Alan Yun*
Remember the 2000 movie Gladiator? This movie helps you understand this ancient sport not just as a martial art, but as something that can be commoditized.
The activity was attended by the general public, organizers, event officials, vendors and the gladiators themselves.
Ray Vamploo, Professor Emeritus of Sport at the University of Stirling, said the commercialization of sport was already happening about 2,000 years ago, at various levels, rather than modern sports with gate money from the 19th century onwards. rice field.
There has been significant evidence of the commercialization of sports from ancient Greece, Rome, Byzantium, the Middle Ages, Renaissance Europe, and various eras before the modern world. The organization of sporting events, venues, sports-related businesses, professional athletes with trainers, agencies, tourism, gambling, etc., are among a page-long list of participants or factors in the commercialization of sports.
There will always be people and athletes who are willing to pay to watch a game or who are willing to pay to participate in a sport.
Even back then, spectators were willing to travel from one place to another to watch sports or support their favorite sportsmen.
Participants are people who want awards, glory, or just to be a part of the sport. Of course, some people who are engaged in sports make a lot of money or gain freedom. These days, more and more people want to instantly “check in” by taking a picture and pressing a key to get likes and shares on social media.
All economic activity takes time, and more time can create additional dollars in the economy.
It’s no secret that modern sporting events generate billions of dollars worth of value to the economy.
Sports is one of the main businesses in the time economy. The sport creates a scalable time economy, potentially with audiences around the world, or at least matches with fans of his two rival clubs. The event, which is attended by thousands of spectators, provides time and economic value to those who attend the event onsite, but the availability of the same event to hundreds of thousands of people through digital means reduces the impact of the event. The economic impact will be even greater. The amount of money generated is worth a huge amount of time. Everyone involved in the sports business in various industries creates rich consumption time and drives the development of the whole economy. Well, the Macau Grand Prix has been doing this for decades, but it’s just a few days of activity.
There are more economic activities derived from watching sports than we think, other than simply holding sports events. Personal or friendly sports between acquaintances also generate a certain amount of GDP in terms of consumption associated with it, but hundreds of people attend local sporting matches and billions watch the World Cup. It’s just peanuts compared to organized, commoditized sports in which thousands of people participate. for example.
Recently, the new season of Hong Kong Super League football was broadcast live online and on TV channels. The new season has long been debated about the commercialization of football in Hong Kong SAR. how about macau?
Macau has organized league sporting events, but they do not receive much attention from local spectators.
There is some hardware for events, but usage is likely to be relatively low compared to regions hosting organized league sporting events of all kinds. There are several annual sporting events that attract tourists and locals alike, including the Grand Prix and the Dragon Boat Race, which are held for several days each year. Regular, if not weekly, regional sporting events may attract a small number of people who come for regular weekly or monthly visits. Another good reason, if regular sporting events are held in Macau, may help attract a certain number of people to Macau from each city or region. The visit will probably be for one night and other tourist activities.
The agency has contacted me about a live match in the Faroe Islands. Probably no one locally is interested in the Faroe Islands. Locals may have never heard of the Faroe Islands or know where they are on the map. In any case, the Faroe Islands have a top soccer league with 10 teams that export events to other countries. The Faroe Islands have his four different divisions of the football league. Located between Iceland and Norway, the Faroe Islands have a population of just he 50,000. A small country or region could do it, so why not Macau?
The commercialization of local sports won’t happen in two weeks, but there will be a lasting social change in the communities and surroundings that support the teams and players. It’s a culture and can take years of continuous development. GBA 3X3 basketball teams participating in regional basketball leagues and local basketball teams are off to a good, if not a head start, towards the long-term commercialization of the sport. It may take 10 to 20 years for the commercialization of sports to become pervasive and commercially viable. Macau has been building its Cotai He Strip for the past few decades. We need positive input from government and non-governmental stakeholders. Could a region-wide regular league or friendly match in Macau bring new directions to economic diversification?
