Steve Curran, President, Jacksonville Sharks

Steve Curran, president of Jacksonville Sharks, talked to Invest: about how the team works to attract and retain fans and the role that its partnerships have in growing its fan base and giving back to the community. He also highlighted the challenges that the team faces to continue growing and to bring more people to the arena.

What were the most important successes for the Jacksonville Sharks over the past two years? 

Well, we won the league championship last season so that was pretty exciting. This year we joined the preeminent indoor football league, so we are excited for our future. It’s funny. We first started in the Arena Football League in 2010, and it was crazy. From our announcement to the start of our 1st season it was so quick. Don’t think we would do that again but fortunately the team was a big success. The people out here really enjoy football and wanted to be a part of it, so it boomed. We eventually had to reinvent ourselves as that league was having problems and some teams were struggling. We kind of saw the writing on the wall and that league shut down. Fortunately, we got out before it did and started our own league. 

We always wanted to get back to a national footprint and moving over to the Indoor Football League (IFL) enabled us to do that. We now have teams from Arizona to the Dakotas, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida. It’s nice to be in a national league again where we can grow and get back onto a TV network. 

How does the organization engage with the local community in Greater Jacksonville? 

We always try to get involved with the community and when possible, give back. We have away game watch parties, and we donate tickets to veteran families through our partnership with Vet Tix. We started our own foundation to do school programs and empathy challenges. Our coach has done a great job getting out and about in the community visiting schools and businesses. Additionally, our dance team does various appearances throughout the year. We’ve donated items to different schools to help with their local fundraisers. We try to get out and about as much as we can. 

We only have a limited amount of staff and opportunities to participate, but we try to do what we can to be a part of the community. We hope that the foundation will take us to the next step and allow us to do even more. 

How would you describe the fan experience with the Jacksonville Sharks? 

We are a football team, which is our No. 1 thing. Nevertheless, when there is a break in action, we want to always have something going on, so we have a great DJ playing music, an attack dance team/cheer squad, and our mascots Chum and Finn to keep the fans entertained. We have various promotions that run throughout the game. For instance, we have a lucky row challenge where fans have a race between the people in two different rows. We also have a dance-for-your-dinner challenge where fans come down on the field and participate in a dance contest. We try to always have something for everybody going on. There is never a dull moment at a Sharks game! 

We also want to make the game interactive. There is no other sport where fans in the front row and corporate reefs can high-five players as they come by on the field during the game. Additionally, after every game, fans are invited to our onfield autograph session, where they can get their picture taken with players, get autographs and ask questions. You can get to know the players, and many fans have a great time with that. 

How does the organization approach marketing and branding to attract new fans and maintain loyalty among the existing base? 

That is a great balancing act. Usually when you try to give offers to new people, you forget the base that got you to where you are. We have better deals for season ticket holders to thank them for supporting us from day and game one and also as a package discount. Nevertheless, we never want to take for granted the people who maybe have not seen us before and who want to come out to a single game or two and have a good time. 

We have various deals, such as a family four-pack where we offer four tickets, four $10 vouchers for food or merchandise, and a $25 gift card to Al’s Pizza, which is one of our sponsors. We try to make it family friendly, have good deals for families, and try to attract people who have never come to a game before. Once we get them into the building, we need to ensure that they have a good time and tell their friends. Word of mouth is the best advertising, and we are lucky to have fans who spread the word about the Sharks. 

How important are collaborations or partnerships to enhancing the experience of players and fans? 

We would not be here without our awesome sponsors. From our medical partners at the Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute, Baptist Health and Baymeadows MRI to other partners such as True Vet Solutions, Smarter Remodeling, and Swisher, there are so many different groups helping us out. Without them, we could not do what we do and survive. We only have eight events a year plus a couple of potential playoff games. So sponsorships are an important part of our revenue goals. Since our game is a mix of college and pro with housing and meals being included our food partners are important to helping to feed and recruit players. We have some great deals. Metro diner, Dick’s wings, Carrabba’s, Anthony’s catering and more. We also have a great furniture company, Southern furniture leasing that takes good care of the players and sets up their apartments. They are all a big part of our business. 

What are some of the most important challenges that the organization faces and how is the team navigating them? 

Jacksonville has a smorgasbord of sports events, so we try to make our eight games special. There is a limited number of Sharks games that you can choose to attend, which differentiates us from other sports that have multiple games during half of the year. We do different theme nights to get people to come out and to feel like they are part of the event. We want each game to be a little unique. We want fans to come and feel like they are watching the game with thousands of their closest friends. 

We are competing with the Televised games as well as other sports and the numerous TV channels and content, so we want to make it special being at the arena. So watching the game from home is not the same. People should want to be at the event because there is so much going on. Fans go to the game and they get a chance to win one of our promotions, a possible theme night gift, we had Star Wars lightsabers and Military rally towels this year. We shoot tee shirts into the crowd every game, and game balls fly into the stands during the games and fans get to keep them. They also get to high-five some players, take pictures with dancers and mascots, and have a lot of fun. There is nothing better than getting the fans involved, doing a wave, cheering for a stop, celebrating a touchdown. Making them become part of the community inside the arena. 

What are short- and long-term goals for the Jacksonville Sharks and what steps are being taken to achieve them? 

The short-term goal on the football side is to win more games as our fans expect us to win and to have a winning program, and we do not want to let them down. Additionally, next year is our 15th anniversary, so we look forward to doing something big and getting exciting stuff going. Our long-term goal is to continue building the league. Moving to the IFL was a great decision. As the league builds, we will continue to add teams and increase our footprint, and we will start getting opportunities to be on TV stations in the next few years. 

We always aim to attract more people and build our business and base. We want to make our model substantial, keep going forward, and grow without taking steps backward. We need to keep going forward and get our product in front of as many people as possible. The more eyeballs on us the better.