The Orlando Solar Bears announced efforts earlier this month to expand their share of the tourism market in Orlando. A tourism study showed some surprises.
The Orlando Solar Bears have begun to establish themselves in the Orlando market now they are in their fourth season since coming out of hibernation and returning to play in the ECHL.
The team is currently averaging 5,812 fans this year, third in the league in attendance. It is slightly down from last season, but the team is drawing a decent number of fans this year. But they are already and always looking for more.
In early December, the Solar Bears announced the results of an international tourism report as they tried to understand their audience and where they come from. Being in Orlando, it was clear tourism would play a big role and be part of the equation for the Solar Bears.
The Solar Bears reported:
In their first three seasons of ECHL competition, the Solar Bears hosted over 733,600 fans and have cultivated a world-wide fanbase that has seen the team host fans from 42 countries outside the United States. Notably, the four nations with the largest volume of out-of-market online ticket purchases includes Brazil (38%), the United Kingdom (30%), Canada (5%) and Australia (5%).
As a minor league team, the Solar Bears are constantly looking for innovative ways to attract an audience and get themselves into the market. Understanding who their audience is and how best to tap into that has been a big part of the Solar Bears’ strategy.
The Solar Bears recognized the power tourism is having in coming to the Amway Center for their games. They have reached out to their partners in Toronto, the team is affiliated with the Maple Leafs and Marlies, to advertise the Solar Bears.
They recently did a press tour in the area and have other tie-ins with the Toronto clubs that should promote the Solar Bears for fans that happen to be traveling to Orlando for the holidays or during the season.
Tapping into the tourism market is important for Orlando to grow its business.
“There are two things that come to mind: First and foremost you are in Orlando where there are 64-65 million visitors,” Siegel said. “For us to have an active role in contributing to that, we wanted to share that story. The second piece of it is with the relationship we have with Toronto, which is a really important market for our local economy when it comes to tourism, the relationship with the Leafs was one we wanted to share and tell a little more of the story.”
Some of the results from the study were surprising for the Solar Bears for sure.
The large market share in Brazil continued a general trend throughout the city of Orlando where Brazil has surpassed United Kingdom as the largest tourism country coming to Orlando. But Brazil and hockey did not seem to match. Something was bringing those fans through the door to Solar Bears games.
Like the Magic and Orlando City, the Solar Bears may be looking for ways to reach this burgeoning audience and introduce them to hockey.
In any case, the trend is undeniable across the entire city. And the Solar Bears have benefited.
Their strategies now are focused on how to take advantage of the marketplace.
“We’re paying attention,” Solar Bears president Jason Siegel said. “We meet every six weeks, all the shareholders, with the Central Florida Sports Commission. We see each other’s numbers. We hear how everyone is positioning themselves in the marketplace. We know what they are doing internationally and what their efforts are. We are paying close attention. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw the numbers.”
The Solar Bears are not stopping there. The next progression now that they have established themselves in the marketplace is to continue to grow. They have connected with local hotels and concierges to get the Solar Bears on the menu for visitors to Orlando.
It was, as Siegel said, a natural progression for them.
The concierge program is a network of more than 100 hotels who have signed up to have access to Solar Bears tickets for their guests. The Solar Bears invited 80-90 of those partners for a game earlier this month, Siegel said, so they could sample the product and better describe it to potential guests.
The team is not sure how much of a return the program will bring, but even if it brings in a healthy return, it will be worth it to get the Solar Bears to be part of the mix for travelers to the city and area.
“For the effort that we are putting in, if we can do 3-, 4-, 5-to-1 versus the amount of effort that we’re putting in, that would be fantastic,” Siegel said. “But we’ve got to start somewhere. It’s part of the economic climate here in Orlando. We’ve got to be a part of it and then we start growing the thing.”
The Solar Bears have started somewhere relatively strong in their first several years. There is still opportunity to grow their business and make the Solar Bears last in this market.
