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The sports world has begun to reopen, albeit in empty stadiums for now. Fans will be allowed through the turnstiles again at some point.
That is why sports executives, especially facilities managers to engineers and more, are working overtime to deal with a myriad of logistical challenges as they prepare for whenever their Opening Day may be.
How to make venues as COVID-19-free as is humanly possible so fans will feel safe is easier said than done.
With that in mind, GreenSportsBlog is happy to offer a recurring guest slot to the new Sustainable Sport Research Collective and their four-part “Sustainable Sports Agenda, Opportunities for the World to #BuildBackBetter” series. GSB finds the Collective’s focus on ensuring that #BuildBackBetter not only means safer but also greener wherever possible to be compelling, indeed.
Monday’s Part I introduced the series.
In today’s Part II, Environmental Strategies for Gameday Logistics to #BuildBackBetter, the Collective offers tangible suggestions about getting fans to and from the game, as well as into and out of a venue safely and sustainably.
Sustainable Sports Agenda Part2.GamedayLogistics (1)
To ensure that today’s report is a conversation starter, the Collective would like to invite you to join an online discussion of how to #BuildBackBetter in Gameday logistics next Tuesday, June 9th at 4pm ET. Please register here.
Also next Tuesday, the Collective will also release the third part of their four-part series, which will identify Opportunities in the Back of House to #BuildBackBetter.
Here’s a preview:
Though not often visible to spectators, back of house operations are the brain and muscle of the gameday experience. The carefully curated experience requires essential staff to execute the policies and plans, management to oversee operations, and coordinated logistics to ensure that each moment is seamless. As these teams plan for a safe return for fans, players, and their own teams, there are many opportunities to make progress on environmental sustainability policies that had begun to roll-out pre-COVID.
We discuss opportunities to integrate progress in sustainability in concessions, waste diversion measures, and safe custodial services, to support us to #BuildBackBetter.
Document Release: Tuesday, June 9
Discussion: Tuesday, June 16
The fourth and final part of the series, New Communications and Partnerships Opportunities as Fans Return to #BuildBackBetter, will be released the following week.
Here is a look ahead:
Changes in our feelings and expectations of attending live events will introduce unfamiliarity where we have always taken comfort in familiarity. Fans will arrive at the gates with a heightened attention to signage and communication – can our messaging around sustainability be more engaging and capture a more receptive audience?
Venue operations changes and fans’ lifestyle shifts will also open new partnership doors and expanded partner activation opportunities. How do we work with existing partners’ to step into a newly sensitized environment?
In this closing segment of our work and discussions, we’ll explore the positive fan experience potential in emerging from the long offseason together.
Document Release: Tuesday, June 16
Discussion: Tuesday, June 23
Sustainable Sport Research Collective is a collaboration among four established sustainability professionals exclusively focused on the sports industry.
Per the Collective, “With strong knowledge of venue operations, environmental sustainability, social responsibility and fan experience and engagement, the group recognized the need for insights into fans’ primary concerns, and latent trepidation, in returning to large public gathering spaces. As advisors and practitioners working regularly with sports league and team executives, we’ve established a robust survey method, including a novel virtual focus group, representative of the broad demographics of sports fans.”
Sustainable Sport Research Collective Members²:
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- Aileen McManamon, Founder of 5T Sports
- Monica Rowand, COO of Phase 3 Sport
- Kristen Fulmer, Founder of Recipric
- Madeleine Orr, Co-Founder of Sport Ecology Group
¹ Photo at top: Fans queue up at the U.S. Open (tennis) Photo credit: Tim Clayton, Corbis/Getty Images
² Kristen Fulmer serves as Strategic Advisor of EcoAthletes, a new nonprofit founded in April by Lew Blaustein of GreenSportsBlog. Madeleine Orr is on the EcoAthletes advisory board.
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