Sport Finance

During the time that I took the class Financing Sport Operations, I learned how companies analyze financial concepts, theories, and their application in the sports industry. I was also taught how companies, government entities, sports franchises, and cities themselves financed stadiums, arenas, and venues. We were also taught various accounting techniques and about revenues and expenses of industries and issues impacting those revenues and expenses.  We were also taught budgeting methods, how to conduct and economic impact study, fundraising techniques, and public and private funding for non-profits.       

In this course our main project was to conduct an economic impact study of a sporting event of our choice. My group agreed to do an economic impact study on the impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. We sought to view numerous studies on the economic impact of the metropolitan area of Atlanta, pre-, during, and post– Olympic Games. We justified the information found, based on the principles of economic impact and had to seek out possible flaws and other misconceptions calculated in the overall economic impact of the city. 

This project gave me a good perspective on how easily numbers can be skewed, on both the positive and negative side, in an attempt to assess an accurate approximate number on the economic impact the 1996 Summer Olympic Games had on the city of Atlanta, Georgia.  In addition, the course really helped me understand the financial workings of business and sports organizations and their facilities.