Feature Story Sports
Sporting
the Globe
International players, global teams
raise North Texas’ brand worldwide
W
hen the Dallas Mavericks played in Berlin last October,
they sold out 14,500 seats in less than 10 minutes. Three
days later in Barcelona, Spain, they sold out more than
16,000 seats, again, in minutes. Sarah Melton, the franchise’s director of
basketball communications, knew the games would sell out, but not in
that time frame. “As soon as they released the tickets, they were gone,”
said Melton.
Sure, the Mavericks were on Dirk
Nowitzki’s home turf and the team was
fresh off its 2011 NBA Championship.
But the speedy sellout illustrates the long
reach and significant role that sports
have in branding North Texas. Indeed,
what Texan hasn’t traveled abroad to be
asked about the Dallas Cowboys or the
Texas Rangers?
“Sports buys you marketing and
brand awareness that advertising budgets
would not be able to afford otherwise,”
said Tara Green, chief revenue officer for
American Airlines Center, home to the
Mavericks and the NHL’s Dallas Stars.
Green, who also served as vice
president and chief operating officer of
the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee
said, “Communities bring in major sports
events like the Super Bowl or the Breeder’s Cup because of economic impact and
media exposure. The Super Bowl in 2011
28
NTX Magazine
was a marketing tool for North Texas.
It generated $60 million in media value
around the world. You can’t buy advertising like that.”
Additionally, sports are “one of
those elements that make a community
well-rounded,” said Green, who previously spent 11 years as vice president of
sports marketing at the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau. “After 9/11, we
saw that sports travel
numbers continued
to rise when business
travel numbers fell
off. People weren’t
traveling for business
but were traveling
for
kids’
sports
activities or college
teams to have some
sense of normalcy or
Dirk
Nowitzki
American Airlines
Center in Dallas
www.ntc-dfw.org