Sports are a booming business right now. When you live in Texas, people are really into sports—from high school football games to the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and Mavericks. But it is difficult for many families to afford tickets to pro games. A fun, less expensive alternative are minor/expansion teams. The Frisco Roughriders and the Fort Worth Cats (baseball) have great attendance. They are fun, affordable and a great family outing. The Texas Brahams (hockey) and the FC Dallas (soccer) are available if you want something besides baseball, basketball or football.

There are 96 minor league games being played today in a variety of different sports. Check out the family-friendly promotional packages your home team offers, and enjoy the smaller, more intimate atmosphere. Those are some of the reason minor league games attract women and their families.

Have you been to one? What did you enjoy most?

As football season kicks off with the preseason games, cooler weather is hopefully not too far behind. One of the big football events this weekend was watching Emmitt Smith being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I’m proud to be a Dallas native and Cowboys fan. He personifies the essence of what sport personalities should be—a give-it-his-all-player, a responsible citizen and a contributor to many worthwhile charities, with both his time and dollars.

As a woman, I’m always delighted when sports heroes are great role models. Today, unfortunately, they are too rare. Scandals plaque players who often put instant gratification or let poor judgment cloud their playing and potentially shiny legacy.

Of course Emmitt isn’t the only responsible football player, but he is the latest to receive this honor as a Cowboy. As I watch this season unfold, I’ll be looking for the next role model and hope the NFL continues to provide solid male figures with good lessons to teach, rather than the opposite.

Congratulations Emmitt and all the worthwhile honorees in the Football Hall of Fame, and to the many others who don’t have this distinction, but are excellent mentors and examples to our future leaders.

Women like the sport, because they can relate to the drivers, enjoy the speed and thrill of the track and appreciate the family-oriented environment of the team and drivers.

“The drivers themselves are a key factor in our success with our female fan base,” said Steve Phelps, marketing chief for NASCAR, National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. “Our drivers are seen as courageous, heroic, down-to-Earth; they’re regular guys and our female fan base certainly identifies with that.”

Often NASCAR enthusiasts choose a favorite driver, wear their colors and wait in line to meet them in person prior to the race. This personal relationship is important to all fans, but especially to women.

“Per capita, they’re among the highest earning sports fans across the board in America,” Jeff MacGregor said. “They earn well. They spend well. They buy a lot a stuff. The average NASCAR fan spends over $800 a year on NASCAR items.” NASCAR has become a promotional Mecca for a large number of Fortune 500 companies and customers of both sexes. In the past, cars and teams sported automotive products, including motor oil. Today, race cars feature logos for breakfast cereal, dog food and cake mix. NASCAR estimates that 40 percent of its fan base, which spent $1 billion last year on official merchandise, is women.

Its licensing deal with Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., the world’s top publisher of romance and other fiction targeted to women, is meant to market to the female demographic and draw in new fans, says spokesman Andrew Giangola. Marleah Stout, spokeswoman for the Canada-based Harlequin, says sales of the series of NASCAR-themed books are brisk, selling millions of copies.
It will be interesting to see how NASCAR continues to grow their female fan base. A couple of new promotions might be something for them to consider.

According to the NFL, 375,000 women attend games each week and more than 45 million watch NFL games on TV weekly. As more women become fans of the sport, individual teams prosper, the NFL flourishes and the network/cable coverage attracts more diversity in their sponsors.

NFL is reaching out with some ads specifically targeting female viewers. Additionally, teams are offering a variety of events from Football 101 to instructional seminars that explain everything from strategies to football history, helping to convert casual viewers to loyal fans. Eighteen teams participate in the Football 101 program, and more than 10,000 women attend annually.

Football also has other things that make it attractive to women, sports experts say. The season is short, the number of games few, so it doesn’t involve the same time commitment as baseball. It’s also possible to understand the play without becoming a master of statistics.
Several teams have developed successful programs to boost their female support. Teams that want to grow their fan base, get more people to games or sell more merchandise, understand that reaching out to women makes good business sense.

According to several sources, including NBC Sports, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the largest female fan base in professional football. A third of Pittsburgh-area women consider themselves fans. The Steelers sold out a Ladies Night Out event they held that included a prime rib dinner and a tour of Heinz Field.

