Populous’ Christopher Lee, drugs Warrick Chalmers and Scott Radecic provide a global perspective

How long has Populous been involved in elite training facility design and is it a growing business for you?

SR: Populous has been involved in elite training facility design in the US for more than 25 years and it has developed into a very important segment of our business.

I initially got involved in the design of elite athlete training centres because it was another creative way to combine my passion for sports, salve as well as my background as a former professional athlete, buy viagra | with the design of the built environment that allows athletes to develop and excel.

WC: In Australia it definitely is a growing market .As sport here becomes increasingly professional and continues to attract more funding through television rights and sponsorship, there is an increasing demand for a new breed of elite training facilities that ensure athletes are in peak condition and provide clubs with a competitive edge. Such facilities also act as a powerful recruiting tool to attract players and coaching staff. 

Based on your experience, what advancements have the EPL, NFL and AFL made in elite training facilities?

CL: The development that the major European football clubs have made in their elite training facilities has paralleled the evolution of the footballer from a talented individual to ultra-elite athletes valued in the 10’s of millions of pounds.

When one considers that a footballer such as Wayne Rooney runs about 10-12 kilometres during a typical game, possibly twice a week, the training regime needs to not only ensure maximum and sustained fitness, strength, speed and agility but also cover psychology, nutrition, and performance recovery and injury rehabilitation.

Our current facilities are so sophisticated that the medical and sports science teams, backed by incredible amounts of analytical data, can identify potential injuries before they develop and tailor programmes to ensure injuries do not occur.

Many football club training facilities not only accommodate the elite professional players but also focus on the development of younger players (as young as 8 years old) through the academy side of the club.  These future stars have their own requirements not only in their development as football players but their onsite education, welfare and well-being.

These state-of-the-art training facilities become a complex environment dealing with up to 100 athletes, their coaches, trainers, doctors, sports scientists, performance analysts, support staff and teachers.

SR: Over the last decade, the NFL has made huge strides in developing incredible training facilities that have significantly enhanced the athlete’s ability to train and prepare at the highest level.

Major improvements include: more extensive hydrotherapy offerings for both rehabilitation and training, expanded nutritional centres that educate, as well as provide the right foods, and expanded medical facilities and outpatient medical services.

These training facilities are also doing a much better job of using technology to optimise the training experience, including integrated Wi-Fi access, new video systems, monitoring and tracking daily training routines, as well as providing high-tech, interactive spaces to review and study film.

WC: The AFL is developing a new generation of training facilities. Most AFL clubs began developing truly professional facilities about 15 years ago. Clubs are now developing new or expanded facilities to bring them up to date with the latest technology and sports science advances and accommodate growing staff levels.

As with the NFL, most advances have been in gymnasium size and diversity of use, hydrotherapy areas, nutrition spaces and medical science areas to accommodate sports science advances such as GPS tracking.

We are also seeing a larger emphasis on the analytical and communication side of things, with a greater diversity of meeting spaces, from large auditoriums to informal alcoves to enhance communication between coaches and players.

When designing elite training centres, what difference can the architect make to athletes’ training and performance, recovery and rehabilitation? Can you give examples?

SR: We will spend a lot of time considering how each athlete, coach or trainer will use every space throughout the facility, and how different spaces can embrace the latest trends and advance to give them a competitive advantage. We work through in-season and off-season daily schedules to design a facility that works optimally and effectively 365 days a year.

WC: Most AFL commentators talk about how successful teams win the ‘1 percenters’ on the field – those small pieces of play where a player lifts by 1 percent to win a particular contest over a rival. Our role as architects for these facilities is similar- providing those small design features, the 1 perecenters, that enhance the efficiency and training output of the players and staff that over time translates to higher on-field success.

CL: As an ex-national level swimmer, personally I am very conscious of the importance of environment in which individual athletes can be melded into team.

The architecture of a space can have a genuine impact on the user’s physiological and physical well-being.  Populous’ objective when designing elite training facilities is to design a building that works perfectly technically from an operational perspective, inspires training and performance at an elite level and create a “home” for the sporting club. 

What countries are leading the way in elite training facility design?

CL: Many countries are leading specific aspects of elite training but in our experience America, the UK/Europe and Australia are investing the most in the development of elite training facilities.

WC: In Australia, we do look towards the US and UK for advancements in training facility design mainly because their markets are larger and more advanced than ours. However, most AFL clubs are very much at the forefront of sports science.

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Christopher Lee is a Senior Principal at Populous with extensive experience in leading design and innovative architecture. He has delivered some of the most environmentally advanced and high profile sports buildings around the world, including ANZ stadium for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Millennium stadium with the first moving roof, the architecturally acclaimed Emirates Stadium in London and the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin. In 2006, Christopher established Populous’ international design studio based in New York focused on the design of the most advanced and pioneering sports and entertainment venues. Currently, Chris is exploring the integration of environmental solutions and new technologies in architecture, and has been part of the team developing the legacy of the London 2012 Games.

