Jon Long, ONSIDE Strategic Consultant
“...There could be an opportunity to create a uniquely Irish slice of sporting intellectual property. Let’s give it the working title ‘Fight Ireland’.”
The Octagon at UFC’s Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. (Image Credit: UFC.com)
With recent ONSIDE research finding a significant proportion of the Irish public mentally ready to return to Croke Park and the 3Arena in the next 12 months, there is a window for the country’s major venues, rights holders and government to look at hosting strategies through a new lens and with long term ambition.
Based on an experience curated almost 6,000 km away on the coast of the Arabian Gulf, there could be an opportunity to create a uniquely Irish slice of sporting intellectual property. Let’s give it the working title ‘Fight Ireland’.
UFC Fight Night in Dublin, scheduled for August 2020, was one of the casualties of the pandemic. Like all other professional sports, UFC ground to a halt at the start of the pandemic. Uniquely, however, when it resurfaced, the entire property had decamped to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.
It was one of many bubbles introduced by professional sports properties to ensure the show could go on during the pandemic. It’s also been the most impactful and will probably have the most significant legacy.
ONSIDE had the privilege of interviewing the COO of UFC, Lawrence Epstein, for LeadersWeek.direct/AbuDhabi this week. It was clear that the Abu Dhabi experience has changed the way UFC thinks about its destination partners.
Both UFC and the destination have benefited from the creation of a powerful new brand, ‘Fight Island’. The combination of 12 events over seven months and consistent marketing has built Abu Dhabi into a second home for the property alongside Las Vegas.
UFC already knows it has enough local fans in Abu Dhabi to fill the venue when they can get back to full capacity. As international travel opens up, ‘Fight Island’ is likely to become an aspirational destination for UFC fans, along similar lines to the classic Grand Prix circuits for Formula One fans and Augusta for golfers.
At a time when Ireland is considering a joint bid with the UK for the 2030 FIFA World Cup and working through the logistics of hosting UEFA European Championship matches and a Lions game this summer, properties like UFC present an alternative perspective.
They provide a destination and venue with an opportunity to build an event brand over time, delivering a consistent experience that becomes a part of the local calendar.
An example closer to home is the NFL International Series in London which combines matches with city-wide promotional activity. According to London and Partners, the series delivers £6.1 million of direct economic benefit to the destination.
One-off events in the past have shown there is sufficient spectator interest in Ireland for annual events to be viable across a range of international properties, including UFC.
ONSIDE research indicates these live local audiences will return in strong numbers and, like Abu Dhabi, Dublin will be seeking to attract international visitors to boost the economy.
Sports properties suffered badly during the pandemic and are looking for new and stable sources of revenue beyond media rights fees and sponsorship. Destinations like Dublin have an opportunity to build on existing IP and create new properties that grow roots for the benefit of the property and the local economy.
Like many properties, UFC is taking a cautious approach to event staging and is back on home soil in Las Vegas through to at least the end of next month. But Fight Island is unlikely to be UFC’s last international residency and it will be on the lookout for other innovative hosts.
So ‘Fight Ireland’ could, of course, feature UFC but would truly come to life if complemented by a boxing bout involving Ireland’s most marketable athlete, Katie Taylor and – why not – the return of college football’s Fighting Irish, Notre Dame, who had to pull out in 2020 but will undoubtedly be back in the future.
It would be a complex endeavour to pull these strands together, but as UFC and Abu Dhabi proved, it’s the right time to think about innovative hosting opportunities.
