Reece Homfray: Adelaide Crows are mirroring international sporting giants in expanding beyond football

THINK global, act local. Adelaide is following a growing trend among international sporting giants to increase their worldwide footprint by diversifying operations in their own backyard.

Jordan Cowan in action for the Bite against Brisbane in the ABL playoffs at West Beach. Picture: Sam Wundke

• Crows take over Adelaide Bite licence

THINK global, act local. Adelaide Football Club is following a growing trend among international sports giants to increase their worldwide footprint by diversifying operations in their own backyard.

Five years ago the Crows had just one team — an AFL side. They now have five, including an SANFL team, AFLW, eSports and the Adelaide Bite, which is their first major step into the Asian market through the Australian Baseball League.

A revamped ABL will next season include two new teams from Korea and New Zealand, and the Crows have seen an opening to establish networks with corporations that want to do business with Australia.

Following Port Adelaide’s bold project to take Australian football into China, Adelaide is using an international sport to reach numerous countries, including some of Australia’s major trading partners.

Josh Jenkins plays in the All Star Game at Coopers Stadium against Port players.

The clincher to getting involved in the ABL was news a Korean team would join the league next season, playing 40 games broadcast to an estimated TV audience of 10 million.

“Not to mention broadcasts into other countries such as Japan, Taiwan and United States,” Baseball Australia chief executive Cam Vale said.

“In 2017 alone, 34 million people went to professional baseball games in Asia, which in itself creates a great opportunity for the Bite, and in turn the Crows.”

A significant part of the Adelaide Bite roster has a strong international flavour with players from Asia and the US and the Crows plan to form close ties with the MLB in the US.

“The board didn’t want to be constrained by a single country strategy and with baseball there are no borders,” chairman Rob Chapman said.

“And this is an exciting opportunity for a local sport to have worldwide reach.”

The baseball team will operate under the Adelaide Football Club’s newly created Adelaide Sport and Entertainment entity which also houses a video and media production division, and is likely to expand even further.

In Europe, Barcelona Sporting Club operates a European soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona which is home to Lionel Messi as well as running a professional basketball, volleyball and athletics team.

In the US, the Harris Blitzer group owns the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA, the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, Crystal Palace in the English Premier League, as well as second-tier baseball and basketball teams the Delaware Blue Coats and Binghampton Devils.

On the corporate front it operates the 76ers Innovation Lab which is designed to partner with entrepreneurs, start-ups and rapidly-growing businesses to expand their reach and operations. Based at 76ers training base, it was opened in 2017 and is working with eSports, fantasy sports, pet care and digital media.

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment is based in Denver, Colorado, and owns NBA franchise the Denver Nuggets, English Premier League club Arsenal, NHL team the Colorado Avalanche, as well as the Pepsi Centre where the Nuggets and Avalanche play out of, as well as TV and media companies.