which sports can truly justify such costs any more?
Sport was always there as entertainment for the masses, a distraction at the end of a hard working week. Never have people needed or wanted such distractions as much in the past seventy years. Yet will sport ever return to being that again? Or have those empty seats now just become a reminder of how the corporate world has taken away the soul of sport?
