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March 27, 2023

Fans with Disabilities Present Sports Industry with $490 Billion Growth Opportunity

Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles

Most sports organizations have community service initiatives in place.

Engaging youth and/or underrepresented demographics, including fans with disabilities, can be an easy way for clubs to generate goodwill amongst the broader fanbase.

However, there is an argument to be made that sports teams should be engaging fans with disabilities, not because it is viewed as the right thing to do, but because it is smart business. “The after-tax disposable income [of the demographic] is gigantic,” Adam Grossman (VP, business insights & analytics, Excel Sports Management) said.

According to a 2018

American Institutes for Research report

, the after-tax disposable income pool for working-age people with disabilities is on par with other market segments teams target.

• People with disabilities: $490 billion

• African Americans: $501 billion

• Hispanics $582 billion

The concept of 'doing well by doing good' refers to for-profit businesses doing something, either ethically or for society, that translates into success as measured by traditional business metrics (think: revenue, profits).

Historically speaking, sports teams have thought of ‘doing well’ and ‘doing good’ as relatively divergent objectives.

But in recent years, it has become increasingly clear the two can overlap.

In June '20, the Atlanta Hawks transformed State Farm Arena into Georgia’s largest-ever voting precinct, creating a safe and efficient voting process in Fulton County while starting a nation-wide trend that saw 47 other venues open their doors for the 2020 General Election. 

The team has also introduced a Million Meal Pack that fights food insecurity, refurbished over 30 basketball courts in underserved areas throughout Atlanta and supporting youth basketball programs throughout the city, including BlazeSports Wheelchair Basketball Leagues.

“We have long believed that it is our responsibility to the city of Atlanta and our fans to be a civic asset," Steve Koonin (chief executive officer, Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena) said. "We’ve found that fans and brands want to associate with companies that are having a positive impact in their community, and this allows us to be authentic and purposeful in our decision making."

Teams should obviously be doing everything they can to be inclusive.

But Grossman believes the data shows there is a business case for sports organizations to segment and target fans with disabilities, the same way they do with various ethnic groups.

And he said disabled fans want to be marketed to. “They are consumers. They are passionate sports fans who want to engage with their team. It’s just [historically been] difficult [for them] to do so.”

Reducing barriers that make it easier for fans with disabilities to engage with their favorite teams, including at the stadium, should result in incremental revenue growth for clubs.

Logic suggests if the experience of attending games was better, fans with disabilities would do it more often (and spend more money in the process).

One of the things teams can do to provide a better game-day experience is to invest in training stadium personnel on how they can be of assistance to fans with special needs.

“It takes specialized knowledge and a specialized skill set to know how to do this type of work,” disability consultant Bryce Weiler said.

The Beautiful Lives Project co-founder also suggests teams reduce audio levels inside the stadium and make minor modifications to their venues (think: sliding glass doors on open-air suites), “so that people with learning disabilities, or [those who] have trouble dealing with noise, can better enjoy the game.”

The Beautiful Lives Project is a non-profit that helps adults and children with disabilities to experience sports and other events across the country.

Eliminating the delay that exists on radio broadcasts would help the blind, and others who are visually impaired, enjoy their trips to the ballpark more. “Fans [currently] hear what is happening [in the stadium] and then seven or eight seconds later find out what that was; and that makes for an annoying experience,” Weiler said.

Specialty nights that highlight people with disabilities (think: announcing the starting lineups in sign language) could also help draw more disabled fans out to games. “You want to show people who have disabilities that you’re invested in them,” Weiler said.

There are a host of reasons why teams who target other underrepresented demographics do not pursue fans with disabilities with the same ferocity. “It takes more effort,” Grossman said, “and sometimes there are limited [personnel] resources.”

Costs can be a factor too. Teams may be reluctant to allocate funds to the additional training that is needed.

FWIW, Grossman believes the ROI is worth the investment.

It’s also fair to assume many teams are oblivious to the size of the opportunity.

“To a lot of sports organizations, [people with disabilities] are only thought of in a certain way; not intentionally, it’s just an unknown, unknown,” Grossman said. They “don’t understand the economic impact that disabled fans can have.”

Of course, that’s not a problem unique to sports teams. “Many times, the larger business community doesn’t think about disabled people as consumers who should be targeted despite [their spending power],” Grossman said.

One team that does a good job of targeting and serving people with disabilities is the Baltimore Orioles.

The club makes all its social media posts accessible to the demographic via the use of alt-text (both on the team account and the MASN account).

For perspective, not a single NFL or MLS team regularly places alt-text on social media posts.

The O’s were also the first team to wear braille on a game jersey (2018) and the organization has executed programs that give fans with disabilities the opportunity to experience the game on the field with players and coaches.

The Orioles have not sold jerseys with braille on them to date. But merchandise designed specifically for fans with disabilities would seem like a viable revenue stream.

It’s just a matter of time until other organizations take notice of the opportunities the demographic presents.