A strong sports culture plays a key role in uniting a community and building an environment for inclusion. The role of sports commission’s around the country is to help build those positive sports cultures and attract premier events that help drive economic vitality, stimulate civic pride, and create extraordinary experiences. Tentpole events and creating extraordinary experiences happen to be the same intersection that Tagboard often hangs around as well. So it’s no surprise that when Michelle Ludtka-Furbush sat down with Tagboard CEO Nathan Peterson and Seattle Sports Commission President and CEO Beth Knox, there was a lot to be discussed and the stories were endless.
Media has changed so much that the people who create media is now everyone. It’s not just big brand traditional media outlets that get to tell the story
Nathan peterson – Tagboard CEO
The group reminisces about events they’ve covered and hosted while also sharing special moments and interactions with Seattle sports icons. Watch the broadcast on-demand below and let us know what you think on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Creating memorable fan experiences:
Adrian Hanauer, the majority owner of the Sounders has a distinct memory of being an 8-year-old child and having his first experience with soccer and how much of an impact that made on him. We want to give that experience to 8-year-olds in our community. It seems to be the age that you’re old enough to retain those memories and it really sticks with you. I’ve actually heard several stories from people who have those experiences as a child. We think about that and figure out what kind of events can we bring to Seattle to create those memories and provide a positive impact on our region.
Beth Knox – Seattle Sports Commission President & CEO
Sports acting as a unifier:
Media has changed so much that the people who create media is now everyone. It’s not just big brand, traditional media outlets, that get to tell the story. A great unifier over the summer and someone I would put on the Seattle sports Mount Rushmore is Jamal Crawford. He has stood up for the Seattle basketball community for a long time. There’s a lot of people who want to see the Sonics come home and with his Pro-Am league he attracted some of the foremost talent and largest names in the NBA, including Lebron James, and it blew up the city and it was a unifier. People camped out, and dads and moms showed up with their kids. You see this and think this is what it’s all about. You have a great unifier that can help facilitate change even more than a media outlet when the community shows up and says we want basketball back.
Nathan Peterson – Tagboard CEO
Importance of collaboration among Seattle sports teams:
I got to witness that collaboration and support, and the cheering on that they would do for each other. The takeaway for me is that the teams individually are highly competitive with themselves, they want to be the best team that they can be, but not at the expense of the other teams. I know they love and appreciate the relationships that they’ve developed with each other and I’ve heard from colleagues that this doesn’t happen in other cities. I’m sure it does in some, but in the majority, you don’t have universal collaboration and support for one another.
Beth Knox – Seattle Sports Commission President & CEO
Check out more episodes of #Storyteller and stay tuned for what’s next.