Comment New man at the crease Rory Heron
The managing director brought in full-time to develop polo’s equivalent of a Twenty20 format of the game explains how he aims to use his experience at IMG to make Polo In The Park viable entertainment long-term, both in the UK and overseas
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PROFESSIONAL SPORTS IN one form or another have been my life since childhood. I spent time as a professional sailor before a 12-year
career at international sports marketing firm IMG. I managed golf and tennis pros in Asia, secured the funding (£700 million) to allow for the construction of the new Wembley Stadium and led the commercial rights team for UEFA Euro 2008.
“This is my first foray into polo and it has been one of the most challenging projects I have ever worked on. It is a game with incredible potential that I believe has until now been unexploited in terms of sponsorship and expansion. It brings together the perfect mix of social activity and exhilarating sport, though the stigmas attached mean this is something many people don’t appreciate.
“That is what Polo In The Park is all about. Our early estimates suggest that, of the 32,000 people at this year’s event, more than 70 per cent had never seen polo before. So, we aimed to create a fun show for Londoners that would give them a taste of what the game can offer and would also be an enjoyable day out. We hope this will benefit the game as a whole, by encouraging people that enjoyed the show to see polo at clubs elsewhere.
“In terms of how I set about its feet
That was the irony – it wasn’t the New York team’s title to defend. The threesome that was this year representing the big apple was the same that beat New York alongside Nina Clarkin as Team London in 2009’s four-a-side final. Supposedly, the en masse transfer of players was to make room for England international Mark Tomlinson on the London side. Organisers had hoped that the combination of he and Nina Clarkin would be an exciting prospect for the title, but the team shocked everyone by crashing out on day one to Team Geneva.
Still, if the scorelines in 2009 had looked scripted at times, at least London’s surprise humiliation at the outset this year established the 2010 event as a genuine competition for cynical spectators. Having been met with considerable vitriol by some members of the polo community in its inaugural year last June, this year’s event was a notable improvement. With the HPA on board and a new management team in charge of the logistics of the event, the
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improving on the inaugural tournament last year, first I brought two members with me from my team at IMG. We set about getting the HPA on board and we went through what mistakes were made and how the fixture could genuinely work for the good of polo. David Woodd’s wise advice was invaluable and I think we’ve achieved a fantastic spectacle this year, with superb and fiercely competitive polo. Our view this year has been that there is no point focusing an event around a sport unless that sport is played fully competitively. “We looked at how the site layout could be improved, and sought to
The key to growing the professional
game is looking after sponsors much better than we have been
create easy, flowing passages that allowed visitors to explore the whole venue and which made better use of space. We improved the position of the trade stands and food village and made sure there were public bars directly overlooking the matches, which it seemed to me was important. “Feedback has backed this up and, while there are more lessons to
learn, it has been a pleasure to be part of. The players have impressed me and, in particular, the professionals from countries like Australia and South Africa have been superb at dealing with sponsors. English players have often had the criticism levelled that they now get paid competitive professional fees but that they rarely behave very professionally. The key to growing the professional game is in looking after the sponsors a lot better than they have been in the past. “With one-off events like Polo In The Park, gate receipts never cover all your costs and it is hard to make money. So, my next task is to investigate where else we can get the format off the ground in venues overseas in the next 12 months. Watch this space.
www.polotimes.co.uk July 41
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