Sports Team of the Year
Eligibility/Criteria – Sports teams in the major and minor leagues and U.S. national teams; in leagues whose central offices are located in North America. This does not include individual college teams, recreational adult teams or children’s teams. Eligible teams personify best in class and demonstrate excellence, innovation and creativity in the business practices of operating a sports franchise. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Gains or improvements in attendance, ticket and merchandise sales, revenue and profitability
- Brand development
- Fan and client services
- Sponsorship sales, development and activation
- Media, new media and social media innovation
- Social responsibility/community relations and outreach programs
- On-field performance
Eligibility Period – March 1, 2019 – February 28, 2020
Entry Deadline – Friday, January 17, 2020
Entry Requirements
1. Provide examples of how the team:
a. Demonstrated excellence and growth through innovation, creativity and fan and client services
b. Demonstrated sound strategic planning, sponsorship, media development and innovation
c. Demonstrated new revenue generation and growth
d. Initiated or executed social responsibility or community relations and outreach projects
e. Developed and enhanced its brand
2. Explain what management did during the eligibility period to set the team apart from others.
3. Provide specific statistical data for the eligibility period on: (include actual numbers and percentage change from the previous year)
a. Overall and average attendance figures
b. Ticket sales, including season ticket (renewal and new sales), premium, group and general sales
c. Budget, revenue and profitability
d. Merchandising sales and revenue
e. Licensing figures
f. Sponsorship, including a list of all sponsors, indicating which were added in the eligibility period and revenue generated from sponsors
Please be as specific as you can in your responses. Please focus your answers on the specific question – submissions that don’t answer the actual question or provide detailed specifics will not be closely considered.
Notes
- Please be succinct, providing material preferably in 4-6 pages, but in no more than 6 pages.
- Go to http://sbjuploads.com. Fill in your contact information and then select "Sports Business Awards." At the next screen, select the appropriate category. On the third screen, follow the instructions on the screen – "Add Files", "Upload" files and "Send my files."
- Provide as much statistical data to support your entry as possible. If you cannot provide hard numbers, percentages are helpful.
- Once the nominees are chosen, materials originally submitted during the entry phase will be provided to the external judges for the second phase of judging. NOMINEES WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SUBMIT A NEW ENTRY. Minor addendums (to cover the period from January 17 through February 28) must be approved by Sports Business Journal/Daily. Please contact Tracey Allsbrook at 704-973-1566.