Session 9 – Trust and Confidence is the Name of the Game
The Final Keynote Address was sponsored by Mashgin, a company whose innovative touchless technology reduces concession lines by half, increases profits and gives fans the ability to buy food and drinks in a touchless way. Dr. Lou Marciani closed out the Prepping for the Return of Fans summit speaking alongside Dr. Thom Mayer, Dr. Til Jolly, and Russ Simons about the role of trust and confidence in the sports and entertainment industry in the post-pandemic era.
Dr. Til Jolly, the Chief Medical Officer of Aveshka, described how building up the confidence of the fans around the country is the most important aspect of getting fans back into stadiums and arenas. As Dr. Jolly mentioned in an earlier panel, this is the worst public health crisis in decades and has left many scrambling. While the numbers of infections have dropped over since the beginning of the year, he noted that numbers of infections have plateaued, and in some areas, are spiking again. Dr. Jolly noted that it is paramount that people continue to employ protective measures, including masks and hand sanitizers, when in contact with others outside your family unit to keep everyone safe. While this spike in cases in some areas can seem concerning, the vaccine rollout in the country is something that is worthy of applause and should raise great optimism for the country going forward.
Dr. Thom Mayer, the Medical Director of the National Football League Players’ Association, exhorted listeners to look to the past in order to find out how to prepare for the future. With the COVID-19 pandemic being one of the most historic moments in the history of the world. Dr. Mayer spoke about how he worked throughout the NFL season to keep all of his players safe throughout the whole season. Dr. Mayer stressed how the NFL locker room was one of the safest places in the world throughout the pandemic because of the extraordinary efforts of the staff, teams, and the league. Building trust with the players was paramount to get the season to happen. Dr. Mayer said how data will pave the way for what is next for the future of the NFL and other sports leagues.
Russ Simons, SoFi Stadium and Managing Partner of Venue Solutions Group spoke about how he had to conduct himself and work closely with his employees to navigate through the pandemic and prepare themselves for when fans were able to return to stadiums. Russ emphasized the importance of making sure that people actually understand what will be changing going forward. Creating a process of consistency and transparency with the employees will help them build confidence in themselves.
Dr. Lou Marciani, the Director and Co-Founder of IIFX, spoke about where the sports and entertainment industry could be headed next. Dr. Marciani noted that a common denominator between all of the successful steps and strategies going forward is built around a healthy, transparent, and productive culture. Cultivating the best culture keeps personnel on all levels responsible for all actions and invested in finding the best route to take to the future.
Thank you so much for following us as we recapped the “Prepping for the Return of Fans!” Summit!