Premiere Corporate Events' Robert Tuchman Discusses New Book
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Premiere Corporate Events'
Robert Tuchman |
Robert Tuchman, President and Founder of Premiere Corporate Events, spent more than a decade at the forefront of the sports hospitality business before finally deciding to put his experiences into book form. "The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live: An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Sports Experience of a Lifetime," hits stores this week and provides a guide to attending the top sporting events in the world. Tuchman, who’s been to 37 of the 100 events on his list, calls the New York City Marathon his favorite. Tuchman: “It’s just an incredible feeling to be part of millions of fans cheering on people who are trying to achieve their personal dreams.” SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Jon Show recently caught up with Tuchman to discuss the new book.
Q: By nature, lists were meant to create debate. How tough a choice was The Masters as the top sporting event?
Tuchman: The Masters was a very difficult choice, as most people across the globe would argue that the World Cup is the one event the whole world stops to watch. Many people would even say the Olympics or Super Bowl should have been picked ahead of The Masters. This list, though, is about the overall onsite experience, and nothing compares to Augusta. I have been to all the aforementioned events; Augusta is in a class by itself. I am not a big golfer or even a golf fan, but The Masters is truly a special event.
Q: Which of the 100 on your list created the most internal debate as far as rankings? Which ones were tough last minute cuts?
Tuchman: Army and Navy football was selected as the highest college event at number five on the list. Many people would argue that Ohio State vs. Michigan in football or UNC vs. Duke in basketball should be higher on the list. Even the Red Sox vs. Yankees or Manchester United vs. Liverpool. I think many people might not agree with that selection but it would be unpatriotic to say so! Some tough cuts that I think could have easily made the list but were left out include Louisville vs. Kentucky in basketball and the Frozen Four. One thing I noticed about the top three was the exclusive feel of each event and difficulty in the average person to obtain, or even afford, tickets.
Q: What can be done to open more of these events to more people?
Tuchman: One of the reasons I wrote this book was to give people an idea of how to go about making their dream trip into a reality. Nowadays it’s especially hard to shell out a ton of money for these events, but there are ways to go about creating a trip that will save you money. That is some of the expertise that I learned over the past 12 years and that I have hopefully talked about in the book. The great news about this list is that many of the events, the New York City Marathon (No. 6) or the Tour de France (No. 13), are actually free.
Q: What impact has the explosion of the Internet and the secondary ticket market had on big events?
Tuchman: The great thing about the secondary ticket market is that is has brought a transparency to the event marketplace. People don’t realize, but it is actually a great thing for the average fan because it opens up all these big events to that person who never before knew how to get a ticket or was paying a larger-then-market premium. The secondary ticket market has created a fair value price for event tickets similar to any supply and demand market in the free world.
Q: If you had put this list together 10 years ago do you think you would have seen any changes in the top five? What about 10 years from now?
Tuchman: The Masters may have lost out to the World Cup. I still think that is a very close call. As for the top 10, I don’t think the New York City Marathon would have made the list. They have really developed that event into an amazing fan experience and the popularity of the sport has grown as well. I think Red Sox vs. Yankees would have not made the top 10. I think it is one of, if not the best, rivalries in all of sports, but Boston has only recently carried its weight. Ten years from now I think you will be looking at a lot more international events on this list. The world is getting smaller with advances in technology. I can wake up on the weekend and watch the Premier League nowadays. I could not do that 10 years ago. There is going to be much more interest from all over the world in many different sports.
BEST EVENTS: Below are the top 10 sporting events from Tuchman's book.
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RANK
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EVENT
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1
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The Masters
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2
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FIFA World Cup
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3
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Super Bowl
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4
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Summer Olympics |
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5
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Army-Navy Football Game |
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6
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ING New York City Marathon |
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7
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World Series |
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8
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Winter Olympics |
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9
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Red Sox-Yankees at Yankee Stadium |
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10
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UNC-Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium |
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