Running head: Facility and Events Paper
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Facility and Events Paper
Jason Yoder
SMGT 302: Sports Facilities and Events
Professor Huckaby
October 12, 2020
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Abstract
The coronavirus has had a major impact on so many different things in our current
world, and until it is sorted out, it will continue to change the way that things are done, and
events are held. We have seen many events postponed or cancelled because of the virus. We have
also witnessed how much extra planning and effort the people in charge of facility and event
management have had to go through during this pandemic. These people are constantly working
to make sure they can host the event and do it in the most efficient way possible.
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There is definitely one big issue floating around right now, and I think that it is the
perfect one to discuss relating to our course. The issue of Coronavirus, or Covid-19. This virus
has definitely thrown off the event and facility management for teams across the nation and some
even around the world. The impact even varies from high schools, to colleges, all the way to the
professional sports. It has caused major issues in what is going on in these facilities all over the
globe. People have basically had to create entirely new plans to progress into this current era of
event and facility management.
I have witnessed the impact of coronavirus from numerous standpoints for all different
venues. I have seen it at the basic high school level, as my father is the athletic director at the
high school that I have graduated from. We have all also seen the impact it has had at the
collegiate and professional levels if you watch any news on the subject or pay attention to any of
the games being played. There are so many numerous factors that go into planning an event and
the coronavirus has impacted a great many of them, especially ones in relation to our book and
the subject matters we have discussed over the course of this term. One of the biggest issues the
nation is seeing in relation to this is that every single school or team in every single state is
having to handle everything going on in a different way then another school or team. The nation
is somewhat divided because every state has had different numbers when it comes to their cases
and deaths. This has resulted in a lot of extra planning and especially changing your plans on a
day to day basis. This issue relates to many of the things that are discussed in our textbook,
including finance and budgeting, planning, event experience, event marketing, sponsorship, risk
management, and more. All of these things will be discussed in more detail later on.
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There is a lot of craziness going on around the world with everything going on
concerning the coronavirus. Most of the things going on have been negative. In March,
numerous things were put on hold. One of those things being high school sports. In Ohio the
entirety of spring sports seasons was cancelled indefinitely. This meant that all softball, baseball,
and track events were not to be held whatsoever. This meant a hit for a lot of schools when it
came to finances. A lot of schools were no longer going to be getting the money for any of these
games. On a bigger scale, three different leagues were put on hold in the professional sports side
of things. Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, and the National Basketball
Association’s seasons were all put on hold until further notice. This definitely threw a wrench
into the event planners schedules. They had already planned for these games to take place when
it comes to things like, the stadium or venue being available on that date and time for the event.
Also, they already had scheduled people to work the games. As well as the necessary provisions
for the event that they had already ordered or had on hand including food and beverages, as well
as any merchandise they had ready to go for the upcoming games. All of these issues led to more
issues. Many of the workers that were hired to work these events had to be laid off until further
notice. Which meant that now that sports are back, they had to find workers who are willing to
take the risk to work these games while potentially being exposed to the virus.
