Contact:
Dr. Kathleen Davis
Executive Director - Sport Management Research Institute
2751 Executive Park Drive
Suite - 201
Weston, Florida 33331
Phone: 954-389-9095
www.go-smri.com
info@go-smri.com

(SMRI, Weston, Florida - July 20, 2004) As the upcoming NFL season nears, some teams have already begun their preparation for an improved fan experience. As the overall "positive fan experience" has become more of an important factor to season ticket holders and fans alike, the increased focus on Guest Service Training has become more evident to some organizations. In particular, the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers have all teamed up with Sport Management Research Institute (SMRI) to enhance the positive Guest Experience at their stadiums through Guest Service Training; it was announced today by Dr. Kathleen Davis, Executive Director.

With continuous market research of sports and entertainment fans along with the Guest Service assessment of over ninety facilities across the United States every year, SMRI has come to know what the most important issues of sports and entertainment fans are and what particular areas inside these facilities are of most importance to maintain a positive Guest Experience. SMRI has studied this market research and adapted the results into a fun, interactive and very unique Guest Service Training program that enables Event Staff Personnel to actually "walk a mile or two, or three" in the shoes of a Guest.

"Through our unique and interactive Guest Service Training Programs both inside the classroom and around the stadiums themselves, the game-day Event Staff of theses teams will be trained to better handle fan issues and become more aware of their own stadiums than they ever had in the past, resulting in a more positive game-day experience for the Guest" quoted Dr. Kathleen Davis.

Bob Laskowski , Chicago Bears Fan Services Manager noted, "We are very excited about bringing back SMRI again this year. They have the ability to hold the interest and make it fun for all of the different groups we ask them to train. SMRI has tailor-made their training to speak to a specific audience - whether it's senior management, front-line game day staff or any level in between. We are particularly looking forward to the training sessions for senior management and supervisors, which will be based largely on "Soldier Field specific" information SMRI had gathered from last year's secret shopper assessment. We also think the "Gold Medal Service Quest" piece will be very exciting and beneficial, especially for our front line employees."