Sports Marketing Students Visit Madison Square Garden
November 17, 2023
Huntington High School Sports Marketing students visited one of the most famous arenas in the world this week, trekking to Madison Square Garden for tours and presentations on what has made MSG a mecca for sports and entertainment for decades.
Located in Manhattan at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street, Madison Square Garden is known throughout the world. Business teachers Paige Furman and Bryan Outsen brought students on a field trip for an insider’s look at the arena’s many facets.
“It’s always a treat to take my Sports Marketing class on this field trip,” Mrs. Furman said. “Every tour is a unique experience. This time, we got the behind-the-scenes view of a concert being set up, as the band ‘The 1975’ was performing that evening. Our tour guide walked us through the process and timeline of changing the venue from basketball court to hockey rink to concert stage. I think my students got a better understanding of the logistics that go into running a stadium and will use that knowledge when they start creating their own stadiums in class.”
Huntington business students have been visiting 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.
This week’s 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.
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 enjoyed seeing the different views from all around the arena and it was really fun seeing the locker rooms where the athletes go,” Bridget Callery said.
The students even walked through the legendary locker rooms of the Knicks and Rangers.
“I had such a great time and it was so fun to experience Madison Square Garden with no one else In the arena,” Olivia Kaufman said.
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.”
