I�m Grant Gardner and you�re listening to Statistically Speaking, a podcast from the Samford University Center for Sports Analytics in Birmingham, Alabama. I�m Zachary Taunton and each week we are going to explore how big data and advances analytics is impacting the business side of sports. So, here is this week�s episode... --- Zachary Taunton (ZT): Welcome back to Statistically Speaking, my name is Zachary Taunton. I am here with my co-host Grant Gardner. How you doing Grant? Grant Gardner (GG): Doing good. ZT: So, two weeks ago Grant and myself along with the entire sports marketing class got the chance to go to Atlanta to spend the day at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the President and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons, Rich McKay. It was an incredible experience. So, today we're just going to talk a little bit about what we learned and all the things we got to do. So, Grant what did you think about the experience of getting to spend the day with the one and only Rich McKay? GG: I think it was an incredible experience and one that most undergrads do not get. So, us as a sports morning program, we drove over to Atlanta, we met Mr McKay in the boardroom of the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He spent an hour with us just talking about the industry, how he's gotten into the industry, what the Falcons are doing with the new stadium, and the team as a whole. The NFL and the finances and economics of being an NFL team as well as just some great wisdom and advice for budding sports businessman. He spent that hour with us and then he went on a tour with us throughout the whole stadium. We got to see these fancy new suites, we got to see Arthur Blank�s suite we got to go on the field, in the locker rooms, the training rooms. An interesting thing is in the stadium the Falcons have their own locker room that no one else will ever use except the Falcons. Atlanta United has their own locker room no one else will ever use accept Atlanta United. And then there's plenty of auxiliary locker rooms so they can host events like the SEC Championship. Just world class facilities. A really interesting thing was there are no physical billboards in the stadium it's all these digital LED wraps and then they have a billboard in the center of the field� ZT: The Halo� GG: The Halo. Yes, so what that allows the team to do is to sell these sponsorship rights to these different billboards and the businesses can change it on a week-by-week basis they're not having to pay to have a new signage posted up they can instantly change it and really fit whatever those brands are trying to market at the time. Also, if they're trying to push a certain brand during the game, like Home Depot, Home Depot for those 30 seconds owns the stadium, they can fill up every digital board in the stadium. That was really interesting� ZT: They can really push one brand at one time. GG: Yeah and that is a great selling points to those brands that want to be within the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And then just other cool features like the energy efficiency of the stadium with the skylight. ZT: And the huge reservoir beneath the stadium. GG: All the water that runs off - all the rainwater that runs off - is reusable and that goes towards the community. So, that was really interesting� ZT: One of the things he�s talking about, going back to the billboards - that I did not realize - was just how expensive changing billboards of a non-LED variety is. He was saying that it's a $150,000 just to pull one down and then you have to spend another 150 just get it back up. From a brand�s perspective how cost-effective it is to have these screens instead and one of the other things he was saying is that FIFA came to the stadium and was looking at the possibility of using it when the World Cup comes to the States and how much they love those because obviously they are bringing their own sponsors and they wouldn't have the cost of change of $150,000 per every single billboard they can just upload their own stuff straight to the screens. That's such a subtle thing that I never thought about but save them millions to be able to do that GG: And I mean you can literally have specific sponsors for whatever event is there. Whether it�s the SEC Championship, an Atlanta United game, Falcons game, FIFA soccer match with the potential maybe having World Cup or an Olympics in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It�s just a state-of-the-art stadium that I think we will be seeing a lot more of in the future. ZT: One of the things that I thought was really amusing is, this is the second stadium that Mr. McKay has been responsible for creating through you know negotiations and what not and this particular stadium took eight years. Now, there are very few people out there who have done two, some people have done one, but the reality is like again 8 years is a long time and this stadium was 1.5 billion dollars. One of the things he said that was amusing was he's talking about the process of building a stadium and how the so-called experts in the field, the architects, you have to deal with the experts in the field who build these stadiums and he said by experts we literally mean they have built like eight stadiums and then he said, �I don�t know what Henry Ford�s eighth car looked like, but I bet it wasn�t very damn good.