Many teams realize the need to connect with women more than a decade ago. In 2003, in an attempt to attract women, the Ravens formed Purple, a club which is free to women interested in joining, along with a higher-level club, the Lavender Ladies, which costs $250. In 2005, the Ravens added a ladies festival where women could come to the stadium, meet players, go on the field and talk to coaches. In the women’s merchandise section of the NFL’s website, the Ravens have more than 9o different items. Female fans buy about $150 million in merchandise each year.

As more teams realize the economic clout and interest of women in the sport of football, more and more programs will be designed to appeal to this growing, untapped and very lucrative market.

Female fans make up more than 45 percent of MLB fans, more than any other professional sport. They buy tickets, merchandise and snacks at the game kiosks. They know player stats, understand the rules and nuances of baseball and encourage other women to get involved in the game.

The Minnesota Twins began a tradition to attract women a few years back. The Herberger’s Wine, Women and Baseball Night co-sponsored by local radio and TV stations, was held at the Metrodome prior to a regularly scheduled game. Exclusively for women, a ticket to the event cost $35 and included entrance to pregame female festivities in the Tailgate Tent. Events integrated wine-tasting, appetizers and desserts, “Pamper Yourself” stations featuring makeovers, manicures, massages, a complimentary gift and visits by special on-air guests.

The LA Dodgers have invited women to unroll their yoga mats on the outfield, knit in Stitch n’ Pitch nights and has special Wednesday broadcast with online play-by-play especially for women. This is part of the Dodgers Women’s Initiative Network(WIN), created by former CEO Jamie McCourt.

For several seasons, the Atlanta Braves and Publix (a local grocer) have teamed up to host Baseball 101 clinics. At the FUNdamentals of Baseball experience, the Brave players teach hitting, fielding and pitching skills, as well as a panel discussion on various topics of interest to baseball fans, new and old. The event includes a tour, luncheon, two tickets to the game, a t-shirt and a gift bag with autographed items.

In 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled their first of their two annually held Baseball 101 clinics for women. The cost for the full-day clinic and game is $175 and is limited to the first 120 women who register. It usually sells out quickly and has a long waiting list. It features everything from interactive on-field clinics taught by Phillies coaches to a Q&A session with a player and a team executive to a patio game watching party.

When I was looking for depictions of sports fans online, the majority looked like the graphics in today’s blog. While men are great sports fans and should be appreciated as such, they are not the growth market that women are. Without marketing to and interesting women in your sport, more and more stands will host minimal rather than maximum crowds.

Pro sports teams must aggressively and correctly seek out female fans. They need to attract them, retain them, involve them and get them to invite their networks to be a part of this great American tradition. It puzzles me why this hasn’t been pursued more intensely by sports marketers, team marketers and general managers.

Women equate to dollars. They buy tickets, concessions and lots of merchandise. Sports aren’t and shouldn’t be thought of as a male bastion. Women enjoy watching the competitiveness and skill of players even if they do appreciate things differently than their male friends, colleagues and spouses.

Rather you are attracting viewers at home or in person, make sure your marketing includes women. Where you place ads, how they look and read and what you do at events, tells women where they stand. If you want to continue growing your fan base and profits, it is essential to make sure the major consumer knows she is important.

What should professional sports teams be doing to attract more women? A lot. They are the growth market and an important component for the future of many sports.

Women are relationship-oriented. They want to know about players both on and off the field. Is he married? Does he have kids? What does he do in the off season? What charities does he support? Is he involved in politics or business ventures? What other sports or hobbies does he like?

Women are educational and informational-oriented. Do you have classes or events that will involve and educate women? Are your players, coaches and key personnel part of the functions? How are you positioning them? What type of invitations are you using?

Women are family-oriented. How does your team influence kids? Are the players good role models? Are they active in teen activities nationally or in their community? Do they support kids? sports? clinics?

Women look at a sport?s sponsor base as well. Are your advertisers letting women know they view them as part of the spectator base by providing commercials that appeal to both genders, not just one?

Teams that succeed with women have women initiatives. Do you have a program in place or are your women?s initiatives a hit and miss situation? Are discounts for merchandise and games available to women who participate in other team-related activities?

