Can Canada Compete in the Professional Sport Marketplace? York U. Sport Business Conference Looks at Marketing Sport in the Mega City

TORONTO, January 25, 2000 -- As the ashes settle in the furor last week that forced the federal government to withdraw its plan to aid Canadian National Hockey League teams, the spectre remains of Canadian cities losing more teams and players to the lure of the American buck. Can Canada continue to compete in the new sport marketplace?

York University's Sports Administration Program looks at this and other crucial issues facing professional sports in Canada at its conference, Mega City, Mega Dreams: Competing in the Canadian Professional Sports Marketplace, on Thursday, January 27 at 1 p.m. Vice-President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors basketball team, Glen Grunwald, will deliver the keynote speech on the challenges and trends facing sports teams in Canada's most competitive marketplace -- Toronto. He will be joined by the senior marketing and sales executives of the GTA's major sports teams including the Toronto Blue Jays, Tennis Canada, the Toronto Argonauts and the Lynx Soccer Club.

"The days are long gone when Toronto had only three big teams sharing the pie," said Conference Coordinator Tim Sullivan. "The wider variety of professional sports in Toronto today requires much more sophistication in marketing the product to a discerning consumer in a tougher marketplace," said Sullivan, a senior student in the Sports Administration Program at York.

Conference participants will discuss how they maintain and build fan and corporate support in Canada, how they are dealing with competition for players and profits in the larger North American market, and what role the federal government can play in the future of Canadian professional sport. The Conference will convene in Room 201 at Stong College, York University, 4700 Keele St., from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Sports Administration Program at York University was established in 1980 to provide sports professionals with a blend of theoretical and practical skills through a variety of learning experiences. Program graduates are prepared for careers in management of national, provincial and community sport organizations, sport marketing, event management and municipal recreation.

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For further information, please contact:

Tim Sullivan
Conference Coordinator
Sport Administration Assn.
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 77227
(416) 953-5933
sullitim@aol.com

Susan Vail
Program Coordinator
Sport Administration Assn.
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 44755

Susan Bigelow
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22091
sbigelow@yorku.ca
YU/010/00