An Iconic Venue An Interview with Philip Schwalb, Founder and Chief Executive Offi cer, Sports Museum of America

EDITORS’ NOTE Immediately prior to founding the Sports Museum of America, Philip Schwalb managed TPC, Inc., a diverse holding com- pany, for the Kennedy-Schlossberg family. Prior to that, Schwalb it’s an homage to superstar athletes the u.s. never had a museum about sports un- was Chief Operating Offi cer of when they were children. there are til now. there are probably about 30 athletes, Centerprise Information Solutions photos of on his bicy- including , Joe Frazier, billie Inc. From 1996 to 1998, he was cle at age 10, serena and Jean King, mario andretti, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Senior Vice President of Business hugging one another at ages 8 and 11 bob cousy, harry carson, walt Frazier, and oth- Operations and Marketing for respectively, and bonnie blair skating ers, who have been particularly enthusiastic and SSYH Software. From 1994 to 1996, when she was 5. we also display billie gracious with their time. Schwalb acted as Executive Director Philip Schwalb Jean King’s report card, telling a little bit What made you feel New York was the for the Community Club in New about what she was like as a child, and right location? York. He was also Senior Vice President for a pro- ’s little league jersey. there’s a fi lm of initially, i looked at orlando and las vegas, fessional sports franchise. From 1991 to 1993, clips of iconic athletes in childhood, like tiger but i pretty quickly became convinced it should Schwalb was an offi cer of the Arena Football woods at age 3 and at age 5. be in new york. this was meant to be and is League (AFL) and Chairman of the League’s the next exhibit is the immersion theater, truly an iconic venue. we want to be an icon of Legal and Business Affairs committee. He served which is a surround-sound theater projecting all a smithsonian-type stature, so orlando and las as a Managing Executive at Time Warner’s court kinds of emotional and moving sports moments. vegas were not the right places for us. we are tv/american lawyer media from 1986 to 1988. after that, we become sport-specifi c through the right across the street from the statue of liberty Schwalb received his BA with honors from Duke bulk of the museum. it starts with the olympics, ferries, and we’re part of the world trade center University and a JD while on academic scholar- followed by baseball, auto racing, basketball, rebuilding effort, so we feel really happy with ship at Emory University. tennis, soccer, hockey, golf, and football. but our home. also, new york gets as many visitors the last three galleries are not sport-specifi c. as any place in the country – last year, there ORGANIZATION BRIEF The Sports Museum breaking barriers is the story of people who was a record 46 million visitors to new york. of America (SmA) (www. sportsmuseum.com), broke gender, racial, and international barriers and for many people, new york is the sports based in New York, is a $100 million venue and in sports, narrated by espn’s John saunders. it’s capital of the country. it’s home to more teams the nation’s fi rst and only every-sport attraction, a beautiful fi lm with testimonials from some of and more history than any city, and it’s a sports- richly showcasing the history and signifi cance of the current greatest athletes of all time refl ect- crazed city. sports in American culture. Created in exclusive ing on the accomplishments of those who came How critical is being involved in the partnership with more than 50 single-sport halls before them, like talking about community to the culture of what you’re of fame, national governing bodies, and other , danica patrick talking about doing, and has it been important to build sports organizations across North America, SmA Janet guthrie, and tony dungy talking about nonprofi t and charity relationships? features amazing state-of-the-art interactive tech- Fritz pollard and Jackie robinson. the next gal- it’s huge for me personally and for the nologies, dramatic original fi lms, and an iconic lery is games people play, an homage to the museum as an entity. more than 20 halls of collection of sports memorabilia. SmA is also everyday sports that people play, like bowling, fame, including the tennis hall of Fame, home to the legendary (an an- volleyball, running, and softball. visitors end hockey hall of Fame, soccer hall of Fame, nual televised presentation) and the Billie Jean their tour in a room that’s a salute to the fans. boxing hall of Fame, pro Football hall of King International Women’s Sports Center, in- it’s fi lled with interactive activities – you can Fame, and college Football hall of Fame, are cluding the fi rst Women’s Sports Hall of Fame. make your own broadcast or play computer partners, and they’re all nonprofi ts. about $2.5 sports trivia. and we show a moving fi lm called million a year gets distributed among about Are you happy with the museum’s More Than a Game, narrated by Good Morning 60 nonprofi ts, which in addition to the sports recognition? America’s robin roberts, about the signifi cance museums and halls of fame include governing i am very happy. endorsement is coming and impact of sports. bodies like usta, usoc, usga, , from several places, most importantly from the You’ve put together a board of trustees and us lacrosse. we also picked the Jackie athletes. we’ve had hundreds of iconic and hall that is a who’s who from the sporting world. robinson Foundation and pat laFontaine’s of fame athletes come through the venue, and How engaged is your board of trustees? children’s hospital charity called companions they’ve loved it. it’s really interesting to be in they are very critical, because they add in courage to each receive 1 percent of our the olympic gallery watching , Jim a lot of credibility and ideas. it’s important to ticket sales. we divert our revenue to more craig, and bonnie blair absorb it. the athletes’ have their enthusiasm. they are very active in than 60 nonprofi ts on an annual basis.• reaction was the fi rst thing i was looking for. supporting the museum; half of them were here How is the museum structured? on opening day. all these athletes do it for one The Charging Bull of dressed in a Sports Museum of the fi rst exhibit is called dreaming big, and reason, and that is they fi nd it a shame that America jersey volume 31, number 4 posted with permission. copyright © 2008 leaders magazine, inc. 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