A couple months ago (or what feels like a decade in pandemic time), UFC head honcho Dana White made the headlines with the idea of a “Fight Island,” ostensibly a private island where the organization could return to producing events as quickly as possible. While this never took off, it has now been reconfigured, with next month’s series of UFC events in Abu Dhabi now dubbed “Fight Island.” This is not the manifestation of White’s early-pandemic vision of some quasi-dystopian oasis of violence: what most are calling Fight Island is Yas Island, a man-made resort island in Abu Dhabi, a locale that has previously hosted multiple UFC events. The buzz surrounding the upcoming fights, as well as Saudi Arabia’s contentious bid to take over Newcastle United FC in the English Premier League, offers a chance to reflect on the growing role of sports in the Middle East.

As the slew of links below suggest, there is much to think about in this context. But first there’s the question: why are these countries so focused on building their sports portfolios, whether in the form of foreign team ownership or mega-event production? The answer is two-fold and unsurprising: money and politics. First, there is the obvious economic angle: as the world grinds away from oil-dependency, these rich states are scrambling to diversify their interests, in part by reinventing themselves as tourist destinations with a range of cultural offerings. It’s not just spending on sports, but a range of arts, entertainment, and leisure investments. Second, the sports diplomacy and soft power angle: sports are a key means of building an international reputation and positive “brand” image, one often reliant upon the seemingly global acceptance of the shaky idea that sports are somehow above politics and other ugly stuff. In hosting big-time sports events, nations bring themselves positive international PR, an excuse to bring influential people together (again, in allegedly apolitical contexts), and attract international investment and partnerships in large-scale infrastructural projects (yes, this circles back to the economy, as most things do.).

Links:

1. Starting with the topical: here’s a really nice overview of the UFC/Yas Island project, including fight details, corona protocols, and a history of the UFC at the site. Here’s the latest on the Saudi takeover attempt of Newcastle United, which had hit a roadblock due to an ongoing piracy scandal/proxy battle with Qatar (about which I wrote a short post about previously).
   
   
2. To dive deeper into the background of sport and soft power in the region: here’s a timely overview of soccer-specific efforts across the region from USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy. For Saudi Arabia specifically, there’s this piece I wrote last year, when tensions arose around a WWE event in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Khashoggi scandal. Qatar, while not in the headlines at the moment, has been a major player in this realm, having successfully secured the 2022 FIFA World Cup, an event that is becoming a bigger and bigger deal as sports will remain decidedly abnormal for at least another year. (If you’re wondering how the Gulf State somehow secured the crown jewel of the sporting world…there are serious allegations that it was not all above board.) This overview from the Middle East Institute is a nice introduction to the country’s strategy.
   
   
3. Even when mega-brands and wealthy nations are involved, plans don’t always materialize. To wit: Spanish soccer club Real Madrid’s ambitious and failed attempt to place a branded luxury island in the emirate of Ras al Khaimah. If you have a subscription to the Athletic, this is an excellent deep dive on how things fell apart. If you don’t, this article will suffice.
   
   
4. It is hardly a surprise that not everyone thinks this is all fun and games. Critics accuse the Gulf States of “sportswashing,” a neologism coined by Amnesty International. The term means what it sounds like: using sports to obscure an undesirable reputation, particularly in the realm of human rights. The journalist Karim Zidan is probably the best author on the subject. Here’s his take on US-Saudi sports relations and a detailed critique of Morocco. If you’re in more of a listening mood, here’s a recent podcast featuring Zidan, wherein he covers a lot of this territory in only 20 minutes. Worth it for the background alone, even if you don’t accept the sportswashing critique.

An interesting paper in the Journal of Sports Economics by Geoffrey Propheter: “Does Proximity to a New Sports Facility Affect Existing Businesses’ Survival Time?” Abstract as follows, my emphasis on the key finding:

Existing literature on the economic impact of sports facilities fails to consider whether new facilities positively affect existing businesses. To fill this gap, data on existing establishments in Sacramento, CA, active from 2004 through 2018 were collected. The outcome of interest is existing businesses’ survival time. Using an accelerated failure time model in a difference-in-difference framework, retail establishments within a half mile of the Golden 1 Center are found to have survival times 53% shorter than otherwise similar retail establishments further away. Models also reveal existing establishments in other industries complementary to sports are not affected by the arena.

Full paper here, you’ll likely need institutional access though.

