Advertising and sponsorship helps to pay for the cost of the stadium, the teams and to keep the price of the tickets for each fan to a lower rate. Without advertising, there literally would not be any games or at least anything that the average person could attend.

Marketing and advertising is a critical part of the overall sports stadium and team support. Advertisers and sponsors know that they have a trapped audience to pitch their name and brand and that most of the fans are not only in a spending-mood, but appreciate the sponsors that take care of their favorite teams. The cost of building and maintaining a stadium is never covered in the price of the average ticket, but through the income that they receive from advertisers. It is a symbiotic relationship that assists in keeping a balance.

Some of the top brand names are willing to spend the highest dollars for stadium advertising. This has created an entire specialty profession solely devoted to appealing to the corporations with statistics and strategies. The return on investment for advertising at sports events is dependent upon the right message. Marketing professionals work with corporate brands to create advertising that attracts and keeps the attention of the fans.
Advertising in the past typically meant an ad that had a name or logo. Today’s technology has opened up new worlds and offerings. The electronic scoreboard of today brings high resolution LED and video for a more elegant visual experience. High tech audio with the right acoustics combined with the right message equals a buying success for the sponsor or advertiser. Banners, marketing campaigns and overheads compliment the look and feel. When you add the internet into the mix, the fan now has a personal experience via their smartphone, live data feed or tablet. The cost of technologies have come down to prices that allow both stadium and advertiser to feel like it is a win-win.

Obviously, the larger the venue, the higher the advertising cost; but in reality the return on investment will also elevate. This offsets so that the cost is actually lower for the advertiser, but the fans and stadium wins with lower ticket prices. Some of the stadiums are installing the larger 4-way scoreboards with four directional displays that are viewable by everyone. These advertising formats vary in cost, depending upon the game and team, but can run from $4,500 to $15,000 per game.

The importance of advertisers and sponsors to today’s sports stadiums and games has been elevated to a requirement to maintain the balance. As more advertisers jump on the bandwagon, the demand for the technologies also increases and those costs are then reduced. This also has another effect in that it generates additional businesses that are focused on delivering these technologies so you, the fan, can be have that wow-factor at the game.

So even though we are a society that seems to begrudge commercials and advertising, the next time you go to see your favorite team play, embrace the ads. After all, they have helped to pay for your ticket and the stadium and the special effects technologies as well.