Funding, capital raising and sponsorship addressed at 2024 NSC Sports Investment Summit

The inaugural NSC Sports Investment Summit has wrapped up in Sydney with more than 100 delegates having attended the full day event on Wednesday, preceded by an industry dinner on Tuesday evening.

The first event of its type in Australia, the varied program included a wide range of stakeholders including the Australian Olympic Committee, Paralympics Australia, Commonwealth Games Australia, the Australian Sports Foundation, national sporting organisations (NSOs), investors, property developers, local authorities, facility managers and operators as well as input from event supporters Deloitte and the re-emerging Confederation of Australian Sport (CAS).

Looking to opportunities for the 2032 Bribane Olympics and Parylympics as well as post-Games legacy, the Summit also featured innovative discussions on the intersection of sport and technology, strategies to elevate Australian sport on the global stage while creating meaningful local impact and collaborative ideas to boost community engagement and build a stronger, more inclusive sports culture.

One of the day’s key take outs came during the session on ‘The Sponsor Lens’ when Matt Osler of National Australia Bank advised that superannuation funds are actively seeking investment opportunities, both domestically and internationally, as they have more demand than they can meet locally.

With NAB a longtime sponsor of AFL, Osler explained how, when making investment decisions, superannuation funds consider factors such as the entity's governance structure, management quality, strategic plan, and unique value proposition. Entities need to demonstrate why they deserve the fund's attention.

During the session on a ‘Global Perspective of Investment in Sport’, Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) Executive Chair, Dr Martin Schlegel emphasised how, with a value $1.2 billion a year, Australia represents the world’s seventh largest sports rights market, and the importance of sporting events as a domestic economy driver.

The day’s final panel with CAS President and Executive Chair and President at sports tech business EngageRM, Ned Coten; NSW Office of Sport Chief Executive, Karen Jones and former Olympian and Athletics Australia President Jane Fleming addressed ‘future proofing sport’.

While this moved into covering more structural issues and how the sector is recognised, Fleming suggested that for recognition sporting bodies needed to “embrace physical activity”, making the remarkable claim that “we maybe need to steal the figures from health.”

Coten then wrapped up the Summit by highlighting a potential role for CAS in returning to represent the sport industry as it has done in the past.

Coten will be addressing this matter in a feature in the next issue of Australasian Leisure Management.

The National Sports and Physical Activity Convention will be returning in 2025.

Click here for details on the National Sports and Physical Activity Convention 2025 in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Images: Keynote pamels at the inaugural NSC Sports Investment Summit, (top, from left): NSW Office of Sport Chief Executive Karen Jones, Athletics Australia President Jane Fleming  and CAS President Ned Coten; NSW Office of Sport Chief Executive, Karen Jones and former Olympian and Athletics Australia President Jane Fleming addressed ‘future proofing sport’.(top)