Huntington High School sports marketing students trekked into Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad on Thursday for a behind-the-scenes look at Madison Square Garden, one of the world’s legendary arenas.
The teenagers participated in an all-access tour of the famed sports and entertainment temple located on 7th Avenue at 33rd Street, above Penn Station.
The Huntington business enjoyed the trip to Madison Square Garden.
Teacher Paige Furman and 28 of her business students looked forward to the trip for weeks. The group had an opportunity to experience up close and personal the marketing principles of product, price, place and promotion.
Once at their destination, group members were given a VIP tour, complete with a history of the storied site and details of a relatively recent multi-billion dollar renovation.
“Going to MSG was a unique experience,” Yexson Molina Arevalo said. For the first time going there, I really liked it. The tour guide was very helpful and he taught us a lot about the arena.”
Mrs. Furman has been bringing her students to Madison Square Garden for many years. The tour and displays around the arena fit nicely into the course curriculum and provide a variety of opportunities for worthwhile on-site teaching moments. Students enjoyed the time they spent at the facility.
“After going to Madison Square Garden, I thought it was really cool that they had this thing called ‘Garden 366’ where it shows 366 important memories from a certain day of the year and all the different history at MSG,” Kaylee Smalling said.
Billed as “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” the all-access program provides for a 60-minute guided tour and includes an opportunity to access exclusive, backstage areas of the arena, visit a luxury suite and get an up-close view of the iconic concave ceiling from the Chase Bridge.”
“I thought that this experience was very exciting and eventful,” Jolie Weinschreider said. “I enjoyed taking a tour through MSG with my classmates and seeing certain areas that I haven’t seen before”
Mrs. Furman earned a BS degree in marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in May 2004 and a master’s degree in business education at Hofstra University in December 2011.
She worked at Chanel, Inc. as a marketing coordinator from August 2004 until November 2007, when she moved to Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy as a marketing manager, a position she held until January 2010.
Prior to coming to Huntington, Mrs. Furman worked in the Sewanhaka and Plainview-Old Bethpage school districts.
Huntington’s sports marketing course is a one semester, half-credit course offered to students on every grade level, but recommended for college-bound business and marketing majors and “anyone interested in the field of sports and its impact,” according to the high school curriculum guide.
“This half-year course is designed to provide an insight into the executive level decision-making and analyzing in sports marketing,” states the curriculum guide. “Case studies and news media will be used to position the student in the role of a sports marketer. Suggested topics that will be explored are: an orientation to marketing as it relates to the sports industry, market analysis, athletes making economic choices, professional sport trades, supply and demand in sports, financial analysis of teams, the sports labor market, discrimination in sports and sports promotion. Classroom instruction will be reinforced through outside use of guest speakers, a field trip to a stadium, videos and the internet.”