Blog Assignment 4 - Day at the Motorsports Track

Today marked the first day we got a behind the scenes look at a sport in Australia. It didn't disappoint. We headed to the Sydney Motor Sports Park. It was an up and coming raceway that had recently come under new management. It was really interesting to hear the comparisons of how it used to be run with mismanagement, and then an extremely in depth talk from an event planner who has seen the new management and the challenges that went along with getting this place on the right track (Great pun right there).

It is hard to say if racing is defined as an important sport in the australian economy because it is so new. The V8 racing is only 20 years old in this country, but has absolutely exploded and had tons of interest drawn. It's easy to see that this has some importance though because they viewed this as a raceway worth saving and fixing. When you look at it that way, plus the fact that they work closely with the local government, as well as being given funds close to 7 million dollars from the government for expansions and renovations, you can tell they view this as something worth investing in. 

As for sponsors we saw that were important, I saw few sponsors at the raceway because there wasn't a race going on. That being said, the one car we did see had a heavy Nissan sponsorship, and Jack Daniels. In addition to these, big companies and institutions are hosting events at these raceways. For example, and most famously, the British smash hit show "Top Gear" is hosting an event there that is bound to bring tons of publicity to the track. Obviously a great event to host and be sponsored by. But looking back on our rugby and tennis experience, I saw a heavy corporate sponsorship. These included a stadium sponsored by KFC, a tournament sponsored by APIA (a large over 50 insurance company in Sydney) as well as influential companies like Commonwealth Bank, Toyota and Corona. Obviously sponsorship is a big deal with sports here.

Companies have a very important decision to make when choosing sponsorships. What they choose to sponsor and not sponsor, and how they go about it sends a message, and tells alot about their company, and their mission statements. Companies who are more financially focused prefer to sponsor individual athletes because they can tie themselves to the success of that athlete. In contrast companies founded on the focus of employees are focused on a team, and the atmosphere and entertainment that goes with that. When talking to Simon, you could tell he was very conscious of which companies and events they hosted and were always thinking of every angle and how it effects their brand. Sponsorship is rooted heavily in the business here and is clearly effects how they think.