One of the other major factors that has been a huge issue is planning and designing the
“new” event experience. Things have changed around high school sports all the way to the
professional level when it comes to attending the games. At the high school level, the state of
Ohio ruled that the schools could only have 25% capacity at their games based on the number of
seats they had available. For example, this meant that a football stadium that would normal seat
1,000 fans in it at a time, the high school is only allowed to sell tickets to, and allow in 250
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people. This has created numerous planning issues by itself since they can only give out so many
tickets. This generated many questions, one of them being how do we decide who to give out
tickets to? This definitely came down to customer service. Trying to decide what will make
people the happiest with how they approached the situation. The other thing was planning for
“social distancing and mask policies.” These event venues and manager have had to physically
change the layout of seating to make sure people are staying six feet apart. On top of that, they
have to make sure that everyone that enters is wearing a mask and keeps it on for the duration of
the game unless they are eating. This has involved a lot of major planning. Back to the
professional sports, they eventually resumed play. This year though, the playoffs looked very
different. Normally for the NHL and the NBA, higher seeded teams would get a home town
advantage and would get to play numerous games in their facilities depending on how good they
were during the regular season. This year however, the NHL and the NBA decided they were
going to play all the games at neutral locations in what has become known as “the bubble”, but
we will get to that later. What did all of this mean for event managers? Well first it meant that all
of the teams expecting home games had to adjust their schedules and cancel a lot of food orders
since they were never going to get that chance. This obviously means a huge loss in profits from
all of the ticket, concession, and merchandise sales. That leaves a lot less money in the budget
for the future and especially the upcoming season which begins again very soon. The other major
factor is that the NBA and the NHL had to decide on their locations. The NBA for example chose
Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports. This definitely meant a whole lot of planning for the
event and facility managers at Disney World. They had to restrict anyone from staying in this
resort or wanting to go to that park altogether. The NBA players that were in the playoffs were
given specific resorts rooms in this park at Disney. The planners had to decide where all of the
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players were going to be housed. On top of that, the managers had to decide how they were
going to create an atmosphere to play basketball in that followed all the state and national
regulations for covid policies. The event manager had to plan for the seating arrangements for
the players since they have to all sit six feet apart. As well as plan for putting up dividers and
cautionary devices to help slow the spread. One of the biggest things the planners and managers
had to make sure of was that these athletes were required to stay in “the bubble.” This became
the term for the area they were playing in that was safe from coronavirus since they had all been
tested. They were not supposed to leave this area so they could avoid the risk of getting exposed
by someone outside the bubble and infecting all the others that were inside the bubble.
College football and the National Football League have also taken a big hit this year and
have had to plan accordingly. In the Big Ten, they originally came out and cancelled the entire
football season for their teams which includes schools like Ohio State, and Maryland, and
Illinois. This meant a huge deficit in money and many other huge issues. Eventually the Big Ten
caved in after a petition was formed and many signed in support, and even President Donald
Trump worked hard to get the season up and running again. For this discussion we will use the
Ohio State Buckeyes as the example to show how much the season will be different and how
much planning is going into it. The Big Ten decided to allow their teams to play conference only
schedules, meaning they lost a few games they would normally be playing. This of course means
a change in plans and a loss in money. Governor Mike Dewine of Ohio is allowing for the fans to
attend but a limited capacity. According to an article on CBS News, the Buckeyes said that “it
plans to accommodate season ticket holders but would limit maximum capacity in the stadiums,
which typically seats over 104,00 fans to just 20% for football games this fall.” Now this means
that the Buckeyes facility manager for The Shoe, which is the Buckeyes stadium, will have to
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plan and decide how and where to seat the 20,000 people that are allowed to attend the games,
while properly maintaining social distance guidelines. The event manager for Ohio State now
also has to plan for things like, who they are going to allow in within the season ticket holders
and so forth. How will they decide which of them get to come and how many tickets they get?
On top of all these issues they now have to try and plan for how much of everything to order and
have ready to go, including concession items and merchandise. They obviously do not want to
order too much of these things and have a lot of wasted money sitting around. According to CBS
News as well, the football program at OSU “generated more than half of the athletic
department’s revenue, bringing in over $115 million last year. Ticket sales represented over $50
million” All of this adds up to a lot of lost revenue that is going to have to be made up elsewhere.
Another big thing that will change dramatically is the event experience. The experience that the
fans have that actually get to go to the games now will be completely different from the past.
Almost every Ohio State game, the stadium is packed full of people, there is thunderous cheers
and applause coming from all over. What will that look like with the reduced capacity?
Obviously, it is not going to be the same experience that most Buckeye fans are used to. The
event manager is going to have to plan accordingly in an attempt to make it as fun as possible
even in spite of the different atmosphere. Especially in these uncertain times when the funds
generated are low already, they have to make sure they are selling every ticket possible to keep
as much money coming as possible. A lot of the same principles could be applied to the NFL as
well. As far as the Cleveland Browns are concerned, they are only allowed to have 12,000 fans at
the game. This is a definite hit to their atmosphere in the stadium and to their finances. They are
having way less ticket sales of course because of this and having to order less food and so forth.
