With the World Cup and Super Bowl coming to Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium next year, the business of sports is in the spotlight.
At a roundtable with sports and business leaders at the Triton Museum of Art on April 2, Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce looked at the business of sports and especially the role of women’s sports in that ecosystem. The free event also offered visitors the opportunity to enjoy the Triton’s current exhibits, international food, California wines and information about local businesses and nonprofits.
Chamber CEO Harbir Bhatia moderated the panel, which included 49ers VP Public Affairs Elle Caple, National Women’s Soccer League Bay FC Senior VP of Revenue Heather Pease, US Soccer Federation coaching educator Jan Eric Nordmo, SCU Sr. Assoc. Athletic Dir. Academics Compliance Jessica Everhart, and BAHC Chief Marketing Officer Athletic Advocate Patty Hubbard. The audience included local elected officials: City Council Members Albert Gonzalez, Karen Hardy and Kevin Park, and SCUSD Board President Michele Ryan.
Sports profits local economies, the 49ers’ Caple told the audience.
“The Niners been here in Santa Clara for 10 years. We did a study to find out how we were contributing to the local economy,” she said. “We found out that Levi’s Stadium has contributed $2 billion to the local economy. That includes around 12,000 jobs and about half a billion dollars earned by the local workers.
“And that’s not just organizer staff,” she added. “That’s staff at local hotels, restaurants. We really hope to be a tide that lifts all boats.”
“When we think about sports, we think only athletics,” said Bhatia, who said sports events support more in the local economy.
“They are going to need tailors,” said Bhatia. “They need coaches. They need caterers. Every human function you can think of is necessary. It’s another industry that requires the same support.”
The NFL’s Source LX program will help Santa Clara businesses benefit from Super Bowl 60, said Caple.
“The program is making sure we have a pipeline of diverse small businesses that we can refer people to as trusted vendors,” said Caple. “We make sure businesses have workshops [and] networking opportunities.”
Women’s sports are part of that economic activity, but there’s a long way to grow.
“Women are 47% of sports fans,” said Bhatia,” but what percent of revenue is coming from women’s sports today? Less than 4%.”
Growing interest in women’s sports promises growing revenue.
“We’ve committed to build a $40 million training facility on Treasure Island,” said Bay FC’s Pease. “That’s where our athletes will train, and it’ll be custom-built. That’s not just construction material. We need a chef. We need people to keep it secure. There’s a whole ecosystem there.”
“We [SCU] just hired a new women’s basketball coach,” said SCU’s Everhart. “Women’s basketball is at the forefront. If you’re big volleyball fans, University of Nebraska just had an attendance record. Everyone wants to be a part of it. We are always looking to support community businesses.”
Fostering girls’ sports participation is key.
“We just announced our Sports for All [program],” said BAHC’s Hubbard. “We want nine sports hubs in our nine communities of the Bay [that are] tied to community centers and schools.”
BAHC is also including leadership training and financial literacy education.
“We’re thinking about things in the long term, not just about the week where it’s a PR event,” continued Hubbard. “This is about being embedded in our communities long term, and using all of the things that we have in our arsenal … athletes and influencers in our partnership with NBC.”
The 49ers, too, are active in promoting girls’ sports, sponsoring girls’ flag football in Santa Clara high schools, noted the 49ers’ Caple.
“It’s something we lobbied to make a varsity sport in California,” she said. “It’s going to be an Olympic sport. In Santa Clara, we’ve welcomed around 50,000 young female student athletes to the stadium to participate in flag football clubs.”
There are many stakeholders in the business of sports today, was Chamber CEO Bhatia’s concluding thought.
“Whether you’re an athlete in leadership, a large business, or small business, there’s something for all stakeholders around women in sports,” she said. “Today’s point was: there are winning connections between sports [and] businesses, economic impact, empowerment of women and youth, and success for everyone. This is what we wanted to showcase today.”
