GSI Event Study 361˚ World Men’s Curling Championship 2018 Las Vegas, USA 31 March – 8 April 2018 GSI EVENT STUDY / 361˚ WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 GSI Event Study 361˚ World Men’s Curling Championship 2018 Las Vegas, USA This Event Study is subject to copyright agreements. No part of this Event Study may be reproduced distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means or PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2018 stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission. Application for permission for use of copyright material shall be made to BY SPORTCAL GLOBAL Sportcal Global Communications Ltd (“Sportcal”). COMMUNICATIONS LTD Sportcal has prepared this Event Study using reasonable skill, care and diligence for the sole and confidential use of the World Curling Federation (“WCF”) and the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition (“LOC”) for the purposes set out in the Authors Event Study. Sportcal does not assume or accept or owe any responsibility or Andrew Horsewood, Colin Stewart duty of care to any other person. Any use that a third party makes of this Event Study or reliance thereon or any decision made based on it, is the responsibility of such third party. Research and editorial support The Event Study reflects Sportcal’s best judgement in the light of the information Ezechiel Abatan, Edward Frain, Krzysztof available at the time of its preparation. Sportcal has relied upon the Kropielnicki, Beth McGuire, Tim Rollason completeness, accuracy and fair presentation of all the information, data, advice, opinion or representations (the “Information”) obtained from public sources and from the WCF, LOC and various third-party providers. The findings in the Event Market research Study are conditional upon such completeness, accuracy and fair presentation of the Information. Sportcal, Sportcal India, Sport MR, Nielsen Sports Image credit: World Curling Federation / Richard Gray (www.worldcurling.org) Bob Weder Photography (www.bobweder.com) Data provided by: 2 © and database right 2018 Sportcal Global Communications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. GSI EVENT STUDY / 361˚ WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 GSI Event Study / 361˚ World Men’s Curling Championship 2018 Contents 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 2 OVERVIEW 10 3 STAKEHOLDERS 17 4 ORGANISATION 28 5 ECONOMIC 32 6 TOURISM 38 7 EVENT EXPERIENCE 52 8 MEDIA 59 9 SOCIAL MEDIA 74 10 SPONSORSHIP 85 11 SPORTING 94 12 SOCIAL 100 13 LEGACY 104 14 COMPARATIVE DATA ANALYSIS 110 3 © and database right 2018 Sportcal Global Communications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Executive Executive Summary 4 GSI EVENT STUDY / 361˚ WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 Executive Summary 361˚ World Men’s Curling Championship 2018 Date City, Nation Key Statistics 31 March – 8 April 2018 Las Vegas, USA ECONOMIC Venues Organiser Ticketed attendance 74,829 Orleans Arena Reno Tahoe Winter Games Accredited participants 652 Orleans Hotel & Casino Coalition (RTWGC) Direct economic impact $8.90m Event Frequency Owner TOURISM Every year World Curling Federation (WCF) Origin of spectators Las Vegas 4.9% Other USA 19.9% The US city of Las Vegas hosted the 361˚ World Men’s Curling Championship Overseas 75.2% 2018 (WMCC2018) between 31 March and 8 April 2018. The event was held at The Orleans Arena which forms part of the larger EVENT EXPERIENCE Orleans’s Hotel and Casino campus in Las Vegas. Positive experience Spectators 95% The attendance totalled 74,829 with 51,823 tickets sold to spectators and a Volunteers 89% mixture of single draw tickets, multi-day ticket packages and accommodation plus ticket packages on offer. MEDIA It was calculated that there were 4,705 spectators, with 71.3 per cent originating TV broadcasters 13 from Canada. Only 4.9 per cent of spectators were local, whilst 19.9 per cent TV nations 47 came from other parts of USA. 3.9 per cent came from outside USA and Canada. TV continental reach 3 TV production team 102 The direct economic impact has been calculated to be $8.90 million, based on a Accredited media 60 tourism spend generated by accredited persons and spectators worth $8.17 million and an organiser surplus spend related to the running of the event worth SOCIAL MEDIA $0.73 million to the local economy. (seven accounts, event period) Spectators from outside of Las Vegas contributed $7.44 million, including 28,745 Posts 666 bed nights, to the local economy, generating $6.79 million in tourism spending Reactions / Likes 31,818 within the city and an additional $0.65 million elsewhere in USA as a result of Shares / Retweets 3,662 their trip to Las Vegas. New followers 1,746 There were 652 accredited participants registered for the event, of which 534 SPONSORSHIP contributed to their tourism spend of $0.73 million. Sponsors 6 Live, highlight and delayed coverage of the World Men’s