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Scott Radecic is a Senior Principal with Populous, a member of the firm’s Executive Group and the director of the collegiate and elite training market. He specializes in servicing University and National Football League clients. He has extensive experience in all areas of sports facility strategic planning, design, budgeting and project management. Scott has led the collegiate group at Populous since 1998, he and the collegiate team have worked on more than 100 campuses, addressing all aspects of collegiate facility development. His experience as an athlete at both the collegiate and professional levels, gives him a unique perspective to sports facility design.

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Warrick Chalmers is a Principal at Populous and has spent the past 15 years working on the design, client liaison and project management of a number of stadia projects in Australia, New Zealand and England, including a five year period on Wembley National stadium in London. He was the Project Leader on the award-winning Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, Queensland,   the staged development of Simonds Stadium in Geelong as well as the redevelopment of the Sydney Showgrounds at Sydney Olympic Park into Skoda Stadium.  He has also developed a keen interest and is leading the firm’s Australian work in the emerging market of new elite training facilities.{jcomments on}

 

 

 

By Marzena Bogdanowicz

Ambush marketing is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the practice by which a rival company attempts to associate its products with an event that already has official sponsors”. It is often seen as a company’s attempt to capitalise on the goodwill, reputation, and popularity of a particular event or individual by creating an association with it, without the authorisation or consent of the necessary parties.

Parasites!

Ambush marketing can also be referred to as “Parasite Marketing” due to the similar nature of the parasite (the ambushing company), benefitting at the expense of the host (the rights owner). I much prefer this definition as it shows the ambush company for what it really is!

Is it clever? How do they get away with it?

Some marketeers believe it is clever marketing, and, yes, there is an element of ingenuity and creativity involved in these campaigns, but the result can be damaging. It can result in increased sponsorship fees and lack of sponsors for an event in the future, potential for damaged reputations to many parties and a feeling of distrust for the ambusher.

The increased PR gained from a public dispute about any such activities will only raise the profile of the unofficial brand; creating exactly the PR they were hoping for, in most cases. Most event owners and official brands often steer clear of attracting any media or commenting on an ambush; it is usually the ambush brand that informs the media of its own behaviour to help fan the flames of PR.

During the Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games of 2002, a brewery in the USA ran a promotion to “Win a trip to march with the XXX Sport Team at a major event in Salt Lake City in February 2002”, or words to that effect. The brewer had sponsored the XXX Sports Team but had gone a step further giving away an accreditation to march in the Opening Ceremony. Both the XXX Sports Team and the brewer got into hot water over this promotion as they were utilising tickets and passes in an unauthorised way and were clearly trying to link to the Olympic Games.  Creative? Yes. Clever? No. Ambush? Definitely!

In a few instances, the rights owner has taken a strong public stance and taken on the ambushing company. A good example of this took place ahead of the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988. An ambush promotion was being run that was undermining one of the Olympic team sponsors, so the National Olympic Committee in question made reference to the activity at a press conference and asked the public not to support the ambushing company as it was damaging the success of the team. This had the desired effect with denials by the ambushing company, removal of infringing advertisements, negative media etc.

Such action by a rights owner can work, but a strong position, and the support of all parties, including the official sponsors, must be maintained.

What is an ambush and what is good rights exploitation?

 In some cases the sponsorship of an athlete or a team taking part in an event is deemed as an ambush but in reality it is merely exploitation of rights, so long as no direct association with the event itself is attempted.

Each brand, be it the sponsor of the athlete, sponsor of the team, or sponsor of the event will have its own clear rights and assets, most of which are mutually exclusive and should be clearly defined. It is only where the definitions are grey or one sponsor tries to creep into the area of rights of another that matters move into ambush potential. In cases where it is exploitation of rights I would argue it is not an ambush.

Those companies that do not support an athlete, a team or an event and create PR stunts to associate with an event, in my opinion, are those that cause the greatest damage. They do not provide support to anyone and feed off the assets of all others- true parasites!

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic & Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has been both strong and proactive in its stance on protecting its rights. There is strong legislation in place, but also guidance on what can be done within the regulations. Despite all this, it still never ceases to amaze me how many companies run promotions and activities that have clearly not been thought through or checked from a rights perspective e.g. a competition to win Olympic tickets or using the Olympic symbol on products!

Focus on what you can do and do it well. Use the emotion and passion of sport rather than creating stunts that often do not quite generate the response that you hope for. The public are becoming more astute as to what is or is not official and the majority of research shows support for official partners.

Where do you draw the line?

I believe there is line that a brand should not cross, as one day it will come back to haunt them.  Whether it is the individual involved in leading the campaign, the agency or the company itself they may well be remembered for their unscrupulous actions.

Please don’t be a parasite! 

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Marzena Bogdanowicz and her team at b-focused have worked with sports rights holders in defining their marketing and sponsorship strategies, management and coordination of key projects and events such as the 2008 Visa Handover in The Mall, London & The 2004 Olympic Torch Relay, London.

Marzena spent 10 years with the British Olympic Association as their Director of Marketing, where she developed a lasting legacy with the introduction of the internationally recognised and well established Team GB brand, representing the Great Britain Olympic Team.  In that time she was involved in all UK Olympic Sponsorship programmes.

Marzena is a well respected figure in the industry appearing as a regular judge on the Sports Industry Awards Panel since 2005, and is regularly invited to speak across Europe on Olympic and elite sports sponsorship.

Marzena Bogdanowicz’s

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