� You know I think he is probably right about that. So just having to work through all the quirks that you don�t think about when you�re building something to that scale. How often has someone thought about building a $1.5 billion stadium anyway? GG: And also, you know, these architects, they make beautiful architecture, but they don't necessarily think about the fan experience. And teams are worried about: is it going to be a great game day experience? Are our fans going to enjoy the stadium? Are they going to be able to find the concessions? Are they going to able to get to their seat easily? And those things all have to be considered, not just architecture, as well as accommodating the team. I mean this is their place of work. So, so much goes into it, that you can't get wrong when you are building a $1.5 billion stadium. ZT: Absolutely, and it was just an incredible experience for you know a bunch of undergrads to spend that long with Rich McKay and to hear him talking about the industry and his experience of getting into it. First as a GM at the Buccaneers and now as the President and CEO of the Falcons and just truly the business side of sports and learning about what what he does on a day-to-day basis. But that same day, in Atlanta, we also got to go visit� GG: But wait there�s more� ZT: Yeah, exactly believe it or not we got to go visit Darren Eales the President and CEO of Atlanta United FC at their training facility also in Atlanta. And as a side note, Atlanta United is also owned by Arthur Blank and they also play in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. So, we got to go hang out with Darren Eales and it was incredible. What did you think about that? GG: That was really cool, and I really think it�s interesting the dynamic of these two teams that are owned by Arthur Blank. And it really is like this family and this cohesive unit of these two different teams that are in very different sports and they share the Mercedes-Benz Stadium but they also share these facilities and one of the things we are talking about is the training facility for Atlanta United is on the northside of Atlanta and if the Falcons executives are having a meeting on that side of town and because of traffic, which is not an oddity, because of traffic if they can�t get back to Mercedes-Benz to have a meeting they need to have, they can just hop into the boardroom in Marietta, at the Atlanta United facility, and Atlanta United coaches or executives can do the same thing if they're in downtown. So, that was really cool just kind of the teamwork and cohesiveness of those two teams and then just sitting and hearing from Mr. Eales and Carlos Bocanegra and some of their data analysts. ZT: By the way, that is the former team captain of the US National Men�s Team. GG: Yeah, and he works on the player logistics side of Atlanta United and Mr. Eales runs the business as well as the player operations - just all of it. So, it was cool to hear his business ideas as far as Atlanta United and taking this soccer team that is a new thing for the city of Atlanta and just building almost kind of a tradition and rich atmosphere off only a couple years. He threw out some crazy stats that I am not going to be able to remember off the top of my head. Some of their matches have been some of the top 10 most attended soccer matches in the world when they were played. ZT: In the world! It�s ridiculous. GG: Only behind like Camp Nou and some of these other large stadiums in England. ZT: That was one of the things too that really blew my mind is that the MLS is certainly an up-and-coming league in the States, but the degree to which in just a few years they've already created a culture around that team it is mind-blowing. They've had multiple sellout crowds and when they were launching he told us a story that some people from FIFA were saying it's not going to catch, Atlanta is not known for supporting its teams, which is just not true, but also they were just like the MLS is not going to catch on in Atlanta. Their first game was a sellout and they have sold out so many since then. Mr. Eales was saying that it has amazed him that just in the short amount of time that team has been there, that he'll walk around the city of Atlanta and see people wearing Atlanta United branded clothing and just like how quickly that city has rallied around the team. But also, how, as you were just saying, how it's not just an Atlanta thing. They are consistently in the top 10 most attended soccer matches in the world. Which is incredible as young as they are. GG: Which you know it helps to have this great, large big new stadium. So that they can fill - put more people in the seats - but at the same time it's like, they're still coming. ZT: They were selling out when they were still at Georgia Tech�s stadium. Even before they made the move they were still selling out. GG: So, they�ve seen great success and I think that's just getting a lot of buy in from the city of Atlanta as well as just marketing the team and creating an atmosphere. I think people were drawn by the atmosphere they had heard about the stadium and then once they got there they were like, �Oh, there�s soccer here.� And they became soccer fans out of just the novelty of coming to the stadium and they're getting that return on their investment. So, it�s a great opportunity and a great success for the team. ZT: You know, I haven�t watched a ton of soccer growing up, but I swear when I left I was a fan I was like man I want to come to the game now. So, there you have it folks, we got to go spend an incredible day in Atlanta and we learned so much from these guys who were really at the top of their industry and it was just an amazing opportunity for Grant and I to go spend the day in Atlanta. So, we appreciate you listening, I hope you learned something, we certainly did, and we will see you next time. --- Thank you for listening to Statistically Speaking. This podcast was created and produced by Zach Taunton and Grant Gardner. To learn more about the Samford University Center for Sports Analytics, and download more episodes of the podcast, visit our webpage at samford.edu/sports-analytics and follow us on Twitter @SamfordSACenter.