Curling Championship Suppliers 4 2018 was aired on television in 47 nations with 1,876 hours broadcast in total. Event partners 4 The event was covered by 60 accredited media onsite at the event in Las Vegas. SPORTING Athletes 65 The championship included 13 nations, one more than in previous years, increasing the participation from the Asia-Pacific region. The 65 athletes were Competing nations 13 accompanied by 43 team officials. Team officials 43 Technical officials 13 The delivery of the event was supported by 153 volunteers, with 89 per cent enjoying their role at the event. The volunteers themselves generated a SOCIAL significant tourism spend with the majority coming from overseas. Volunteers 153 5 © and database right 2018 Sportcal Global Communications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. GSI EVENT STUDY / 361˚ WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 Executive Summary 361˚ World Men’s Curling Championship 2018 STAKEHOLDERS WCF key objectives The key stakeholders for the WMCC2018 were: • Enhance the broadcast output • Governing body: World Curling Federation (WCF) for the event • Continue momentum of the • Host organisation: US Curling bounce generated by the winter • Event organiser: Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition (RTWGC) Olympic Games and USA men’s • Government organisations: Las Vegas Conventions & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) curling team gold medal and TravelNevada, tourism division for the State of Nevada • Learn from the host partners and Las Vegas ‘razzmatazz’ to further enhance future competitions ORGANISATION • To continue to “spread the gospel of curling” in the USA • As the event organiser, the RTWGC’s overarching objective from organising • Increase coverage of the sport in the WMCC2018 in Las Vegas was to showcase the state of Nevada’s Asia capabilities of hosting major sports events • Based on this, the RTWGC focused on offering an event that would attract RTWGC key objectives fans to attend a unique curling experience, and encourage their subsequent return to curling events in future years • Host world championship events • While ticket sales were not as strong as expected, the RTWGC still expected in Winter Olympic sports to make a profit from organising the event, which would help to sustain its • Build on the success of the overall project Continental Cup • The RTWGC relied substantially on a dedicated and experienced volunteer • Deliver an event that attracts workforce in order to successfully deliver the event – the volunteers fulfilled fans to Nevada, and who will roles that they had undertaken at their own local curling clubs want to return • • For US Curling, the host national federation at the event, the WMCC2018 Deliver a profit on the event • Gain global exposure as a viable presented an excellent opportunity to further develop the awareness of the host of winter sports events sport in the USA, which had increased through increasing exposure of the • Develop a credible bid to bring a sport on television and had been further bolstered by the success of Team Winter Olympic Games for Reno USA at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games Tahoe • The LVCVA and TravelNevada used their own positions to provide the necessary governmental backing to the RTWGC and to the event itself. In LVCVA key objectives turn, the demographics of the attendees and the timing of the event complemented both institutions’ ambitions to drive tourism to their • Drive domestic and international respective regions tourism to the city by hosting sports and championships • To support events which best fit the city’s event calendar by offsetting any seasonal drops in tourism numbers • Increase the number of out-of- town visitor room nights being generated • Gain exposure for the Las Vegas brand via television broadcast and global media attention 6 © and database right 2018 Sportcal Global Communications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. GSI EVENT STUDY / 361˚ WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 Executive Summary 361˚ World Men’s Curling Championship 2018 ECONOMIC Economic - Detail • A total of 74,829 spectators attended the event Ticketed Attendance 74,829 • Spectator numbers were noticeably greater for draws which featured Public Sale 51,823 Canada, particularly during the first days of competition Complimentary 23,006 • The gold medal draw (Sweden vs Canada) attracted the largest audience • 652 participants were registered for accreditation at the WMCC2018 • The total direct economic impact created by the WMCC2018 is estimated to Accredited persons 652 be $8.90 million, taking visiting spectator, accredited persons and operational surplus spend in to account Direct economic impact $8.90m • The Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition spent $1.31 million on the event Spectator visitor spend $7.44m and turned a profit of $0.09 million Accredited