FEBRUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER -

OPINION POLL

SoFi Stadium Offers Fans Unique Experiences, Offers Employees TEAM Certification

SoFi Stadium is an unprecedented and unparalleled sports and entertainment destination built in Inglewood, CA. The first indoor-outdoor stadium to be constructed, SoFi Stadium is the home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.

The state-of-the-art stadium re-imagines the fan experience. TEAM Coalition is proud to provide alcohol management certification for the venue’s concessions, security and guest services employees.

“TEAM online training delivers the pertinent information for any venue dealing with alcohol sales, while providing autonomy for Team Members to complete it in their own time.”

— Rachel Chambers

Manager of Guest Experience
SoFi Stadium

TEAM training is an employee-focused, full-facility program. MORE.

This Super Bowl LV Season, Help NHTSA Save Lives!

Super Bowl LV was on Sunday, February 7, 2021. It is one of America’s favorite annual celebrations. Although the way we view sporting events has changed for now, we still want to make sure everyone is safe on Super Bowl Sunday. Whether you are hosting a virtual watch party, attending a socially distanced small gathering, or heading to a restaurant or bar, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is teaming up with the NFL and TEAM Coalition to remind football fans everywhere that Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.

Never Drive Drunk

Whether you’re attending a socially distanced gathering, hosting one, or going out to the bar, keep safety at the forefront of your night. When it’s time to leave, make sure your designated driver is actually sober. If he or she decided to drink, call a sober ride. Remember that walking impaired can also be dangerous, so designate a sober friend to walk home with you. MORE.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEWS

TEAM Board Member Profile: Russ Simons, Director-At-Large

“Whether you are a concessionaire, a merchandise manager, a parking lot manager, taking tickets, checking bags or front office personnel – it doesn’t matter. Your awareness of facility alcohol policies, the dangers that could result from drinking irresponsibly and how to respond works to keep all of us safe.”

— Russ Simons

Managing Partner
Venue Solutions Group

MORE ON RUSS‘ MISSION MOMENT WITH TEAM

Board of Directors News: February 2021

At the February Board of Directors Meeting the Board voted to approve three items:

Criteria for Executive Director review, which will occur in September annually.
Board of Directors Self-Evaluation and Engagement Survey, which will be shared in April annually and reported on at the June Board of Directors meeting.
Interim Chair for the Marketing and Communications Committee will be Jill Kiefer.

Other items addressed by TEAM Coalition’s Board of Directors include:

TEAM Coalition has paid off all outstanding debts except for SBA and PPP loans. The SBA loan repayments will begin in July. TEAM’s PPP lender has not made the forgiveness application available yet.
TEAM does qualify for PPP round 2 funding. The Board is considering an application for additional funding.
VenueNext made a presentation about a digital designated driver/responsible fan program for in-app data collection.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Training
Marketing & Communications
Governance & Finance
Membership

The Covid-Relief Discount on TEAM training products saves you 10% when you spend $3,000 or more on any combination of Train-the-Trainer registrations, participant manuals and access to online employee certification. Save 20% when you spend $5,000 or more on TEAM training products. The Covid-Relief Discount is good until the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2021. Click here to order your TEAM training materials today!

The collegiate programming for Sports and Hospitality Management degree programs has seen further developments with two new universities engaging with TEAM Coalition and purchasing materials.

Priority projects for the Training Committee include:

Piloting the Sports Facility Management collegiate programming with five universities
Enhancing ecommerce for all training product customers, including facility managers, concessionaires, sports facility management professors and their students
Refreshing TEAM’s Training Fact Sheet and other promotional assets
Working with state certification agencies to maintain TEAM’s status as an approved provider of alcohol management training

Member representatives, Strategic Partners and Master Trainers interested in serving on the Training Committee should email info@teamcoalition.org.

The Marketing & Communications Committee is focused on refreshing TEAM Coalition’s communications and media engagement strategies. Enhancing these strategies also includes working to encourage stronger engagement with TEAM’s Strategic Partners.

Other priorities for the Marketing & Communications Committee include:

Auditing and updating the TEAM Coalition website
Working with the Membership and Training Committee to update promotional assets
Refreshing the responsible fan program toolkit

Member representatives, Strategic Partners and Master Trainers interested in serving on the Marketing and Communications Committee should email info@teamcoalition.org.

At the February 2021 Board of Directors meeting, the Governance & Finance Committee presented two items to the Board of Directors for vote. Both the Executive Director review criteria and the Board self-evaluation/engagement survey were approved. The Executive Director’s annual review will occur in September. The Board self-evaluation/engagement survey will occur in April. The results will be reviewed at the June Board of Directors meeting and the membership meeting.

Treasurer, Lester Jones, presented a financial review. TEAM’s lender for the PPP loan received in May has not yet made the forgiveness application available.

Further updates have been made to the Strategic Plan – please take a look at the newly redesigned document.

Member representatives, Strategic Partners and Master Trainers interested in serving on the Governance and Finance Committee should email info@teamcoalition.org.

The Membership Committee plans to share the tiered membership proposal with the Board in April. The membership will vote on the proposal during the June membership meeting.

Other short-term priorities include:

New member onboarding materials
Consultation services- VenueNext.com – presented to the Board of Directors at the February meeting a data collection tool for responsible fan programs to be included in sports team and venue apps
Reimagine fan engagement offerings and activities
Review and update membership benefits on TEAM Coalition’s website

Member representatives, Strategic Partners and Master Trainers interested in serving on the Membership Committee should email info@teamcoalition.org.

MASTER TRAINER SPOTLIGHT

“TEAM training fosters a culture of responsibility in our industry, but it does so in a way that recognizes the importance of the fan experience in our individual venues. It allows you to embed this program into your own culture and your own service standards by providing a solid foundation and then letting you build upon it. That’s what makes it unique – TEAM does not compromise on good guest service, it enhances it.”

— Sadaf Usmani

Guest Services Manager
MetLife Stadium Company

SADAF USMANI

Guest Services Manager
MetLife Stadium Company

Sadaf is the Guest Services Manager for MetLife Stadium Company is East Rutherford, NJ. Sadaf has been a TEAM Trainer since January of 2015 and has trained over 3,100 employees. Sadaf became a Master Trainer in January of 2017.