硅谷科技男吸引NBA球隊(duì)把主場(chǎng)搬到舊金山
????舊金山市有望迎來(lái)一位新客人。上周,NBA金州勇士隊(duì)宣布,計(jì)劃把球隊(duì)主場(chǎng)從奧克蘭遷到隔著一個(gè)海灣的舊金山,同時(shí)將在舊金山修建一座漂亮的新球館。當(dāng)然,勇士隊(duì)強(qiáng)調(diào),它們需要市政議員們的協(xié)作,才能按時(shí)完成體育館修建工作,這樣球隊(duì)才能按計(jì)劃于2017年順利遷至舊金山。不過(guò),一旦體育場(chǎng)建好,勇士隊(duì)將更需要另一個(gè)群體:硅谷科技男。 ????勇士隊(duì)將耗資5億美元,在舊金山濱水區(qū)30至32號(hào)碼頭修建新體育館。Twitter、點(diǎn)評(píng)網(wǎng)站Yelp和社交游戲公司Zynga等大名鼎鼎的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司就坐落在新場(chǎng)館周邊,相隔僅僅一箭之遙。這些公司財(cái)力雄厚,有能力包下豪華套間、購(gòu)買(mǎi)企業(yè)套票。 ????勇士隊(duì)聯(lián)席執(zhí)行總裁彼得?古貝爾在修建新體育館的新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上恭維說(shuō):“這里是技術(shù)界的地盤(pán)?!绷硪晃粓?zhí)行總裁喬?萊科布深知勇士隊(duì)需要很多幫助,但他顯得更具幽默感。本賽季是勇士隊(duì)在舊金山灣地區(qū)度過(guò)的第50個(gè)賽季。他打趣說(shuō):“新體育館耗資巨大,我們也許需要50年才能還清債務(wù)?!?/p> ????對(duì)勇士隊(duì)而言,在舊金山修建體育館的財(cái)務(wù)優(yōu)勢(shì)很明顯。整個(gè)地區(qū)生意正在以舊金山為中心源源不斷地流出,有了這座新體育館,技術(shù)大佬們?cè)谂f金山舉辦活動(dòng)、招待客人時(shí)看球賽將方便得多?!艾F(xiàn)在我們可以贏得眾多不愿驅(qū)車(chē)過(guò)橋前往奧克蘭(觀看球賽)的初創(chuàng)企業(yè),”勇士隊(duì)企業(yè)和高端拓展經(jīng)理格雷格?烏里克說(shuō)?!摆A得硅谷的科技男當(dāng)然是遷往舊金山的意圖之一?!睘趵锟素?fù)責(zé)企業(yè)贊助,同時(shí)負(fù)責(zé)銷(xiāo)售貴賓和企業(yè)季票以及豪華套間票。 ????烏里克拒絕透露目前有哪些硅谷公司和勇士隊(duì)建立了合作關(guān)系,雖然他表示幾乎所有大型技術(shù)公司都與球隊(duì)有聯(lián)系。蘋(píng)果(Apple)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)軟件和服務(wù)部高級(jí)副總裁艾迪?庫(kù)就經(jīng)常捧場(chǎng)勇士隊(duì)的球賽。烏里克還特意強(qiáng)調(diào)了一位缺席者。“Twitter就在這里(在舊金山)。但我們目前還沒(méi)有任何合作,不過(guò)我相信以后一定會(huì)有。我準(zhǔn)備邀請(qǐng)他們加入。” ????勇士隊(duì)的另一老板萊科布同樣在技術(shù)界頗有人脈,他是硅谷傳奇投資公司凱鵬華盈(Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers)的合伙人。硅谷未來(lái)學(xué)家兼斯坦福大學(xué)(Stanford)工程學(xué)院咨詢(xún)教授保羅?薩夫表示:“如果凱鵬華盈的合伙人掌控球隊(duì),閉著眼睛都能想到,他一定會(huì)向所有律師事務(wù)所施加壓力,所有凱鵬華盈幫助上市的新創(chuàng)企業(yè)也不會(huì)放過(guò)?!?/p> |
????San Francisco is likely getting a new toy. This week, the NBA's Golden State Warriors announced their intentions to move the Oakland-based team across the bay to San Francisco, complete with plans for a swanky new arena. Yes, the team stressed it would need the cooperation of civic leaders to build the arena in time for its expected move-in date of 2017. But, once it's built, the team will need another group even more: the tech community. ????The new $500 million arena, to be built along the city's waterfront on piers 30 to 32, is a stone's throw from the offices several marquee web brands including Twitter, Yelp (YELP), and Zynga (ZNGA). Those are the kinds of companies that will have to fill luxury suites and buy corporate tickets. ????"This is the tech world right here," said Peter Guber, co-executive chairman of the Warriors, during press conference on the future building site. Joe Lacob, the team's other chairman, at least has a sense of humor about how much help they'll need. This NBA season marked the Warriors' 50th anniversary in the Bay area. "With the cost of this arena, it may take us 50 years to pay it back," he quipped. ????The financial upside of an arena in the city seems obvious for the sports team. Commerce in the region flows out of San Francisco, and it will be a lot more convenient for tech bigwigs to hold events and entertain guests at a game on their side of the peninsula. "Now we can get all the tons of startups out there who didn't want to drive over the bridge from Oakland," says Greg Uhrik, manager of corporate and premium development for the Warriors. "Getting the tech world was definitely one of the intentions in moving to the city." Uhrik is in charge corporate sponsorships and sales of VIP and corporate season tickets and luxury suites. ????He declined to share specifics on what Silicon Valley companies currently have corporate relationships with the team, though he says almost all of the big tech companies have accounts. (Eddy Cue, Apple's (AAPL) senior vice president of Internet software and services, has often been seen at Warriors games.) Uhrik did however mention one notable absentee. "Twitter is out there [in San Francisco]," he says. "They don't do anything with us now, but I'm sure they will. I'm going to try to get them to." ????Co-owner Lacob also has personal tech ties that could serve him well; he's a partner at legendary Silicon Valley investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers. "If a Kleiner partner owns the team, you can count on the fact that they'll be putting the squeeze on all the law firms, and on all the startups that they've helped go public," says Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley futurist and consulting professor at the Stanford engineering school. |