I’ve launched a weekly newsletter, highlighting my favorite sports writing that I read each week and a digest of recent posts on SportsThink. The first edition just went out, I’d appreciate it so much if you’d take a look and consider subscribing!

This guest post comes our way from Jose Izquierdo, former General Secretary of the World Boxing Organization. Mr. Izquierdo is a San Juan based attorney, specializing in sports law with a focus on boxing. He counsels world-class athletes, corporations, and international organizations on a range of legal, strategic, and developmental matters.

Hard though it is to believe now, it was just a little more than three months ago that Tyson Fury claimed the WBC Heavyweight Championship by utterly outclassing, outmuscling, and obliterating Deontay Wilder in one of the most eagerly anticipated prizefights in decades. At the time of that seventh-round stoppage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, it seemed almost certain that the all-important heavyweight division— and boxing in general— was in the midst of ushering in a new era, reminiscent of its illustrious past. 

While fights of the kind that transcend boxing are, at least for the immediate future, outside a logistically and financially feasible range, last night marked the return of televised boxing in the US. Top Rank Boxing and its indefatigable CEO Bob Arum were back in Las Vegas on Tuesday, putting on a successful first card on ESPN. While the fights were, as expected, lopsided affairs, they showcased former Olympian and now featherweight world title holder Shakur Stevenson. The young and exceptionally talented southpaw thoroughly dominated the tough, but overmatched Felix Caraballo from Puerto Rico, who ultimately succumbed to a left body shot in round 6. Also of note, Cuban Robeisy Ramirez— a former two time Olympic gold medalist who shockingly lost his professional debut last year— continued his winning ways under the tutelage of trainer Ismael Salas, with a 54 second stoppage. While not the most exciting of fight nights, it was great to see live boxing again.

To be sure, a pandemic is, by definition, a hugely disruptive global event. But as we’ve already seen in the sports world, the pandemic also presents the opportunity to foster innovation. But just how changed a sport boxing will be when the opening bell rings and moving forward in these deeply paradoxical times, depends on who you ask. Here are what I think are some of the more pressing issues the sport will have to deal with as it cautiously proceeds with its comeback.

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Sport and race. There is so much to say on this issue, one that really underscores how context drives the meaning of sports: the sports world has often been a leader in the fight for racial equality, while almost as often providing reminders of the racial work that remains for us to do as a society. At times of great reckoning, my instinct is to listen, learn, and absorb, to consider how I can better serve my students, my community, and the world around me. Thus, for now, I’ll limit my thoughts on the matter, focusing on a critical juncture for our most powerful league. Some books that have shaped my understanding of the intersection of race and sport follow in the second part of this post.

The Opportunity for the NFL

Moments of great unrest bring with them the potential for great change. The NFL, arguably the business (sport or otherwise) with most visible black labor force is now presented with a major opportunity to counter years of racial baggage and emerge as a leader in the national conversation on race. To the league’s credit, they were already focused on the issue in the week’s before George Floyd’s death, working on revisions to the Rooney Rule that would produce greater equity in high-level hiring. But the world is radically different now. Axios has a nice chronicle of how a group of NFL players took to social media, essentially forcing commissioner Roger Goodell to confront racial issues that have long been brewing within the league. The specter of Colin Kaepernick looms large.

Simply put, the league is at a crossroads. The commissioner and owners can follow their previous path, bide their time, claim apolitical neutrality, and hope that things mellow out in time. Or, they can do the right thing, and support their athletes’ right to free expression and a powerful platform for advancing meaningful conversations. Where almost every company has put out some platitudinal statement of equitable values, the NFL has the visibility and reach to be an actual force for necessary conversations and social change. And they should lean in to the opportunity. Is there some market risk? Of course there is: some older fans, mostly white, will be turned off. But is there not also market opportunity to emerge as a progressive league, one more in sync with the worldview of younger fans? I think yes. Plus, let’s not ignore the simple fact that the American appetite for football remains insatiable. The XFL experiment proved that fans will tune in to an inferior football product. No amount of political activism from players will change the fact that NFL product is the pinnacle of the game. There will be still be fans and there will still be plenty of dollars to go around.

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As a professor, there are few things more gratifying than seeing your students produce excellent work. Julian Rowe-Cohen, a double major at UT in Sport Management and Journalism, put together a great short documentary on the short-lived XFL. As a bonus, he was kind enough to interview me and include some of my rambling analysis. I think the final product came out quite well! Trailer and full film below.

