advanced theory and practice in sport marketing - Marshalls University

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Frank Supovitz, Senior Vice President, Events
National Football League
New York, New York
In my opinion, I have the best job in the world. Sometimes, it seems like one
of the toughest, but it is certainly the best. In my position as Senior Vice
President of Events for the National Football League, I manage a department
that is responsible for the planning and management of the Super Bowl, Pro
Bowl, and the NFL Draft, among many other programs. We work closely with
the host cities, stadiums, hotels, sponsors, broadcasters, and support venues
that are needed to successfully execute these events, sometimes many years in
advance.
Getting to this point in my career was partially a function of being in the
right place at the right time, but also about being open to the many exciting
possibilities a career can take. That did not mean taking any job that came my
way. I evaluated every opportunity to determine whether a new job might provide
me with new challenges for my experience and expertise, and whether I
could imagine myself happy in a new pursuit not a year later, but 10 years later.
I grew up in Queens, and worked evenings after school as an usher at
Radio City Music Hall. That part-time job turned into a 16-year run at the
Hall, advancing through the ranks through the operations department, then
marketing, and finally to director of special events. There, I applied my experience
in entertainment marketing with the knowledge of staging corporate,
sports, and civic events to projects including the halftime show for Super
Bowl XXII. From there, I worked on the US Olympic Festival, the Goodwill
Games, and other major programs, eventually ending up at the National
Hockey League in 1992. There, I was responsible for NHL All Star
Weekend, the Stanley Cup, and the NHL Draft, among many other events.
After 13 seasons in hockey, I moved from pucks to pigskin, moving to the
National Football League in 2005.
What does it take to plan a Super Bowl? Start with 3–5 years of working
with local business and governmental leaders to prepare a city to host
150,000 inbound visitors, preparing the stadium for the nation’s most
watched annual event, managing ticketing for more than 70,000 fans, contracting
more than 20,000 hotel rooms, hundreds of motor coaches, and tens
of thousands of parking spaces. Many elements the public never sees, such as
securing two practice facilities with the same playing surface as the stadium,
hotels for the competing teams’ accommodations and offices, and a media
center to house more than 100 radio stations and the NFL Network broadcasting
live throughout the week, as well as work space for thousands of
accredited reporters and writers. We design and construct tented or indoor
hospitality space for up to 8000 corporate guests, more than 150,000 square
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INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MARKETING 15