History

THE HISTORY OF TEAM COALITION

Since 1985, TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) Coalition has flourished as a unique alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaires, stadium service providers, the beer industry, broadcasters, government traffic safety experts, and others working together to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports and entertainment facilities.

The organization encourages facilities to implement and enforce alcohol policies through an alcohol service training program that educates and certifies all facility employees in the skills of how to identify patrons who may have over-consumed and to intervene in a non-confrontational way to properly ensure everyone’s safety. In addition, TEAM outreach extends beyond sports facilities to target fans in support of designated driver programs and other traffic safety messages.

TEAM followed the model set by WRAP (Washington Regional Alcohol Program) that included implementation of a responsible alcohol service program at the Capital Centre (home to the Washington Capitals and the Washington Bullets, along with other teams and concerts). To be accurate, TEAM would not exist without WRAP and the Capital Centre. TEAM has replicated that model with hundreds of sports and entertainment facilities across North America. The TEAM Coalition logo was created by Equals 3 Communications, led by WRAP Board Member Susan Morris.

For its first fifteen years of existence, TEAM Coalition was a program fully funded by NHTSA in cooperation with many sports and entertainment organizations and traffic safety supporters.

The 1997 Annual Report for TEAM Coalition illustrates how the professional leagues supported TEAM Coalition and listed all seventeen TEAM members. Membership at that time translated into in-kind support including the use of league brands and high profile players in fan education materials, but no funding.

The 1997 Annual Report celebrated the tenth anniversary of TEAM Coalition. Key accomplishments of the organization’s first ten years and the roles played by various member organizations were highlighted in the report.

The professional sports leagues along with NCAA made significant contributions by allowing TEAM Coalition to use their logos and the images of their high profile athletes to promote responsibility. Additionally, the leagues ensured that the employees working in the stadiums, arenas and ballparks where their teams played participated in TEAM training. However, the leagues and all other TEAM Coalition members did not contribute funds to TEAM Coalition. The training program did not include a certification exam to track the participation and comprehension of facility employees, nor was there a cost to stadium management to train staff. And TEAM had no full-time employees.

TEAM Coalition Transition and Independence

In June of 2001, TEAM Coalition officially became a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization (NPO). Member organizations showed their commitment to TEAM by paying annual dues of $15,000. Those founding members of the national NPO known as TEAM Coalition included the following organizations:

• Anheuser-Busch Companies
• Aramark
• Beer Institute (member, but did not pay dues)
• Coors Brewing Company
• International Association of Venue Managers (formerly IAAM)
• Major League Baseball
• Miller Brewing Company
• National Association of Broadcasters
• National Football League

Simultaneously, TEAM joined forces with Health Communications Incorporated, the provider of TIPS training for alcohol servers. Over the next five years, the TEAM/TIPS partnership tracked the certification of more than 75,000 sports and entertainment facility employees. The number of employees who became certified doubled nearly every year. That agreement generated significant revenue for TEAM Coalition. The training revenue, coupled with the annual membership dues allowed TEAM Coalition to hire and maintain a staff of two full-time employees, even as the funds from NHTSA were decreasing significantly. After TEAM Coalition became an NPO, the role for NHTSA transitioned from primary funding agency to a cooperative agreement. Historically, NHTSA funds for TEAM Coalition had been several hundred thousand dollars annually. After TEAM became a non-profit organization, NHTSA funds have not exceeded $80,000 in any twelve-month period, yet they have provided critical support for both the training program and fan education materials. Since 2010, the annual grant from NHTSA has been $40,000.

TEAM CERTIFICATION OF FACILITY EMPLOYEES

The impact TEAM has made through continued NHTSA support has been recognized.

2002 – TEAM earned the NHTSA Award for Public Service
2003 – TEAM earned the NCADD Education Prevention Award
2004 -TEAM earned the NHTSA Administrator’s Achievement Award

Examples of how NHTSA funds have been instrumental in TEAM Coalition efforts are:

• NHTSA funds helped TEAM to execute a two-year multi-facility evaluation of the effectiveness of alcohol management efforts on the behaviors of both facility employees and sports and entertainment fans.
• NHTSA funds helped produce over 50 TV PSAs for the league-wide campaign in support of designated driver programs called Responsibility Has Its Rewards with MLB and the majority of MLB Clubs.
• NHTSA funds helped educate local, state and national lawmakers, police agencies and the media about the NFL’s commitment to improve fan behavior under the campaign message “Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.”
• Finally, NHTSA funds helped launch the Responsibility Has Its Rewards campaign with Live Nation and HERO Campaign. This successful expansion of RHIR has allowed concert-goers to reap the same benefits from responsible behavior that sports fans have enjoyed for over seven years.

TEAM and TIPS formally part ways.

Since then, the growth in TEAM training has continued at an aggressive pace.

Training Success

• TEAM trainers certified 35,522 full-facility personnel in 2010, including servers, ushers, ticket-takers, and parking lot attendants.
• Over 500 stadium and concessionaire managers, representing more than 100 facilities have attended a two-day Instructor Development Program, passed a certification exam, and are active TEAM trainers.

