News

On Location Generates $150 Million in Revenue

By Daniel Kaplan
Sports Business Journal

The NFL’s official hospitality business, On Location Experiences, generated more than $150 million in revenue from the Minneapolis Super Bowl, four times more than the San Francisco Super Bowl two years ago, the company said.

Much of that growth is tied to acquisitions, specifically PrimeSport, which was brought on board in December and rapidly integrated into On Location’s system. The growth also reflects the extra tickets On Location now controls — 9,500 from the league office, plus a few thousand more through PrimeSport’s team relationships that are packaged with travel and entertainment, like concerts during Super Bowl week.

John Collins, On Location’s chief executive, estimated corporate hospitality for the big game — everything from entertainment to logistical support, parties, ticket and hotel packages — is valued at $350 million annually.

When the NFL licensed its On Location franchise three years ago to Bruin Sports Capital and RedBird Capital, the plan was to bring order to an unruly Super Bowl market and capture more revenue that was going to unsanctioned businesses. At that time, On Location generated $35 million in Super Bowl business (Collins declined to provide a figure for last year’s host Houston).

But in May 2016, the league voted to move thousands of tickets away from the two Super Bowl teams to On Location, providing the agency with the 9,500 tickets it gets now. One reason Super Bowl ticket prices were so much higher on the secondary market this year, even in cold-weather Minneapolis, was because On Location controlled such a large number, thus limiting supply, Collins said.

On Location also grew its offerings with a flurry of acquisitions in 2016, including Jack Murphy’s Nomadic Entertainment and Sean Connolly’s Kreate Inc., which gave On Location two of the biggest event producers and party planners with decades of experience working the Super Bowl. Outside parties like Maxim and Playboy still are there, but On Location managed five nights of entertainment, including performances by Pink and Jennifer Lopez, in Minneapolis.

On Location sold 4,500 hotel rooms and sold out all of its packages, Collins said. It handled 10 tailgate parties, three postgame parties (for both Super Bowl teams and players) and chartered 11 flights for fans.

On Location, through Kreate, produced Super Bowl Live, the host committee’s downtown, 10-day celebration that had 48 musical acts. The attraction drew slightly more than 1 million people.

Original article: https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2018/02/12/Events-and-Attractions/SB-On-Location.aspx