Adelaide Crows to use Bite ownership to boost presence in lucrative Asian sport market
ADELAIDE Crows are keen to ride on the back of baseball’s popularity in Asia and they have already stitched up some exciting deals to widen their brand.
WHEN the Adelaide Football Club was revealed as the new owners of Adelaide Bite, South Australia’s premier baseball identity, the June announcement was definitely one of those sporting moves out of left field.
This season’s ABL has been expanded from six teams to eight and significantly, teams from Korea and New Zealand have been added. And franchise ownership was up for grabs under the revamped league model.
The Crows’ decision to take a swing at baseball came out of the blue. There were the critics, fans saying the club should focus on what it knows best and that is Australian football.
This, however, was a well thought out, calculated move.
Baseball is massive in China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan. When it considered China, Japan and South Korea are Australia’s top three trade partners and Taiwan No.8, it gives a glaring insight into why the Crows have spread their wings.
Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan, when revealing why his club had taken the keys to the Bite’s front door, cited diversification of its business as a key factor. He said the club believed the Bite was a “great vehicle to develop relationships with brands, organisations and the like in countries of interest to us”.
Crows chairman Rob Chapman noted a growth of the club’s portfolio beyond football was about diversifying its revenue streams.
There is enormous potential chasing Asian interests, and that is what the Crows are banking on. This was a commercial decision.
But the plans will work best if the Crows have a successful baseball product to show off in Asia, and that is evident in their thinking as they explore avenues to build highly productive bonds in the Asian market.
The Crows have signed a key agreement with Major League Baseball which will enable some of Asia’s best young baseballers to train and play for the Bite.
Four teenagers aged from 16 to 18, accompanied by a Chinese coach, will travel to Adelaide this month to play in the new Adelaide Super League as well as train with the Bite. They will be available for Bite selection. Among the group is highly promising Bruce Wang Yang, who has signed with Philadelphia Phillies.
As part of the deal, two players from the Bite Academy and a coach will spend time at a MLB development centre in China.
Crows chief financial officer and Bite executive general manager Shane Smallacombe said: “Our hope from this partnership is that the Chinese players will not only help the Adelaide Bite win a championship, but will develop as baseballers and people on their way to professional baseball careers or higher education opportunities. The partnership also provides SA baseballers and coaches through the Bite Academy a fantastic opportunity for our best developing baseballers to experience an MLB program.”
The Bite are also establishing a tremendous Japanese presence with the Honda club sending four pitchers, two in the first half of this season and two in the second, to Adelaide. Ryo Joura starred for the Bite in his debut against Brisbane in December and he will return to the club.
There is also potential for Honda, which competes in the Industries League and attracts 50,000 fans to games, to train in Adelaide, while other Asian clubs are set to having spring training camps in SA. South Korea’s LG Twins has been mentioned.
Then there are the three Japanese university teams who will compete against each other and SA teams in the final week of November.
Fagan said the club’s initial aim was to bolster the Bite’s playing roster to achieve on-field success, while also making the most of commercial opportunities.
“We have said all along that this is about growth, for both the Crows and the Bite, and by diversifying our operations in this manner we are playing to our strengths in sports administration,” Fagan said.
“We are already seeing the benefits of this with our initial dealings, whether they be in high performance initiatives, broadcast offerings or broader commercial negotiations.
“Importantly, we are also investing in the sport locally with improved game-day entertainment and activities”
MBL Asia general manager of baseball development Rick Dell said the agreement to send China’s best young players to the Bite was just the first stage of what will be a lasting relationship.
“It is creating pathways with the long-term hope of Adelaide becoming a centre of Chinese baseball development in Australia,” he said.
All eight Bite games against the Geelong-based Korean team will be shown live in Korea. The Crows are also on the verge of securing a contract to have Bite content streamed by leading Chinese tech company Tencent, providing the club with tremendous exposure
The Bite open their season away to Brisbane on November 15. Their first home game is against Melbourne Aces on November 22.