Fan Education Success

• 406,500 fans participated in 2010 MLB Responsibility Has Its Rewards (RHIR) sweepstakes for designated drivers; Designated Drivers for the Season from Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants attended World Series; Designated Driver from the Chicago White Sox attended the 2010 MLB All Star Game at Angel Stadium
• 12,606 fans participated in the 2010 MLS RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Drivers for the Season from the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas attended MLS Cup 2010; Designated Driver from the Colorado Rapids attended the 2010 All-Star Game at Reliant Stadium in Houston
• 171,759 fans participated in 2010 NFL RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Drivers for the Season from Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers attended the Super Bowl XLV; the Designated Driver from the Houston Texans attended 2010 Pro Bowl
• 70,846 fans participated in 2009-2010 NBA RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Drivers for the Season from Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers attended the 2010 NBA Finals; the Designated Driver from the Cleveland Cavaliers attended 2010 NBA All-Star Game
• 35,446 fans pledged to be designated drivers during the 2009-2010 NHL season; Designated Drivers for the Season from Carolina Hurricanes won tickets to a 2010-2011 regular season game as the RHIR sweepstakes winner
• 1,120 concert fans participated in 2010 Live Nation RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Drivers for the Season Comcast Center and PNC Bank Arts Center won tickets to the concert of their choice at those venues in 2011

TEAM Up 2 Win, a national program promoting responsibility in conjunction with the NCAA Men’s Final Four, was in its third year of existence in 2010.

In 2015, more than 64,000 facility employees became TEAM certified. TEAM dedicates one-hundred percent of the funds generated from training toward its mission to educate fans about their responsibility when it comes to effective alcohol management.

The Responsibility Has Its Rewards campaign now involves eight member organizations: Live Nation, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NFL and NHL. As a result of each league-wide campaign, the number of fans participating in designated driver programs continues to grow. In the years since TEAM Coalition became an NPO, the number of dues-paying member organizations has grown from eight to twenty-four. The TEAM Coalition full-time staff has grown to seven employees (five in Alexandria, VA, one in Denver, CO and one in Jamestown, NY). The annual budget is above one million dollars and the cooperative agreement with NHTSA provides $40,000 in support annually. From its original existence as a fully-funded NHTSA program to its current national NPO status, TEAM has always prioritized three things: (1) employee training, (2) fan education and (3) alcohol service policy creation, promotion and enforcement.

Training Success

• The TEAM goal is to train every employee at sports and entertainment facilities – both concessions and operations staff – in effective alcohol management.
• More than 1,000 stadium and concessionaire managers, representing more than 100 facilities have attended a two-day Instructor Development Program, passed a certification exam, and are active TEAM trainers.
• TEAM trainers certify more than 64,000 full-facility personnel annually, including alcohol-servers, ushers, ticket-takers, and parking lot attendants.
• TEAM training helps to identify the warning signs of intoxication, prevent underage drinking, and ensure the safety of all fans.

Fan Education Success

• 605,000 fans participated in the 2015 MLB Responsibility Has Its Rewards (RHIR) sweepstakes for designated drivers; Designated Drivers for the Season from the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets attended World Series Games 1 and 3; the Designated Driver from the Milwaukee Brewers attended 2015 MLB All-Star Game at Great American Ball Park
• 30,000 fans participated in the 2015 MLS RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Drivers for the Season from Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake attended MLS Cup 2015; the Designated Driver for the Season from the Colorado Rapids attended the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
• 270,675 fans participated in the 2014 NFL RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Drivers for the Season from the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots attended Super Bowl XLIX; the Designated Driver for the Season from the St. Louis Rams attended the 2015 Pro Bowl
• 68,537 fans participated in 2014-2015 NBA RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Drivers for the Season from the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers attended Games 1 and 3 of The Finals; the Designated Driver for the Season from the New York Knicks attended the 2015 NBA All-Star Game
• 113,944 fans participated in 2014-2015 NHL RHIR sweepstakes; Designated Driver for the Season from the Philadelphia Flyers attended the 2015 NHL^® All-Star Game
• 12,250 designated drivers from NCAA events including Men’s Final Four, Women’s Final Four, College World Series
• 2,687 NASCAR designated drivers at 20 NASCAR races in 2015 – two races left in the schedule

Alcohol Services Policies

TEAM encourages facilities to define, communicate and enforce policies, including:

• Cutting-off beer sales before the end of the game or performance
• Limiting the number of beers per purchase per possession
• Checking the ID of all patrons who look younger than the legal drinking age

TEAM Coalition has a great deal of growth and expansion in its future. Opportunities to incorporate social media and technology on the fan education and employee training fronts are starting to take shape. Expanding the TEAM Coalition membership to include new industry categories beyond professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaires, stadium service providers, the beer industry, broadcasters and government safety experts is being considered. None of TEAM Coalition’s success over the last twenty-five years would be possible without support from NHTSA. Given its impressive history, one can only imagine what the next twenty-five years may offer.