Delivering Championship Events in the Sports Industry

Championship sporting events are a huge draw, with the Super Bowl regularly drawing 70,000 fans, the 2022 World Series averaging over 43,000 fans, and the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals averaging 18,000 fans in their respective six-game series. Naturally, these fans spend big money to get a seat, with the average Super Bowl LVII ticket costing $8,000. When paying those prices, fans expect an experience of a lifetime, and that’s where today’s WorkInSports Podcast guest comes in.

Claire Lessinger is the Vice President of Events for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, where she has worked since 2012. In that time, the city of Tampa Bay has hosted the following professional sporting events:

• Super Bowl LV (won by the host Buccaneers)
• 3 Stanley Cup Finals (2022 won by the Lightning)
• 4 MLB Playoff Appearances by the Rays (who made the 2020 World Series that was played in Texas due to COVID)

Lessinger played a major role in bringing Super Bowl LV to Tampa Bay, serving as Chief Operating Officer for the Super Bowl LV Committee. In addition to her duties with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, she is President of the Tampa Bay chapter of Women In Sports & Events (WISE). She talks with VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp about:

• How her time as a student-athlete at Florida prepared her for the professional world
• What she learned about the sports business from her tenure as USF’s volleyball coach
• How she transitioned out of coaching into the Tampa Bay Sports Commission
• What goes into putting together a compelling bid for the Super Bowl
• Why it’s important to pay it forward to women in sports in organizations such as WISE
• What sports career advice she has for people trying to get established or move up in the industry

Enjoy the full episode to learn from Claire’s depth of experience, and subscribe to the WorkInSports Podcast for more sports career advice. Additional content can be found on our YouTube channel.