Major League Lacrosse has had some of its best success in a hotbed of ACC territory with the Charlotte Hounds, engaging fans in both an exciting and winning atmosphere. In only their second year of existence, the Hounds secured the first playoff appearance in 2013 and played for the title, losing only by one point to the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Wade Leaphart discusses his time helping develop the team’s schedule, ensuring that the Hounds are not only successful on the field of play, but also in the front office. Leaphart discusses the fan experience and ticket price points, as well as cost comparisons to other sports franchises located in town. Leaphart also discusses what it takes to sell in the Charlotte market, relating back to his time with the NBA’s Bobcats. Twitter: @Leaphart3
Australian Blair Hughes has performed several aspects of the fan experience model, both in sports and in music. Hughes talks about some of the crossover aspects of trying to achieve fan loyalty to the brand, discussing in detail his time as director fo the Brisbane Sounds, which produced over 50 events, five compilation albums with and featured over 100 artists. Hughes chats about his seven years as bar manager of the Gabba Sports Grounds in Woolloongabba, and some of the places where international sports have a short-fall in the fan experience realm compared to the United States. Twitter: @MrBlairHughes
Fan Engagement in the NFL is becoming a larger priority for teams than ever before. Hussain Naqi talks about how the Jaquars are rethinking fan engagement, whether that be through community relations, secret shoppers, fan experience models or even WiFi in private lounges. Naqi also discusses his role in bringing the Super Bowl to Met Life Stadium, and as leader of the group, attacking the issues head-on such as traffic and weather, in order to bring the NFL’s largest game to one of the largest cities in the world despite cold weather, something never done before by the league. Twitter: @CornellHkyFan