Melbourne pitches new conference as ‘Davos’ of sport

The Victorian state government will fund a new event tied to the Australian Grand Prix later this year, and plans to attract the brightest sports minds to the event

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will be a virtual speaker at the first “Davos” for sport in Melbourne later this year Picture: Getty Images

Melbourne will pitch a new conference tied to its global sports events as the “Davos” of global sports business events, when it unveils a line-up of some of the world’s best executives on Monday.

The inaugural SportNXT conference will be held in Melbourne in mid-November during the week of the rescheduled Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, with a goal of attracting the best leaders of sport around the world as major events take place in the region over the next decade.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, considered one of the most powerful sports leaders in the world, is among the names who will appear at the conference, though it will be in a virtual capacity for at least the first edition given COVID-19 travel restrictions.

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Others on the bill include Megan Rapinoe, the captain of the US women’s soccer team and

Lord Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics. International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay and the global head of sponsorship at Coca-Cola, Ricardo Fort, have also agreed to appear at the conference, albeit in a virtual capacity this year.

The program will be announced in Melbourne on Monday morning at an event featuring Sport Australia chair Josephine Sukkar, AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, Telstra chief executive Andy Penn, ARL commissioner Kate Jones and other local sports leaders.

Stephen Evans, the managing director of private equity firm Silver Lake, is another to accept a speaking invitation to November’s event. Silver Lake owns a stake in City Football Group, the owners of soccer clubs such as English Premier League champions Manchester City and Melbourne City, and is bidding for a shareholding in the commercial assets of the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby. It is also potentially interested in Australian sports assets.

The SportNXT organisers have struck a multi-year deal with the Victorian state government to help fund the event, which will be chaired by broadcaster and former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire.

“The SportNXT vision is to create a type of Davos of sport,” McGuire told The Australian, referring to the annual business and political gathering for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He said Australia was in a good position to host a big sports business event given the amount of big events set to be held across Asia-Pacific in the next decade, including FIFA’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, potentially the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027 and then the Olympics in Queensland in 2032.

“(It is) a unique opportunity to gather the best and brightest minds from around the world to share ideas about the future of the sports industry, leaning on the contribution to the debate from the incredible expertise available in Victoria and across Australasia.

“Globally the business of sport has been dramatically affected by the impact of COVID and never before has there been such an imperative to reimagine the future of sport and tackle the burning issues.

“Everything has changed. Viewing habits, COVID bubbles, the emergence of 5G (mobile phone spectrum), international and especially US betting laws and its impact on sport and its integrity, stadia, broadcasting, sponsorship, the emergence of women’s sports and much more.”

SportNXT organisers predict they will attract 1000 delegates in person to the conference, but concede it will be at least 2022 until large numbers of international visitors will be able to attend.

Among the topics planned for coverage at the conference include media broadcast rights, sports technology, esports, data and analytics, grassroots sports, the rise of sports across Asia and the impact of climate change on sport.