Sport business savvy

 

The message was “know who your fans are” when John Di Terlizzi, Ticket Sales and Sponsorship Manager for the Montreal Expos, addressed the DSA Sport Business Conference.

The Expos’ fan is breed apart, he said, as they remain loyal through thick and thin. He went on to outline how the team will be recognizing the dedication and loyalty of the fans with special events and celebrations during the 2004 season that just opened.

The conference, which is expected to become an annual event, took place April 30 and May 1, and featured 12 speakers from all areas of sport. It was an initiative of a group of five graduate students in the DIA/DSA Programs in the John Molson School of Business.

With support from the DIA/DSA Programs Office and contributions from a group of sponsors, the students organized a two-day event that drew participants from New Hampshire, New York and Ontario as well as from universities in Montreal.

The keynote speakers were Stephen Murphy, Business Unit Director of The Hockey Company (CCM), and Marie-Claude Asselin, from the World Anti-Doping Agency in Montreal.

The panel on sport marketing featured four speakers: Patrice Brunet, a Montreal lawyer who also works as an arbitrator in sport and with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; Patrick Dubeau, Marketing Coordinator at FieldTurf; David Skitt, Vice-president of the Montreal Junior Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the 2004 Greater Montreal Open Golf Tournament; and Yohan Sauves, a DSA graduate, who is Senior Agent with Internationaux du Sport de Montréal (ISM), an event management organization that also prepares bids to bring international sport events to Montreal.

The panels on Professional and Amateur Sport and Recreation featured Katie Sheahan, Director of Concordia’s Athletics and Recreation, and Mark Weightman, head of stadium operations, entertainment and events for the Montreal Alouettes, as well as John Di Terlizzi.

For information the Diploma in Sport Administration, including next year’s conference, call DIA/DSA, 848-2424, ext. 2766, or e-mail: diadsa@jmsb.concordia.ca.

- Edith Katz