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NASCAR Teams Face Challenges of Offering Hospitality Experiences Amidst Pandemic Restrictions

Published 11/27/2020, 8:27 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Early in 2020, NASCAR was in doubt of even being able to conduct the season. However, by rescheduling races and circuits, the sport became an organizational success as the season eventually finished well within time.

However, the sports businesses have seen a limited number of fans allowed in arenas compared to the normal times, thus causing losses for sponsors, as well as a reduction in the frequency of the sponsorship activation.

Ahead of the 2021 season, however, NASCAR teams are envisioning offering hospitality packages, even with restricted infield access. So, teams could still continue with promotional partnerships without needing to compromise the health protocols.

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Sponsorship experiences in remote locations is a possibility

Richard Childress Racing, for example, is coming up with different packages to conduct events that provide value. The team’s senior vice president of revenue and strategy, Jason Golden, emphasized that all options are open ahead of 2021.

Golden stated, “With developing additional experiences, either at track if applicable or in the marketplace or even remote locations, nothing is off the table related to trying to deliver the experiences and access that have been such a cornerstone of NASCAR team partnerships for years.

The Cup Series’ hallmark event, the Daytona 500, will expect to see a few fans attend the event. This data will set the foundation for NASCAR and its teams to evaluate how they could go about offering packages over the course of the 2021 season.

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Adam Stern, in the same aforementioned article, writes, “Sources said NASCAR has been meeting recently with teams to plan out what at-track access will look like in 2021 and possibly create different types of hospitality experiences that don’t involve going into the infield.

NASCAR president believes sport can survive with limited hospitality

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The sport’s president Steve Phelps had said, “Will everyone’s bottom line look more challenged? The answer is yes. Do I believe we as a sport are going to shut down? We are going to run races. We can sustain this period where we have a limited number of fans, limited amounts of hospitality.”

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USA Today via Reuters

Regardless, with just about a few months’ time for the 2021 season to get underway, teams will require to be creative with their management of hospitality packages. Hence, they will also need to maintain a healthy balance, which can benefit all stakeholders involved.

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Written by:

Bhargav Gopal

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Hailing from Bengaluru, Bhargav is an F1 and NASCAR author for EssentiallySports. He is a huge fan of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. Bhargav also has an MBA in Sports Management from the Symbiosis School of Sports Sciences, Pune.
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