Sports Facilities – Director of Operations
The Director of Operations reports directly to the VP of Operations at all sports venues and facilities with a VP level position. Directorial level employee’s responsibilities are more geared toward the actual day to day operations of the operations event staff and include the hiring and firing of that staff.
Operations Director’s develop recommend and implement game/event operational policies and procedures that are consistent with the operating company’s policies. This includes advising staff on changes in policies and procedures regarding event coordination and collaborating with other departments to implement game night operations and resolve operational problems.
Most Directors are also the liaison between the facility and the tenant (the professional team/teams that play in the facility) with regard to scheduling and procedures. In this capacity, the director works with team marketing on direction of home game event presentation (music, organ, presentations, lights, etc.) and helps develop entertaining and effective presentations during ‘time out’ activities, sponsorship implementation and other creative elements. Basically the Director is responsible for continuously finding creative ways to entertain fan base.
Some additional responsibilities (that are often shared with the VP) include; maintaining a master schedule of venue activities including preliminary, backstage and post games, coordinating fantasy camps, summer appearances and other special events at the venue, scheduling the use of space and rooms to be used for game night activities, and developing and implementing game night formats.
For most venues, the minimum requirements include; a bachelor’s degree in either Communications, Public Relations or Sports Management, or two to three years of experience in Public Relations, Communications, Event Management. Facility operating companies often prefer that experience is with a sports and/or entertainment organization or equivalent combination of education and experience. This does not mean that if your experience is outside the sports and entertainment field you should just give up, however it does require you to prove either through an interview or through letters of recommendation that you are the right fit for the position.
Compensation:
Salary levels vary substantially, depending upon the level of managerial responsibility, length of service, education, professional level (minor league versus top professional league), location, and sport.
Major League Baseball: $87,000 – $120,000
National Football League: $100,000 – $125,000
National Basketball Association: $82,000 – $106,000
National Hockey League: $71,000 – $92,000
Collegiate: $40,000 – $90,000
*The low end NHL salary included a conversion from Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars.