Dana White and the president of Madison Square Garden Sports will appear together at a press conference this Thursday to lobby for the legalization of MMA in New York. This week’s Sports Business Journal reports on another high profile attempt for the UFC to garner momentum for the right to fight in New York.
In this instance, the press conference will be used to educate the skeptics about the economic windfall the Big Apple should realize if the UFC could hold shows in New York. On the same day, tickets for UFC’s March 19th PPV to be held at the Prudential Center in New Jersey will go on sale.
The press conference is another strategy used by UFC in its efforts to legalize its sport in New York. Thus far, the article reports on the UFC efforts, only for it to fall on deaf ears.
Via Sports Business Journal (subscription required):
So begins the latest installment in a push that began late in 2007, when UFC parent company Zuffa paid a well-connected upstate New York firm a $10,000 retainer to lobby on its behalf. Since then it has spent more than $1.5 million on lobbying and public relations campaigns in the state. It also has contributed $165,000 to election campaigns.
The result: steady coverage of the quest in newspapers and on television, a percolating cauldron of grassroots chatter on the Web, a broadly acknowledged shift in attitude toward the sport by many legislators and, perhaps most importantly, a steady stream of bills — all of which died on the vine.
The article breaks down last year’s costs dedicated to New York:
The tab for lobbying in New York last year eclipsed $500,000, based on public filings and interviews with UFC executives. Zuffa also contributed $130,000 to political campaigns, including $36,800 to incoming Gov. Andrew Cuomo, $34,000 to Democratic campaign committees, $10,000 to Republican campaign committees and $1,000 to $3,800 to a dozen different influential state senators and assembly members. Zuffa spent $530,000 lobbying in New York in 2009 and $595,000 there in 2008.
A lot of money that did not achieve its targeted goal.
Finally, the article points out a difference between the UFC lobbying strategy and other sports leagues:
The UFC’s legislative strategy is similar to that of other sports properties. It lobbies in support of legislation that favors its business interest. The difference is that, while most properties operate on the national landscape and monitor legislation on a range of issues, the UFC works in individual states with a singular goal: To pass state laws that allow for and regulate mixed martial arts.
Payout Perspective:
This is a great, comprehensive article on the exhaustive efforts the UFC has employed for the legalization of MMA in New York. It has invested a lot of money, employed a lot of consultants and lobbied many politicians to no avail. The latest efforts seek to establish relationships with venues to guarantee it will bring the UFC, and revenue, to New York. But, even these promises may fall short if the proper politicians do not agree to legalize MMA in New York.
Based on its investment in the lobbying efforts, the UFC believes that it can foster the correct relationships within government to get legislation passed in New York. The latest efforts point to the fact that it will guarantee shows at MSG and other NY venues in an effort to attract support.
From a PR standpoint, it is hard to determine what the UFC is doing wrong since it seems as though the UFC has employed every possible strategy. The article indicates that the UFC has tried the “top-down” and “bottom up” (grassroots) approaches. While the strategies may obtain some benchmarks (positive media impressions, fan support and some political alliances), the ultimate goal of legalizing MMA has yet to happen.
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