On top of those factors, the NFL game could be cancelled or postponed at any moment because
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of positive coronavirus tests on any of the teams. If there is a positive test, then the event
manager would have to plan accordingly in an attempt to still find a time in which the game
could be cleared after the players have all been tested again and it is safe to do so. This also
requires moving all the schedules around from the workers at the games to informing all of the
people that were lucky enough to get tickets to the game.
One of the articles I read was called “Nearly impossible to execute a coronavirus sports
game-plan.” The idea behind the article is it discusses the affect the coronavirus has had on the
sports and leagues around the country. Numbers for positive tests around the nation that involve
different leagues beginning up again started to rise once they decided to start playing again.
Areas like Florida had high numbers and they continued to grow right around the time that they
decided to create the NBA “bubble” at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. They obviously
worked day and night to try and determine the best plan of action for the NBA to take in their
desperate attempt to finish off the season. The planning came through on the bubble idea at the
Wide World of Sports. They had decided to keep them away from others and not allow them to
be exposed to outside people. This meant they were not allowed to bring in outside guests or
leave the bubble themselves and later return. They may have planned very well but it is like the
author of this article says, “Despite the exhaustive protocols, sequestered players, coaches and
trainers still could be exposed to the virus via the workers who clean their rooms, prepare their
meals and keep the lights and air conditioning on in the arena. Yes, these folks will be tested
frequently, but there are scores of harrowing stories about asymptomatic carriers infecting
others.” (Pitonlak, 2020). This is definitely true when they began to plan this new event. There
was definitely still a risk, even though they were attempting to take as many precautions as
possible. There are obviously things that the planners can not be ready for. They can plan all they
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want and still not have every area 100% covered and the plan be totally affective. This is
definitely a component of risk management. They had to talk about how they were going to
handle things and how they could protect the athletes the best they possibly can. Like I was
saying though, they cannot plan for everything. Even if you take every step in a situation like this
you will still have variables. Like the players cooperating with all the guidelines. The players
were told they were not allowed to leave the facilities and that they were not allowed to have
anyone come to the resort. All of these things would obviously involve risking people being
exposed to the virus and infecting the whole playoff squad. Like the title of this article says, it is
““Nearly impossible to execute a coronavirus sports game-plan.” I definitely would agree with
that because there are so many variables. Luckily things worked out ok with the NBA, and they
only had a couple incidents, one in which a player snuck a girl into the resort, and another where
some players were caught leaving. This can hopefully be used to help guide the rest of this year
and the sport seasons to follow.
The other article that I read and found very interesting was titled, “Sport and the
Coronavirus Crisis Special Issue.” One of the thing that it discusses is the post Covid-19 life and
how things are going to be different now. If talks about the steps we are going to take after the
virus is over. The main thing is going to be, how are the event managers of all of these different
sports going to go about how we handle events in the future. The risk after the virus is
supposedly “over”, is do you stop planning for it and planning as if it was still an issue? Many
people would say that when things like the NBA and NHL start back up again, obviously as of
right now they are going to have to handle everything the same way since the virus is still a
relevant factor. Here is the major issue that is going to come up in the NBA and NHL. The NBA
plays an 82 game schedule normally and the NHL is around the same. Are these two prominent
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professional sports leagues going to allow all these teams to travel all over the country and
Canada to play all of the games they have scheduled, or will they reinstate a “bubble?” They had
to have the bubble for the playoffs in both of these leagues, so are they going to do the same
come the regular season again? If they do that, there will be a lot of negative impacts again, and
the venue managers at every NHL and NBA stadium is going to have to change their plans. They
are going to lose a lot of money in the long run from tickets, concessions, and so forth. As well
as the surrounding city as well will take a big hit. On top of this, the players and fans will be
extremely angry about it and you may lose a bunch of them to the opt out option. On the other
hand though, do you allow for such high exposure to other people with all the individual players
risking getting exposed. If we look to the NFL for how they have planned, it has worked out ok
so far. Not great though. They have had a few positive tests here and there, and when they do,
they are containing it but postponing the game and testing the teams that may have come in
contact with the positive player. All this is being done in cities around the country and all games
are being played in their proper stadiums. I think that the NBA and NHL planners will look to
these examples and try to follow along, but it will be more difficult for them considering their
extended schedule.
