From baseball games to the World Cup: finding stories in the business of sports

By Flickr user Ryan Dickey

Even if you can’t tell post time from a goal post, the next couple of months are just too chock-full of sporting news for financial writers to overlook.

The business of sports infiltrates and permeates so much of our commerce, and even affects personal finance and consumer spending. So take advantage of the plethora of opportunities this spring to dip into a sports biz package.

From the quintessential Americana of the Indianapolis 500 to the cosmopolitan flair of the international tennis and the soccer World Cup, your readers will be trekking to or tuning in for a variety of contests.  Needless to say, these subjects scream for multimedia treatment, from photo montages to audio interviews to video blogs.  Timely topics include:

NBA playoffs: Kind of down to the wire on this one but you have a week or so left to check on how local sports fans are spending money to root on the Celtics or the Magic.  Check on the bar scene, the eBay and Craigslist memorabilia scene, the ever-popular counterfeit souvenir situation and even local charter companies and airlines to see if rabid fans are jetting off to cheer in person.

The French Open: What some consider the most grueling Grand Slam event gets underway this weekend in Paris.  As with other sports that have an avid amateur class, checking into the economic health of local clubs, training facilities and sales of gear is a good way to localize.

Baseball: The boys of summer have been at it for a month now; here’s the MLB season schedule. And check out this intelligent Reuters piece for a round-up of economy-related concerns; it’ll help you formulate questions for the team and stadium operators in your area.  If your sports desk has that angle sewn up, delve more deeply into the ripple effect on concessionaires, suppliers, program printers, neighborhood car park operations, uniform laundries and any other ancillary businesses you can find.  Or, tackle the cost-of-attending angle from a personal finance take, the corporate-box situation, the employment angle, on-field advertising – with such an early start you could combine several of the above for a summer-long look at the economics of America’s pastime.

Stanley Cup: This Biz of Hockey blog should help you make economic sense of the playoffs; a recent post points to franchise value, corporate sponsorship and TV ratings, among other money-related stats.  The blog has lots of helpful links, too, as does this official NHL conference finals site.

Remember that as with other sports, local angles can include junior leagues, local sponsorship, amateur training and playing costs, arena development, coaching and other non-pro angles with a financial twist.

Indianapolis 500: As a three-decade attendee of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, imagine my chagrin to learn recently that the engines for the 230-mph-plus racers are built about two miles from my southeast Michigan home!  It just goes to show that there is always a new angle to any story if you ask enough questions.  The Memorial Day weekend classic, slated for May 30 this year, is a good excuse to nose into the motorsports scene in your region.

There also are important NASCAR races this month, which probably generate more in terms of bar business and charter tourism.  But auto racing tracks are suffering great attendance woes lately – the famed Milwaukee Mile is sitting out its first season since 1913, a tragedy to fans of the oval – so checking out the health of tracks, dirt courses, training facilities, even museums and memorabilia outlets near you may score some timely story ideas.

And don’t forget about related amusement businesses like Go-Kart courses, driving schools, amateur racing leagues like the Sports Car Club of America (imagine a racing-as-hobby personal finance story?) and other speed-related services.  I recently did a feature piece about a famed vintage race car and discovered, for example, several unique and for-profit restoration companies in the process.

World Cup: Starting June 11 in South Africa, it makes our Super Bowls and World Series look like bingo games as far as the global sports scene is concerned.   Here’s the official Web site for schedule and background info. And here’s an interesting-looking blog that recaps some U.S. player interest; you might find local stories there.   Local business angles would range from tourism to tavern marketing plans.  Here’s an interesting AP piece about tribes offering home stays to international travelers, for example.

This site, Project 2010, includes more travel-impact info.

You might also look into the local business of soccer, from leagues to coaching jobs to uniforms and other supplies.  Or, again, a personal finance piece on the cost of participating.

Belmont Stakes: The June 5 New York race is a little less exciting now that there is no chance of a Triple Crown winner this year, but still important and a good opportunity to take a look at the equestrian biz and horse track health in your neck of the woods.  Here is my previous blog post with resources and story suggestions.