Little Guys Get Chance At Super Bowl Riches

Larry Halstead
Staff Writer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Friday, March 14, 2008


Sol Davis Sr. of Sol Davis Printing hopes to take a bigger role in Super Bowl XLIII.

TAMPA -- When Super Bowl XLIII tallies up its economic impact to Tampa Bay next year, many women-owned and minority-owned businesses will likely be beneficiaries.

That's because of the National Football League's Emerging Business program, first launched in 1994, is tailored to give women and minorities entrée into the Super Bowl's host community riches. "We see the program as a chance to empower local businesses to learn how to do other large events," said Tisha Ford, spokeswoman for the NFL.

In 2001, emerging business represented just $2.5 million in products and services related to the Super Bowl. That grew to $14.5 million for the Miami event in 2007. Phoenix's 2008 numbers are not yet final.

There are no target goals for each host city, but the NFL works with its contractors to create more opportunities for women and minority businesses.

Guidance coming for local businesses
A series of three workshops will be held, starting next month, to inform companies of the requirements for competing for business. More than 400 businesses were mailed information about the workshops.

Sol Davis Printing did $31,000 in printing business for the 2001 Super Bowl and hopes to dramatically increase that for Super Bowl XLIII.

Hillsboro Printing won the lion's share of the printing in 2001, Davis said. Hillsboro Printing is closed, and that should help Davis, whose largest client is the Loews Hotel in Orlando.

"At least we'll sit back and see," Davis said.

Despite still having a room full of canisters with Super Bowl XXXV logos on them, Lorian Williams is gung-ho about the 2009 Super Bowl.

"It's worth major PR," she said. "We can list the NFL as a client."

Williams' St. Petersburg-based company, Chaslo Merchandise & Promotions Inc., sells promotional items to businesses and consults on branding efforts. It signed on as an emerging business in both 2001 and 2006 as both a concessionaire and a licensee.

Being a licensee carries its own inherent challenges, Williams said, because of having to go through a rigorous approval process for any licensed product. In 2001, the approvals came too late in the year to be of value.

"But now I know the types of questions to ask to avoid potential roadblocks," she said.

In 2001 in Tampa, 105 certified companies received a slice of the Super Bowl business, including some that received multiple contracts. It's too soon to estimate the effects of the program for 2009, said Stephanie Owens Royster, director of community outreach for the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee.

"The minority landscape has changed since 2001," she said.

Certification enables communication

Once companies are certified as women- or minority-owned, they are added to the host committee's online directory of services. That enables NFL contractors to scroll through the directory to find companies that furnish necessary goods and services.

While nobody guarantees the certified businesses that the work will be anything but a one-time contract, Carole Colvin, president of Southern Telcom Communications, parlayed her contract in 2001 into a string of future business with Verizon and Sprint. For the event, her company provided the communications wiring for CBS, MTV and the international press areas at Raymond James Stadium.

It amounted to more than $100,000 for the game and a relationship with Sprint that still exists, Colvin said. Later work included partnering with Sprint for communications wiring on five campuses of Hillsborough Community College.

"We went after cabling work and project management services," she said.

Most of the available jobs will be in the areas of hospitality, event planning and transportation, Owens Royster said. Interested businesses should make sure they have written proof of women- and minority-owned status and that they attend each workshop.

After that, it pays to be proactive and contact the large vendors directly, rather than sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring, Williams said.

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BTW ...

The Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee will hold its first NFL Emerging Business Workshop on Thursday, April 17 from 4 – 6 p.m. at the West Club of Raymond James Stadium.

Workshop participants will hear from NFL purchasing entities regarding the goods and service needed from local vendors for Super Bowl XLIII.

To register, or for additional info on the Program ... For yourself or anyone you may know ...

www.tampabaysuperbowl.com

"Jus' Lookin' Out!"

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