A collection of 200-pound rugby players from Australia "is expected to create a buzz for the sport in Chicago again on Saturday," according to HJ Mai of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL.
For the second year in a row, TLA Worldwide "is bringing a top international rugby team to Soldier Field." Last year, it was the New Zealand All Blacks that "attracted a sellout crowd to the venue." This year, the Qantas Wallabies from Australia "will compete against the U.S. Eagles team at the 61,500-seat stadium."
Saturday’s effort, however, also serves a larger purpose -- "showing the development of Australian sports as a whole." U.S. leagues and companies are noting the growth and are seeking ways to capitalize on what they see as an "increasingly rich sports landscape, and burgeoning fan interest, across that foreign continent."
For its part, the Australian government "is encouraging the nation’s sports leagues, teams and venues to compete for global opportunities." Victoria Sports Minister John Eren "noted the government’s desire to lure more international events to Melbourne." He said, "We are looking at all options. We like the sound of American football, we like [the] NBA, we like the NHL." The hope locally is that interest like that "will help attract U.S. leagues to the country for showcases of their own."
EYEING DOWN UNDER: Among the leagues taking a look is the NBA. "We continue to work with the local constituencies there to figure out how we can make that happen," said Scott Levy, senior vice president and managing director of NBA Asia and India. "It’s a long way [in miles], but we’d like to bring the teams there."
Levy noted that Australia "is the NBA’s top market outside of North America for NBA-Store.com and its League Pass streaming service." Major League Baseball "has already planted its game flag in Australia." The league opened its '14 season with a three-game series between the L.A. Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The league "also is the majority owner of Australia’s professional baseball league." Desire for live sports content "fuels the interest of TLA, and other agencies, to develop new offerings within Australia."
ON THE GROUND: TLA "operates two properties on the continent." It acquired the rights to produce the Int'l Champions Cup football tournament from '15-18 in Australia from Relevent Sports. It also earlier this year staged a four-city hockey tour called the Ice Hockey Classic. That series "attracted nearly 40,000 spectators across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth." TLA Worldwide CEO Mike Principe: "Hockey for us just solidified the concept that when you bring quality entertainment, folks will come." Gate revenue "has served as the largest revenue driver from these events to date." The hope, however, is that sponsorship "could grow in significance as the events become part of the regular sporting landscape in the country." It is "one of many areas in which those invested in the country see opportunities for growth." TLA Chair Bart Campbell said, "I really don’t think we’ve scratched the surface in terms of hitting capacity constraints or anything like that yet" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, issue 8/31).
