Demand for American sports in pubs 'growing exponentially'

23-Feb-2024 - Last updated on 23-Feb-2024 at 11:35 GMT

Growing demand: showing American sports offers massive benefits for pubs but authenticity is key (Credit: Getty/skynesher)

Showing American sports offers “massive benefits” for operators as demand grows “exponentially”, but passion is key to tap into the trend, Hickory’s managing director John Welsh told The Morning Advertiser (MA).

The Chester-based smokehouse brand has shown American National Football League (NFL) programmes since its inception in 2010, including holding large events for the sports biggest calendar event, the Super Bowl.

Welsh said: “Barbecue, beer and American football is just a nice combination that seems to work.

“It provides a bit escapism, sitting with your elbows on the bar, watching NFL Sunday’s, drinking a cold beer, eating some hot wings. It all fits together.

“It feels a bit naughty staying up late and the Super Bowl and NFL Sunday’s encapsulate that idea.”

While the firm saw a 35% uplift in trade during this year’s Super Bowl on Sunday 11 February, Welsh urged operators looking to expand their sports offering to keep things authentic and focus on something that genuinely interests them.

Authentic love for the game

“There is obviously a commercial benefit to it, particularly when it fulfils a time when you’d normally be closed, especially with something like the Super Bowl that goes on till 4:00am.

“Most of our pubs are done by 10:00pm on a Sunday night. So, to be able to then have that extra night, that's just the cherry on the cake, there’s massive benefits, in particular with US sports because a lot of them do fit outside the usual time frame.

“But for us it wasn't about trying to make money or turning into a commercial thing; it was massively on brand.

“There's got to be an authentic love for the game. We're passionate about it at Hickory's and that passion then comes through from the team to the guests”, he said.

Welsh added there was much more for venues to consider than just “filling a Sunday night” when it comes to showing American sports.

He explained: “It's all about the added value and all the extra touches.

“For example, the team will dress up and we'll put the commentary on, which we wouldn't normally have on, we do a guide to the NFL that we print ourselves in house to explain the game; we've got a genuine passion for it and want other people to enjoy it.

“If you're going to show it, you as a venue must be into it and have to be supportive of it.

“We’ve supported grassroots NFL teams in and around all of our communities, we believe in the sport, we think it's a great sport with great followers and it just goes hand in hand with what we do.”

In addition, the plus points of showcasing American sports extend beyond the commercial benefits, it also provides staff with something “fun and different” to do with minimal service challenges.

“Super Bowl specifically is such a fun event. Not just as a guest, but for the team as well.
“Once everyone is sat at their table and got their first round, they're all happy, and actually service flows quite easily, so it's not a very difficult service from an operational perspective”, Welsh told The MA.

Moreover, the managing director stated there was an “increasing demand” in the UK for things outside of more “traditional” sports, such as football or rugby, especially for American sports.

Growing demand

He continued: “Our first Super Bowl event we had around 30 guests. Fast forward to 15 years later and we sold more than 5,000 tickets across all our venues.
“NFL is just getting bigger. Year on year, we've had a continuous percentage increase in terms of the number of people attending [NFL events]. This year again was better than the previous year. It's growing exponentially in terms of followers.”

However, venues wishing to stay open late may need to consider licensing restrictions and apply for temporary events notice to be able to serve late and help manage customer behaviour, Welsh advised.

“From a licence perspective it's never caused us any challenges, but I think it depends on what sport you show to determine how the mood can change.

“For instance, we've never showed late night boxing or MMA fighting because it's just not on brand with us and not as family friendly necessarily.

“The great thing about an NFL crowd, there generally well-behaved because of the love of the sport.
“Especially with things like the Super Bowl; the event is about the sport, the halftime show, having a few beers and doing some bit naughty as well on a Sunday night.”