The Future of Sports Communication

There is certainly no more business as usual when it comes to the current state of sports communications and what the future holds.  This class has certainly put things into perspective as far as the origin or sports coverage and where the industry is now.  I am actually very excited to see what new innovative strategies and fads will be presented in the future.  The need for instant gratification and wanting to be the first to report the latest story has become an interesting dynamic thanks to the internet.  As journalists work to cover their stories average people are able to utilize blogs and Youtube to beat them to the punch.  In other cases teams and individuals have begun to manage their own sites and social media accounts, drawing in fans giving them that "personal" relation ship that they would not have from average coverage or from the new report.  I think the future will entice the competition between current media giants such as ESPN, ABC, and Fox by challenging them to reach their target markets in new and exciting ways.  I also think there will be even more coverage of international sports, and an improvement in the live stream feeds that are used.  The other day I watch the US Men's National Team beat Italy as they played overseas.  Although the commentary was clear they picture kept freezing.  On a regular television I would have changed the channel but because it was giving me the viewing option that I otherwise would not have had I kept it on.  I am sure I was not the only one that felt this way, as other people in the office did the same.  A clearer feed would attack even more viewers.  There are so many revenue driving opportunities in the sports communications industry.  With magazines, social media, commercials/advertising/ live stats, and sponsorships I think it will be interesting to see how all of them continue to play into the new digital standards.  I think there will be an increase in those that are in the IT field to find themselves in jobs that are sports based.  There is no real need of sports knowledge but to give an athlete, team, or organization to push out information quickly will certainly be an asset.  I would not be surprised if players begin doing their own post game interviews with webcams.  One thing that does worry me about the future is the transferring of rights between organizations and advertisers.  With many of them there are all ready so many shameless plugs and commercial interruptions and product placement.  I only wish I had a DVR so I could speed right  past them like millions of Americans do, although its not the case when watching a live event.  My fear is that the money being made could come at the expense or safety of the players.  Earlier this year there was a basketball game that was played outside in the hanger.  I thought it was a great idea, the game looked amazing on tv!  On the court there were these advertising stickers that both of the coaches had complained were a hazard because they were not level with the floor and they were sticky.  Sure enough a play slipped on it and had to be tended to, as they worked on him all I could think was how excited the advertisers were because they kept focusing on floor sticker and if they were even concerned for the player.  There is no question that there is a lot of revenue that can and will be generated from the industry, but at what cost?  Don't get me wrong I am looking forward to watching people and companies trying to top themselves while keeping up with the demands and fast pace of delivering sports information quickly and efficiently.

Tony Hawk Skate Park

I think the city of Hamilton, NY or one of the surrounding cities would be a great place to have a skate park built.  I have been here for about 4 months and working with a lot or recreation centers and youth organizations I have found that the things for kids to do here can be limited because of our rural upstate location.  It seems that skate parks are usually built closer to the big cities, but there are lots of kids that enjoy skating that live in the country as well.  Although the university bring in money and there are a number of alumni that reside here, the cit is surrounded by smaller towns such as Utica, Oneida, Binghamton, and Ithica that have a large number of families in poverty.  Hamilton itself has about 8,000 people but we attract a lot of families to our sporting events because we are always offering deals for our tickets.  As drive past various schools on the weekend there are always kids skating in the parking lot or in their neighborhoods.  25% of the married couples in Oneida are low income, and there are less people there then there are here in Hamilton.  The median household income is $25,000.  The surrounding residential income is 17.8% below poverty.  

I think the best plan of action would be to team up with some of the surrounding your groups and the mayor (she has very easy access and attends many Colgate events).  There is also a local snowboard/bike/skate board shop that I am sure would assist with what to sponsor the park or do something that would help get it up and running.  Since the city is out in upstate New York there is lots of open land.  I dont think it would need to be a mega park but something that would suit the youth in our community.  The closest skate ramps near this city are Black Mamba Skate Park in Syracuse (an hour away) and  Manatauk Skatepark (3 hours away) in Long Island.  The general location would be near the college.  There is always a sense of community here in Hamilton and I feel like with the right marketing it would be possible to get the University to help fund the park.  There are also a number of students that, despite the snow, enjoy skating around campus or to class.  I think the part would draw even more families to the city and would give us a platform to offer new and exciting recreation opportunities to the kids in the and around the community.  

I think its very important to expose kids to various recreational activities, especially in an area such as this were parents may not be bale to afford to do more expensive sports or travel to see sporting event.  Given the income of the area skate boarding is a very cost effective hobby, and keeps the kids active.  I have no doubts the the city and potentially the college would support this venture.  There are number of marketing events and community relations opportunities that would stem from this.  In addition bringing more people into the city, even if only for a day, will also benefit local businesses such as sandwich shops and convenient stores.  I think this is a great foundation that not only exposes kids to a new sports but does so by providing a safe and secure means of doing so.  Although it may be flashy in some of the larger cities I think skate boarding would certainly be a cost effective, fun, venture to add to the Hamilton community.