San Diego State Sports MBA Program Discuss Baseball

Sports business can be complicated, particularly when discussing global growth. At least that’s what Chris Park, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Senior Vice President for Growth, Strategy & International, had to say at a recent event hosted in San Diego and attended by SDSU Sports MBA students. In his talk, Park explained that doing business internationally means that “you are always the road team,” a challenging prospect.

Park also spent time discussing the MLB’s plans for continued global growth as well as the different trials the organization is facing when operating overseas. The discussion included MLB’s markets in Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan as well as possible new markets. For Park, all of these international business initiatives include everything from TV to sponsorship, licensing, new market development and grass roots development.

From there, Park moved on to discussing how to create global movements. In 2016, MLB opened an office in Mexico City—their sixth office outside of the U.S.—and how that office is only the first step in opening doors in Mexico. He explained that it’s vital to take risks and that to expand globally, you have to become “local in each community.” As an example of this, Park talked about the research the MLB completed to figure out how different styles would best fit each country.

For the SMBA students who attended the discussion, Kevin Rorke (’18 SMBA) said that Park provided “a tremendous amount of knowledge that will help with their careers moving forward, especially for those who desire to work in an industry that requires interactions with foreign organizations.”

The Sports Management MBA at SDSU’s Fowler College of Business Administration is a sports-focused graduate program intended for students interested in an international sports business career. It’s an accelerated 18-month program best for students seeking hands-on industry experience. To learn more, visit the school website.

regions: San Diego

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