Leadership / 03.10.21

COVID Has Changed the Game

Access Staff

The Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register (WV) (03/09/21) Pells, Eddie

The sports sector continues to feel the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on every level. Rapid vaccine development and acceptance of mask-wearing and social distancing have become normalized, to the effect that some restrictions are being eased in certain U.S. regions — yet some aspects of sports may never truly regain pre-pandemic normality. For example, sports marketing maven Joe Favorito listed fan experience elements that may have changed permanently, including "urinals, water fountains and hot dog stands where someone hands you food directly; buying game programs and taking ticket stubs home; athletes signing autographs and passing a pen back to you." Meanwhile, media expert Dennis Deninger said the old model of sending commentators, analysts and producers to every game being broadcast has been retired. "Business and education, for example, will never be able to fully wean themselves from the convenient technological tricks they've learned over the last year," added Syracuse media commentator Bob Thompson. "But sports are another matter. Close physical proximity of the players is a fundamental property of the games, packing in crowds is built into the architecture and economies of the venues that present those games, and the behavior of viewers who watch them on TV never changed that much in the first place." The sports leagues and camps have had to rethink their business model, including the uptake of hand washing, sanitizers, thermometers, contact tracing and taking fewer things for granted.

Read the full story from The Intelligencer. 

Tags: News , COVID-19 , Coronavirus