Sports MBA Visits Two Professional Sports Teams in Anaheim
SMBA Touring Angel Stadium
Sports MBA Visits Two Professional Sports Teams in Anaheim
By Whitney Hamilton (SMBA ‘21)
On Monday, February 24th, the SMBA '21 cohort traveled to Anaheim to visit a few notable SDSU Sports MBA alumni at their respective workplaces: the Honda Center and Angel Stadium.
First, the class met with two Anaheim Ducks Corporate Partnerships executives at the Honda Center, Graham Siderius (SMBA ’07), the Anaheim Ducks' Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, and Forrest Lockwood (SMBA ’18), the Ducks' Corporate Partnerships Analyst. Graham and Forrest gave the class a tour of the arena introducing the group to the backdrop for their Sports Marketing semester projects. Topics of discussion included the importance of developing long term partnerships, understanding your fan base, aligning with brands whose values are cohesive to your own, and key components of successful sponsorship activations. The next day Anaheim Arena Management and Honda announced their agreement to a 10-year naming rights extension for the Honda Center – what perfect timing to reaffirm Graham and Forrest’s presentation!
SMBA Visiting the Honda Center
Afterward, the cohort headed across the street to Angel Stadium to meet with Drew Zinser (SMBA ’09), a Senior Account Executive with Angels Baseball. While touring the class around the stadium, Drew outlined potential upcoming stadium upgrades and the business strategy behind the proposed plans. He also provided the class with insider tips for their Sports Marketing class projects and held an open Q&A opportunity for the Sports MBA students to gain insight into the competitive sports industry.
The SMBA Class of 2021 would like to thank Graham, Forrest, and Drew for taking time out of their busy schedules to connect with the newest cohort of Sports MBA students.
