Sports Venue Technology - A Key Resource to Sports Venue Technology

Maximising Revenue from Ticketing and CRM

Andy Stevens
Visiting lecturer at the Kingston University

Executive Summary

Both the volume and value of tickets sold are vitally important for many sports venues, teams and events. The sports industry depends on spectators to not only realise ticketing revenue but incremental sales generated from event day discretionary spend on food and beverage, merchandise, retail, parking and other services.

Ticketing is a key income stream for many professional sports teams with tickets and other event day income representing up to 42% of total turnover for some of Europe's largest football clubs. In North America, the average NFL game draws 67,354 spectators, while theMLB New York Yankees receive $145 million in revenue from gate receipts alone.

With many professional sport leagues and international sports federations retaining control of media rights, key sponsorship properties and sometimes merchandise and licensing agreements, ticketing represents one of the most important revenue streams that clubs, franchises and organising committees can control.

The value of the worldwide ticket market is boosted by mega events such as the FIFA World Cup and Olympic ames. In 2006, the organising committee for FIFA World Cup recorded sales of Û220 million that was generated from over 3 million tickets for the 64 matches staged in Germany. However, many sports promoters are experiencing - or are becoming more concerned about - declining live attendances. Fans are not only expressing antipathy about the perceived value for money, but are now able to enjoy an ever-increasing choice of leisure activities, including 24 hour televised sport. Audience development has therefore become a priority for those proactive owners and managers who are adopting more robust customer acquisition and retention programmes .

Maximising Revenue from Ticketing and CRM offers insight and new opportunities for increasing live audiences and ticketing revenue, whether for a one-off vent or to establish a sizeable and loyal customer base season-by-season.

This report:

• Analyses and values the global sports ticketing market.
• Offers guidance for developing effective strategies to maximise ticketing revenue.
• presents practical advice on planning, implementing and evaluating marketing campaigns.
• appraises and illustrates the application and limitations of pricing policies to different scenarios.
• investigates how customer relationship management can develop fan loyalty and encourage up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.
• recommends practical solutions for minimising the effects of touting and scalping.
• assesses the use of secondary ticketing to maximise venue utilisation and generate incremental event day revenue.
• highlights best practice and lessons learned in the use of ticketing management systems to enhance the customer experience.
• explains the pros and cons of ticket formats and how these can enhance the operational efficiency of stadia and arenas.
• evaluates access control equipment and the specification and integration of venue management systems.

For further details, contact:

Debra Lestrade
Information Sales Manager SportBusiness Group
E-mail :debra.lestrade@sportbusiness.com
URL : www.sportsbusiness.com/reports