SELLING SPORT
THE
LIVE SPORT
EXPERIENCE HAS NEVER BEEN MORE VALUABLE
WITH ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION SLOWING, THE VALUE OF SCREENING LIVE SPORT TO VENUES IS DRIVING INNOVATION AND PROFITABILITY. CRAIG HAWTIN-BUTCHER TALKS TO THE EXPERTS TO REVEAL HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE OPPORTUNITY.
“W
e know from surveys that sports fans want atmosphere in venues. Surprisingly, food and drink specials didn’t really feature that highly,” says Patrick Galloway, a sports journalist and founder of Sports Year, a sports scheduling service for venues. This appetite for ‘experience’ has been cited extensively in millennial reports as a key driver for potential pub patrons. With extensive reasons to stay at home, from streaming options like Netflix to Deliveroo food deliveries and cut-price alcohol available in the home, the trump card pubs can play to lure patrons away from their couches and into venues is the sheer spectacle of live sport on the big screen enjoyed with fellow fans. “We’re working with over 100 venues, mainly across the eastern seaboard,” says Galloway. “[They're telling us] the future of hospitality is about creating a venue that’s a magical experience for sports fans or any patron.”
16 | MARCH 2019 AUSTRALIAN HOTELIER
AMBARVALE HOTEL It’s why venues such as the Ambarvale Hotel, NSW are investing heavily in renos that cater for these segmented sport-loving crowds. “Our goal was to create something pretty special for the sport-loving community that exists out in the Macarthur region,” says Damian Burcher of Parras Hospitality, the hotel’s owners. “To do that, we’ve broken it up into a number of different areas. Each has its own little identity and its own purpose. “The public bar has been put together as an everyman’s bar, there’s a couple of TVs that are sport-focused. But it’s not your traditional TABjammed-into-the-corner bar. It’s a dedicated public bar, with an outdoor area and its own balcony. It’s located right next to the TAB for die-hard racing fans. We’ve put in an eight-panel multiscreen video wall. That’s got a focus on racing but it has a sporting element too. “The gaming room we have a sports theatre. It’s a more reserved sporting area for those that
“Sport has been traditionally a male-dominant area. We think it’s moving away from that.” – Damian Burcher
