In Retrospect: 2020 A Year of Challenges, Opportunity, and New Partners

When we launched the Global Sports Venture Studio (GSVS) in 2018 as a joint venture between R/GA Ventures and the L.A. Dodgers’ Elysian Park Ventures, we set out to bring together top industry leaders to architect the future of sports. We believed that the challenges facing the sports industry were bigger than any one organization could tackle. Innovation, to us, is a team sport.

Since then, we have created a place where the world’s top sports organizations have begun to not only work together, but also to turn to the innovation ecosystem — from early-stage startups to global technology leaders — to explore and develop new solutions, products, services, and technologies through pilots and investments.

As we entered 2020, we were focused on new athlete and fan experiences, next-generation stadiums, and immersive in-person activations to draw foot traffic in retail spaces.

Yet, as we headed into summer, we found ourselves in the middle of the most disruptive year in modern sports history. As stadiums were cleared out and play came to halt, we shifted our focus and started to ask ourselves: how do you connect with your fan or customer if there is no game to watch or location to visit?

We focused on helping our Partners answer this question and exploring other areas of interest that the pandemic surfaced like at home fitness trends, eSports / gaming solutions, new safety measures for their fans and athletes, how to help the decline of youth sports participation, and, most importantly, how to bring sports back.

While 2020 pushed the sports industry into uncharted territory, the foundation of the sports ecosystem was already starting to crack. Prior to the pandemic, the industry was already facing a decline in viewership, participation, and overall fandom. Change was needed.

Once COVID hit, like many other industries, sports had to pivot, improvise, and innovate to ensure that fans still felt seen, heard, and a part of the new social distanced world of sports culture. We saw these fan behavior shifts as an opportunity — and an imperative — to innovate and test new models of engagement, reinforcing the original mission of GSVS.

In order for us to collectively rewrite the industry playbook, we turned to people like Tiffany Zhong from Zebra IQ to share insights on Gen Z to understand what they care about and how they want to be engaged, we connected with Trip Hawkins, the Founder of EA Sports, to discuss how to create a new medium for engaging fans/customers, and heard from Gotham Chopra, Founder and CEO of Religion of Sports, to remind us of the power of great storytelling, just to name a few.

As we wrap up this unprecedented year in sports and begin a new chapter, we are also excited to expand our partner roster with three new organizations: Angel City Football Club, LAFC, and Verizon.

Together, our growing partner set created tremendous impact by embracing a responsibility to lead and serve. Just a few examples of their efforts:

• MLS and MLB came together with other professional leagues to turn stadiums into polling locations (including Dodger Stadium and LAFC’s home near downtown L.A.)
• The Dodgers and LAFC (and 9 other southern California sports teams) coming together to form The Alliance to aid underserved Black and Latino children through sports
• adidas partnered with the MLS and the Black Players Coalition to create the #MLSisBlack Solidarity top
• Fox Sports and Dick’s Sporting Goods teaming up with Good Sports to Restore Play in Youth Sports, and many others.

In 2021, our goal is to rebuild the global sports industry for long term success through these powerful partnerships.

We welcome like-minded industry leaders who share our vision of creating a world made better through sport and to join our commitment to push the industry forward. After all, innovation is a team sport.

If you are interested in learning more about the Global Sports Venture Studio, please reach out to me at fielding.jamieson@rga.com or follow us on Twitter at @GlobalSportsVS.