Sports events bring together communities far and wide, whether on a small charity run scale or a large scale. If you’re looking to put together a sports event, you’ll already know that there are lots of factors that go into proper planning and management. But if you love sports and want to deliver an event that will excite and interest your local crowd, we’ve got some important tips and guidance on how to make that happen.
Sports Event Management is an umbrella term that covers managing all the tasks that need to be covered in order to launch a successful event. There’s a lot that goes into a sports event so it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of the specific area within the events industry as there are specific requirements that you’ll need to host a sporting event. Once you have the groundwork covered and have your venue and team, you can start promoting and putting your plans into motion. Sports event planning and management all include getting involved with:
Event planning is best managed in steps. Sports events aren’t any different. Here are the key steps that you should cover.
Setting out your event goals early will keep you on track during the planning process. Event objectives aren’t always about ROI, though naturally you do want to make a profit on tickets. Sporting events are beneficial to the community and the social aspect can’t be overlooked. Before planning and designing your event, gain a clear picture on your demographics, the audience you want to target, the sports you want to showcase and how the event will be financed.
You’ll need to be clear about your budget. There are additional costs for sports events that can creep up. You don’t just have to worry about hiring a pitch and seating – there are also permits to cover and vendors to stock. If you know how much of a budget you have to work with early on, you can make sure you cover the vital aspects of the event. Allocating funds effectively across the event will make sure you aren’t left with any glaring holes. You should also consider whether you’ll receive additional funding from sponsorships as you could be in a position to negotiate more revenue to help support the event.
Getting the right venue is pretty important. You need to make sure that it can safely host your event while providing the athletes and audience with the right amenities. Your venue of course relies heavily on the sport that you’re hosting. Do you need a football pitch? A tennis court? Or an arena?
You’ll need to factor in crowd capacity and how many tickets you’ll need to sell to cover the seating. Once you have a clear picture of numbers that you’re expecting, you can go into negotiating with venues to find the best location.
Insurance is crucial for sporting events. Injuries are something that are all the most likely to happen where sports are involved. You must have insurance cover and all the right permits as you can risk having your event shut down without them. Make sure you know exactly what the authorising body for the sport has in their rules and regulations. Some local authorities will need you to carry out risk assessments before you go ahead.
When you have a venue and a date all lined up, you can start marketing your event and selling tickets. There are many online methods you can use to sell tickets using software such as eventbrite or ticketmaster. You can maximise your reach through using social media to target specific locations and demographics to get your event scene. Also don’t forget to look out for offline ways to market your event. Posters and leaflets around the local area can bring in footfall and raise awareness of your event.
When it comes down to the special day, you’ll want to be involved from the very start to the finish. Managing every team and making sure all the participants are happy will boost the energy for the event. It’s important to have everyone on hand to be ready to deal with any challenges that arise on the day.
Once the event is over, the work doesn’t finish. Encourage your audience and participants to provide feedback on the event. If you incorporate a virtual aspect to the event and stream the event live, keep the dialogue going through social media, posting clips of highlights. Keep the energy going for as long as you can.
A huge sports enthusiast and want to host your own event? The best way to get started is to attend as many events as you can – as an audience member and as a volunteer. Gain as much inside experience as you can working on the floor. Getting a first-hand view of what’s involved on the day will give you perspective on what you need to plan for when setting up your own event.
When it comes to the planning process itself, you can get training in events management. Our online course at Event Crowd is the UK’s leading Events Management course. You can gain access to the knowledge and experience of over 40 event experts including sports events managers. If you want to find out more about our courses, you can download our brochure. Similarly, you can give us a call on 01202 545633.
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