In its effort to become a more viable and self sustainable league, the TT Pro League has recruited United States based sports management company, Playbook Management International (PMI), for a two-day seminar on the Business of Professional Football.
PMI Managing Partner and former FC Dallas Managing Director Michael Hitchcock will head the seminar, geared at improving the business side of Pro League clubs, on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 April at the Siparia Room of the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
The seminar will include a combination of presentations and workshops: Profitable Business Management, Community Relations, New Media, Revenue Generation, Player Marketing, Successful Ticket Sales, Game Day Experience, Marketing and Public Relations, and Sponsorship and Sales Programs and Activation.
League CEO Dexter Skeene elucidated, “The league us at the stage in its cycle where strategically it is necessary to focus on the business side of football; aspects off the field which adds to the value and the profitability of the clubs and the league.
“We have an experienced practitioner in Michael Hitchcock, who will provide the insight and experience to the owners and persons who are involved in the managing of our professional football clubs. It provides a forum where the owners can take full advantage of up to date professional football management systems and marketing methods which will assist to put the league on a firm and viable footing going into 2014 and beyond.”
The League is also grateful for the support of the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago for making the seminar possible.
PMI boasts over 75 years of professional sports management with its Executives having served in the role of President for two Major League Soccer clubs, President of two North American Soccer League clubs & one Women’s Professional Soccer league club plus Vice President of five MLS clubs, in addition to working with over 50 sports teams, leagues, events, venues & sports consumer products.
Playbook Management International works with teams, venues & leagues to help them build a comprehensive & strategic business plan called the Playbook which provides a vision, mission and corresponding plan (road map to success) for the client to maximize revenue and run a sustainable business operation.
PMI focuses on helping clients to run a more efficient, sustainable business operation with the focus on maximizing revenue streams while running a good business operation.
MICHAEL HITCHCOCK BIO & BACKGROUND
Playbook Management International is led by Managing Partner, Michael Hitchcock. Hitchcock recently completed a career in Major League Soccer where he helped grow the league from the early, struggling years to the strong, vibrant league that it is today. During his 12+ year MLS career, Hitchcock worked his way from the bottom of the organization (entry level sales rep) to the top of the organization (President & General Manager.) Hitchcock was the most decorated Business Executive in MLS History having won the MLS Sales Director of the Year award 4 times, his Sales Teams won MLS Sales Team of the Year 5 times and he was recognized as the Commissioner’s New Business Leadership Award winner as a Sales Rep.
Hitchcock is the only MLS Leader to have hosted and led the Major League Soccer Championship game, MLS CUP, four times (all 4 games were SOLD OUT.) He’s credited with elevating the status of the League’s Championship game with very innovative initiatives including the MLS Host Committee (a committee made of the local business, community and political leaders to help promote the Championship game on all levels.) Also, he introduced the MLS CUP Trophy Tour; a program that took the Trophy all over the region to promote the Championship game where over 10,000 people had a chance to hold the trophy and take a picture with it (as part of a Grass Roots Marketing & Database Management campaign).
Starting his career in entry level ticket sales (commission only), on his first day as a Sales Rep, Hitchcock set a goal of becoming a President & General Manager of an MLS Team in 9 years. 8 years, 6 months after his first day as a Sales Rep; Michael Hitchcock was offered 3 President/GM jobs in the same week. He accepted the opportunity to become the General Manager of FC Dallas (MLS team) and the new Pizza Hut park (a state of the art 140 acre Soccer Facility that included a 20,500 Seat Soccer Stadium and 17 world class soccer fields.) As the General Manager of FC Dallas & Pizza Hut Park, Hitchcock brought over 1.5 Million guests to Pizza Hut Park per year through an aggressive Programming Plan & Strategy.
Through his leadership, Pizza Hut Park became the first Professional Green Stadium in the state of Texas which was fully funded by a Recycling Grant. Green Stadiums have since become the trend in the industry. Hitchcock created the FC Dallas Foundation to help make the community where we live, work & play; a better place to live, work & play. The Foundation helps children with the goal of raising $500,000 a year that they give back to the community.
In 2009, he was recognized as the Frisco Business Leader of the Year with the Frisco Chairman’s Award. Under Hitchcock’s leadership, FC Dallas & Pizza Hut Park was recognized as Business of the Year by two different organizations in 2008. In 2007, Pizza Hut Park received the Dallas Business Journal Community Impact Award for the company in Dallas/Fort Worth that had the greatest impact on the local community.
Hitchcock is known in the industry as a visionary leader, innovative marketer and a strategic planner. Through his unique approach to the business; Hitchcock has shown throughout his career that his business management system can help clubs accomplish great things.
In two years, he took Colorado Rapids from averaging under 11,000 fans per game to 20,205 fans per game. In LA, he set all sales records including an Average Attendance of over 24,000 fans per game and selling 176,000 Group Tickets (11,000 group tickets per game). In Dallas, he improved attendance for a franchise that averaged @ 11,000 fans per game to an average attendance of 15,600 fans per game; while increasing the Franchise Value to $39 Million which was the third highest Franchise value in MLS (according to Forbes Magazine’ 2009 Team Evaluation.) In 2009, FC Dallas built the first fully integrated Youth Development System in America that starts with the FC Dallas Academy through to the FC Dallas Juniors and now features over 1,800 players.
In their first year, the youth club was ranked one of the top clubs in America plus Hitchcock signed their first Professional player from the clubs youth system. This player since signing with FC Dallas played in the U17 World Cup. FC Dallas had 5 players on the US National team that participated in the U20 World Cup.
Since launching Playbook Management International in November 2009; Hitch has grown the company from two executives in 2009 to 22 full time executives in 2013; the company has made a profit every year of operation while generating millions of dollars in sales for our clients. One of the many PMI success stories is the successful launch of the San Antonio Scorpions of the NASL. PMI acquired the rights to the NASL Franchise for the teams’ Owner; then developed the comprehensive strategy for building the brand and business of the franchise (called the Playbook) then PMI helped execute the plan through a management agreement.
Through the two year Management Agreement with the Scorpions; Hitch served the role of President of the team for the Scorpions successful launch and inaugural season where the team generated over $2 Million in Revenue (averaging 9,147 fans per game, in a high school stadium), sold significant sponsorships including a long term naming rights deal to Toyota for the new soccer specific stadium, Toyota Field which will open in April 2013.