Whether you are involved in racing, golf, basketball or soccer, women should be an important part of your marketing mix. Make sure your marketing dollars are spent to attract them. The dividend on your investment will be amazing.

As I watched the University of Texas and Nebraska football game, which was an incredible game if you missed it, I began to wonder why women support their teams while in college, more than they do in the cities they live in.

I’m not saying that all women lose interests in sports after school, but it seems like a large number do. Maybe it?s because in school, women feel more connected to the institution and the players themselves. After all, the athletes are fellow classmates. Schools promote team spirit, hold pep rallies and other activities that get students excited and involved.

Most professional teams don?t do this. Perhaps they should take a page from a college or high school playbook and look at ways to get females interested in attending games, not just with their significant other, but because they are immersed in the game and its culture.

Many teams have designed programs to get women more involved in sports. The Dodger WIN (Women?s Initiative Network) is just one approach. The Washington Capitals set up the first female fan club called Club Scarlet. The Minnesota Twins created Wine, Women & Baseball pregame events. Other teams conduct educational programs such as football 101 to familiarize women with players and coaches, as well as the rules. These have been so successful that some teams are teaching 202 advanced courses.

Making women feel a part of the team is one key to success. Innovative ideas will propel sports teams? attendance and revenue.

I know many women who love sports, especially football. Like male fans, they enjoy wearing jerseys with their favorite team player’s number. That I understand. What I find intriguing is that they often choose a pink jersey over the team’s colors. I have lots of shirts besides sport teams that I love in various shades of pink, but if I’m supporting a team, I want to do it in their colors, whether I’m buying team merchandise that are shirts, sweat suits, outerwear, shoes or jewelry. But that is a personal preference, not a rule of marketing.

To me, color is part of the team logo. I know the dark blue and silver with a lone star represents the Dallas Cowboys, just as I know that green and gold are the Green Bay Packers’ colors. I pondered whether people would know I was wearing Tony Romo’s number if I’m wearing the pink version unless, of course, I’m Jessica Simpson.

I was fascinated that the NFL made so much merchandise in pink. So I asked an expert about it. Susan Rothman, Vice President-Consumer Products, Apparel at the NFL, explained that she thought pink NFL jerseys sold so well because “a number of women like the fact it is distinctly feminine. Others don’t particularly like their team’s color as a fashion item in their closet.” Susan added that she gets a lot of emails from women who thank her for having women’s merchandise in their team’s colors that is specifically made for them. Believe it or not, it wasn’t that long ago when women had to buy men’s products to have team merchandise.

The NFL keeps adding new products and many people enjoy the variety of options and ways they can support their home team. With so many choices available these day, buying merchandise is fun. I love that you can even get Crocs in team colors. Women can adorn their necks, wrists, fingers and ear lobes with colorful tokens showing their support for the home team.

Below are just a few things I thought were fun as well as functional.

Green Bay Packers Women’s Stripe Knit Gloves          Crocs NFL Beach Minnesota Vikings Adults    Pittsburgh Steelers Fanatics Purse

What are your thoughts? Would you buy yourself or someone else a pink jersey or would you stick with the traditional team colors?

While men might care more about RPI (runs per inning) and other baseball player stats, many women care more about knowing something about the players and their families. What they do in their free time and how they first got involved in sports.

This is true in all sports. You have your avid female aficionados who can quote you stats, wins/losses, racing times, etc. You have the moderate enthusiasts, who attend or watch the game because it is of interest to their husbands or significant other. They understand the game, but can take it or leave it. And you have the “not-at-all” interested women who don’t want to know anything about the game or the players. She has better things to do than viewing sporting events. Of course you have men that fit into all three of these categories as well.

While the uninterested women would be very hard, although not a 100% impossible, to convert to a fan, much can be done to win the women who enjoy the game, but who aren’t devoted followers. I, personally, have friends who are fantasy football fanatics. They follow games and players in depth and are probably as competitive among themselves as the players are on the field.

Major league teams are realizing the value of marketing to women and converting them to lifelong supporters. The Wine, Women and Baseball and Learn the FUNdamentals of Baseball are just two examples of what teams are doing. One hockey team started an All-female Fan Club. Another has a series of Hockey and Heels nights.

How much of a sports fan are you?