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Budgeting for
Sports Events
hile wanting to conduct
an athletic event in
support of an amateur
organization is admirable, getting a grip on the financial
side must be the first priority.

Whether you represent a sports commission, a CVB or a local youth team, putting yourself or your organization in
financial debt is no way to keep your job
or keep a good relationship with your
fellow team parents. Many of our readers are new to the sports event industry
and are likely members of a two or
three-person staff, so developing an
event budget may well be the task of a
single person.
So where do you start if this is your
first budget? Experienced event planners
will tell you that youve got to have a
complete budget anyway, so it shouldnt
matter whether you start with income or
expenses. But because the list of income
opportunities is far shorter than that of
expenses well start with income, and
well divide the income categories
according to being event-generated and
pre-event-generated. The objective is to
provide you with a list of income categories, and inspire you to think of others
pertinent to your situation.
The most common line items for
income generated prior to an event are
sponsorships, donations and entry fees.
Whatever your organization or the
size of your event, if there is public
exposure, some businesses are willing to
give you money in exchange for visibili8 preptraveler | Spring/Summer 2007

By Bill Hanson
ty. For small events, these businesses
will likely be parent-owned and generated through goodwill. The obvious target
market for these sponsorships is the
immediate membership of your organization. A sports commission must think
bigger and find local businesses that will
benefit from an association with your
event. In addition to title, presenting and
general event sponsorships, there are
items such as ticket-backs and lineup
sheets that offer sponsor exposure.
Donations are another membership
target no matter the size of the organization. A sports commission goes straight
to its own Board of Directors for donations while a small amateur group again
goes to its own parents or members.
Generating advance income through
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team or individual entry fees is not only

financially advantageous, but is also the
primary factor in estimating many of
your expense items. This would be
especially true if entries were capped
and you could generate a demand for
entry into your event. First-time budgetmakers should, however, be conservative when estimating their number of
entries. Weve all heard the claims of I
know 50 teams that will participate, no
problem. These become the famous
last words of a wannabe event planner.
Pre-event income can also be generated through advance ticket sales, signage, souvenir program advertising,
public address announcements, vendor
fees, parking passes and hospitality
passes.
There are a number of budget line
items that generate income during the
conduct of your event; some contingent
upon your competition venue and its
own policies, and others directly
dependent upon the capabilities of your
local organizing committee. The primary obstacle to any event is the inability of the event organizer to recruit
capable workers or to delegate responsibility to these workers. Capable
workers translate to on-site income
opportunities in gate ticket sales, food
& beverage concessions, souvenir merchandise sales, souvenir program sales
and parking fees. These line items
must also be discussed with the management of your potential competition
venue because, in most cases, there are
policies in place governing what you
can and cannot do during your event. If
you dont ask up front, you could find
out the hard way, in the small print
after signing the lease contract.
Your income likely will be either participant-driven or spectator-driven, and
you should be conservative with either
estimate. The easiest way to balance or
enhance a budget is by arbitrarily
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increasing entry fees or ticket sales, yet

most planners find that preferable to
reducing expenses.
Identifying your income opportunities is one thing, but putting the proper
budget number to them is quite another. Estimating line item amounts cer-

First-time
budgetmakers should
be conservative when
estimating their
number of entries.

tainly comes easier with experience,

but to the relative novice, conservative
thinking should prevail. Dont try to do
it all yourself. Researching similar
events is the most obvious and the
quickest way. If your organization is a
member of the National Association of
Sports Commissions, you have many
peers willing to assist you.
The best way to approach the
expense items in your budget is to
expect the unexpected, and well
cover this in the fall issue.

Bill Hanson is a founder of

the San Antonio Sports
Foundation.
He has event operations experience from the
AAU Junior Olympic
Games, the U.S. Olympic
Festival and the State
Games of Texas. In addition, Bill has organized
individual competitions for
the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Games, the Pan
American Games, the Goodwill Games and
numerous NGB and local youth competitions.
Bill is the Chair-Elect of the National
Association of Sports Commissions.
Spring/Summer 2007 | preptraveler 9