Sunderland’s Gary Hutchinson Speaks to UDC Student-Athletes on Best Practices in Managing Professional Sports Enterprises
Washington, DC – On Friday, February 24th, student-athletes at the University of the District of Columbia were given the pleasure of listening to a guest lecture by Gary Hutchinson, Commercial Director of Sunderland Football Club in England. Mr. Hutchinson transparently discussed all elements of his position, from the business side of revenue generation through the football club as well as the opportunities provided by the newly reconstructed facility, to the on-and-off field development of the team as a Premier League product both nationally and internationally.
Throughout the course of his lecture, Mr. Hutchinson discussed important initiatives he and his team are developing. Recently, the club has become highly involved in international pursuits. Chief among those is "Invest in Africa", an outreach initiative designed to grow the Sunderland brand in African nations through a partnership with Tullow Oil, Africa's largest independent oil company. Sunderland's goal in Africa is not to merely exchange its team brand for financial benefit. Rather, Sunderland is committed to working on-site through soccer clinics and volunteer services to personally help communities in Africa, which thereby increases the Sunderland brand within the region and internationally.
Additionally, Sunderland has developed various local corporate social responsibility initiatives. Launched in 2001, the SAFC (Sunderland Association Football Club) Foundation has become the largest program sponsored by a football club in the United Kingdom. Their strategy links back to being receptive to the community and ensuring the satisfaction of its fan base.
The unique business strategy employed by Sunderland is tailored to its customer base, including its business-to-consumer plan to incorporate the customer in as many in-stadium avenues as possible. Sunderland's attention to detail, homemade food, and Hospitality Academy differentiate it from other teams in the English Premier League.
While the football club is making strides of its own within the Premier League (currently they are in tenth place), Hutchinson described a myriad of business opportunities attached to Sunderland's stadium. Developed in 1997, "Stadium of Lights" is now a thriving venue for a variety of events outside of matchdays, including concerts, conferences, and dinners. In the last three years, "Stadium of Lights" has played host to over half a million people in some of the biggest live music events staged in England's North East. Sunderland's stadium previously was a football-only venue, but with a need to increase revenue, Hutchinson and his team decided to make "Stadium of Lights" a multi-functional venue. Later this year, the stadium will host a musically talented trio of concerts, including The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, and Bruce Springsteen, which will have an incredible impact on the economy. These concerts increase revenue in a stunted economy, as the upcoming concerts are projected to total $40 million in revenue for 2012. To put this into perspective, the twenty home games that Sunderland hosts produce a $40 million economic benefit. Combined, the two are projected to generate over $80 million for the business, which will help keep Sunderland afloat financially and enable them to find alternative methods of revenue generation other than ticket sales for football matches.
Overall, the student-athletes at the University of the District of Columbia were very receptive to Mr. Hutchinson's presentation. Since Sunderland is a sister-city of the District of Columbia, this relationship is very advantageous for the students at the University of the District of Columbia. Mr. Hutchinson spoke of various opportunities through the UDC-Sunderland partnership in which students are encouraged to study abroad in Sunderland to learn important aspects of business within the sports industry. Mr. Hutchinson also recounted his experiences that have led him to his current position as Commercial Director, noting specifically that his motivation and goals have not waned despite his successes. He relayed to the students the importance of consistently pushing oneself toward success.