This guest post comes our way from Dr. Matt Bowers, my colleague on the sport management faculty at the University of Texas at Austin. Matt is a leading researcher in the field of youth sports, serving as the research director of the Aspen Institute’s Healthy Sports Index, and is a member of the science board of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. He was recently named a research fellow of the North American Society for Sport Management. Our consultancy, Hook and Ladder, serves organizations throughout the industry, including those in the youth sports space. You can find him on Twitter, @mattbowersphd.

College football in the Fall. As a kid, I remember thinking that, in their infinite wisdom, the powers-that-be must have decided to schedule football to be played in the Fall as the only thing to make going back to school tolerable. For millions of fans sitting at home enduring a sports-less COVID-19 quarantine, the thought of college football returning in any form in September represents hope for a return to a sense of normalcy. And, in spite of the reservations I’ve developed over the years about the safety issues and the money flowing through the sport, I’ll confess that a big part of me is desperate to see my Longhorns and my Gators take the field. College football is far from perfect – in fact, it’s a complicated mess that requires some level of cognitive dissonance to allow yourself to play along. But it’s our complicated mess and it’s been woven into the fabric of our American sports DNA.

Here’s the thing, though: it might take college football not coming back this Fall to save youth sports in America. That’s possibly a hyperbolic claim, but it’s also, quite possibly, not.

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A couple weeks ago, I shared this post on sports industry trends that I expect will be accelerated by the effects of the pandemic. Here are some relevant links of interest:

1. Youth Sports. Here’s Tom Farrey, director of the Aspen Institute’s Project Play on the future of youth sports.
2. Gambling. Virus could lead more states to OK sports, online betting.
3. The further polarization of partisan politics as related to sports. This is the one I want to be the most wrong about and the current circumstances driving this forward are heartbreaking. Athletes’ Outpouring on Civil Unrest Rekindles Kaepernick Debate in N.F.L. ‘Stick to sports?’ No chance. Activist athletes are playing an important role right now

As sports broadcasts return to the airwaves, we’re beginning to see some answers to questions about how leagues and broadcasters will simulate the atmosphere that live fans bring to games. While some fans may be put-off by fake noise and manufactured cheering, these elements appear to be a priority for organizations, with some very novel technological implications. Front Office Sports has a brief report, interesting tidbits here:

In Japan, an app will allow fans to pick from “cheer, chant, clap, shout, groan and boo,” to broadcast through the stadium loudspeakers. Empty stadiums across the globe have also now employed everything from cardboard cutouts of fans to robots and dolls to help fill the seats, and in some cases generate cash by allowing fans to purchase or sponsor the stand-ins.

The German Bundesliga has been broadcast in the U.S. with artificial crowd noise, and the English Premier League might offer the same type of feed. In Denmark, more than 30,000 fans used Zoom to cheer on AGF Aarhus through screens around the field. 

“Nothing is off the table at this point,” NBC Sunday Night Football Executive Producer Fred Gaudelli said. “But this is something that I’d expect all the networks will discuss closely with the NFL as we approach the preseason and regular season.”

Way back in 1998, B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore heralded the birth of the “Experience Economy” in the Harvard Business Review. They described an emergent shift in “the time-starved 1990s,” capturing a sentiment that is even more relevant today:

As goods and services become commoditized, the customer experiences that companies create will matter most.

Credit where it’s due, they were right: look no further than the pre-pandemic crowds at your local Apple store, the rise of mega music festivals like Coachella, and play based businesses like TopGolf or your local axe-throwing franchise.

But now, as the economy slowly starts reopening, experience-driven offerings remain a dicey proposition. A recent New York Times headline puts it bluntly, “Coronavirus Shut Down the Experience Economy: Can it Come Back?” The article includes a quote from the aforementioned Pine, who succinctly states what many of us are feeling at the moment:

Any place people want to gather is a place no one wants to be right now.

So where does this leave the sports industry? After all, sports are arguably THE original experience economy. (Ok, maybe the ancient Greek theatre is the original, but sports are close.) There are two parallel considerations for the sports world. First is the return of the existing product: how to get fans back to games in an environment where they not only feel safe, but enjoy the pretense of a return to ‘normal’? Second is the exploration of new revenue streams from existing facilities and resources: with revenues lost to reduced seating and shortened seasons, are there new opportunities to be had?

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