One of the Biblical principles that I think we could discuss in relation to the planning
behind these sports is the safety and wellbeing. We are told to do many things in the Bible
relating to this idea, including in the ten commandments that says, “Love your neighbor as
yourself.” As well as us being told to put others before our own needs. In Proverbs 3:21-23 it
says, “My son, let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall
they be life unto thy soul, And grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely, And
thy foot shall not stumble.” (ASV) This says to us that we are supposed to be smart and wise
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about our decisions so we will be safe and not fall into any issues. I think when you relate these
ideas to how the pandemic has been handled by many sports organizations, I would say that
safety was not really their main concern, but at the same time some organizations were definitely
worried about athlete safety. The OHSAA for example, which is the Ohio High School Athletic
Association has been taking all the right steps to protecting our athletes and the people around
them. They are not focused on just making money. They have been limiting the number of fans
and requiring the players temperatures to be checked and a symptom check before they practice
or participate in a game. They are also required to wear masks in confined spaces like the bus
that is transporting them. All of these things have added up to show us that the OHSAA really
cares about the safety of our athletes and surrounding staff and parents. This is what God would
want us to do, to be concerned about the wellbeing of others around us and doing what we can to
protect them.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of major issues all around the globe from
schooling, to social life, and of course, sports. It has been a very large problem that event and
venue managers and planners all over the nation have had to deal with and adjust accordingly. I
think that our course has shown us specifically all of the steps that would go into planning for
such an issue as covid. We have also seen how many of these managers have followed along with
these principles and whether or not it has worked out for them They have still had to deal with
planning and coordinating these new events in relation to many of the topics we have discussed
in this class. Things from financing and the budget and where how they are going to plan for all
the lost money. As well as the “new” event experiences for playing the sports as such a limited
number of fans can attend. They have had to still attempt to give them the best experience
possible. The pandemic has shown us how tough it can be in the world of facility and event
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management when things come up, but thanks to this class, I believe that we would have the
knowledge to plan accordingly.
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References
Pitonlak, S. (2020). Nearly impossible to execute a coronavirus sports game-plan. Rochester
Business Journal, 35(14), 23. http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F2444677360%3Faccountid%3D12085
Duarte, M. (2020, June 09). How the Coronavirus Could Forever Impact the Future of the NBA.
Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/how-the-
coronavirus-could-forever-impact-the-future-of-the-nba/2377225/
Garcia-Garcia1, B., James2, M., Koller3, D., Lindholm4, J., Mavromati5, D., &, R., &
Rodenberg7, R. (2020, July 23). The impact of Covid-19 on sports: A mid-way assessment.
Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40318-020-00174-8
The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social
development | DISD. (2020, May 15). Retrieved October 13, 2020, from
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/2020/05/covid-19-sport/
Key contacts Pete Giorgio Principal | US Sports Practice Leader pgiorgio@deloitte.com. (2020,
July 10). Understanding COVID-19's impact on the sports sector: Deloitte Global. Retrieved
October 13, 2020, from https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/covid-
19/understanding-COVID-19-s-impact-on-the-sports-sector.html
Newland, G. (2020, August 13). 3 impacts of COVID-19 for the Cleveland Browns in the 2020
season. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://dawgpounddaily.com/2020/08/13/impacts-
covid-cleveland-browns/4/
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Ruihley, B. J., & Li, B. (2020). Sport and the Coronavirus Crisis Special Issue: An
Introduction. International Journal of Sport Communication, 13(3), 289-293.
doi:10.1123/ijsc.2020-0254
Staff, W. (2020, July 31). Perspective | How will the coronavirus change sports? Retrieved
October 13, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/30/how-will-
coronavirus-change-sports/?arc404=true
Turman, J. (2020, August 11). Ohio State University community braces for possibility of fall
without football. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-state-
university-fall-football-covid/
