Blog #3- Week One!

 Today I had the awesome opportunity to dive deeper into what interested me the most initially, and that is the bids that the Cleveland Sports Commission submits in order to get events to come to Cleveland. I met with Mike Mulhall and Monica Gustin, the leaders of Business Development for the organization. They are the people that are in charge of creating, analyzing, and submitting bids. In other words, they are on the front lines of going out and finding events to bring to Northeast Ohio. These types of events can range from the US Jump Rope Championship to NBA All-Star Weekend. I was really excited to hear that there were a rang of events they did, because I knew I would get to learn about the difference in requirements for hosting a large event versus a smaller one. Bids are made to sell the governing body of the event on WHY a certain city is the best fit for them. That includes facilities, hotels, financials, etc. The Cleveland Sports Commission is competing with other cities like Las Vegas, New York, and Miami, which are reputably bigger and more lively cities. So what I found really interesting was how the Business Development team sold directors of events on coming to Cleveland over those other places.  Mike and Monica told me that how they doing that is showing that they care. The bigger cities will simply try to sell on space, popularity, and money, but they sell Cleveland because of the work they are willing to put into the event if it comes there. They are willing to go the extra mile and do things other cities won't do in order to make the event as meaningful and successful as possible. Another thing that really stood out to me was regarding the money they make on events. I was informed that most of the time, they made no profit at all. It is important that they minimize their risk because they are a small organization, but if they break even but there is also a large amount of economic impact on Cleveland, then they are satisfied and have done their job to strengthen the community. Overall, I was extremely intrigued with the process and how widely creating bids for different sized events varies. I have a few more meetings this week that I am looking forward to in order to learn about other areas of the organization!

Comments

  1. Rachel MullenDecember 3, 2021 at 3:07 PM

    Maggie, thank you for sharing what you learned about how cities bid for sporting events. I think it's interesting that the smaller cities (like Cleveland), are able to offer a more personalized, caring experience for the participants. I also had no idea that the Cleveland Sports Commission doesn't profit off the events they sponsor, but yes, I can imagine that bringing visitors to our city greatly benefits hotels, restaurants and other attractions. I'm glad you have begun learning about some of the details of how this organization runs! I look forward to seeing you next week! - Mrs. Mullen

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