Transcript

The transcript below has been lightly edited for readability and clarity. Click any timestamp to jump to that exact point in the YouTube video.

Podcast Introduction

[00:00] Don Costante:

Hi, I’m Don Costante and this is the start of The Rundown Podcast. Thanks for joining me. Let’s talk about what exactly the Rundown is. The Rundown Podcast is going to be a unique opportunity for you. It’s going to get you behind the scenes of event presentation and production from those in the sports and event management industry who have been most successful. Throughout the year, I’m going to be interviewing leaders in the industry from the NBA, MLB, NFL, and more to provide you with insight and perspective on what it takes to deliver authentic experiences. Not only are we going to talk about experiences, but also how to best activate brands and most importantly,

Who The Rundown Is For

[00:38] Don Costante:

connect with audiences. And as far as audiences go, who’s the best audience for this podcast? In my opinion, anybody who puts on an event, whether you’re in sports or otherwise, this is going to be a great podcast for you. And if you’re a sports lover or somebody who just wants to get into the industry and looking for your way in the door, I would also recommend it as the content we’re going to discuss is completely relevant. So speaking of careers,

Don Costante’s Career Journey

[01:02] Don Costante:

what qualifies me to have a podcast to talk about event presentation and production, right? Let’s talk a little bit about my background. When I graduated from college, I graduated with a marketing degree and I ended up taking an internship with NC State University within the athletic department. I did that for about a year, year and a half before I got promoted to assistant director of marketing. After I did that for about another year or so, I ended up taking a full-time job with the University of Memphis as director of marketing and corporate sales. Now, what was exciting about that? Not only was I doing the game operation side, but I was also now responsible for the corporate sales side. I did that for about a year and eight months. I got a phone call from the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, decided to take that direction.

This was a point in my career where I,

The San Antonio Spurs and Multi-Team Experience

[01:47] Don Costante:

1999, decided to take that direction. This was a point in my career where I ended up deciding, you know what, I’m going to put marketing and advertising on the back burner. I’m going to focus more on the event presentation, game operations. And I loved it. I came to San Antonio in 1999. As I mentioned, good timing, because they won the NBA championship that year. In 2003, they moved from the Alamodome into the SBC Center, which is now, I believe the AT&T Center. And so I had the opportunity to go through the development of a brand new facility. Moving out of the Alamodome and into the SBC Center and all of the activities that go into opening a brand new facility. Now, in addition to opening the facility, we also brought on two additional franchises. We brought on the WNBA Silver Stars and the AHL Rampage hockey.

So I ended up continuing to do the Spurs, the WNBA and the AHL team up until 2007. So for seven years, I was with the organization. With all that experience, I left in 2007, started my own company, Costante Group Sports and Event Management. And about a year into that, I ended up taking a role with the Kansas City Royals, who allowed me to continue to work Costante Group.

The Kansas City Royals and Costante Group

[02:40] Don Costante:

So I ended up continuing to do the Spurs, the WNBA and the AHL team up until 2007. So for seven years, I was with the organization. With all that experience, I left in 2007, started my own company, Costante Group Sports and Event Management. And about a year into that, I ended up taking a role with the Kansas City Royals, who allowed me to continue to work Costante Group. In addition to working with their organization as senior director of event presentation and production, which was a win-win. What exactly does senior director of event presentation and production do with the Royals? Well, I basically oversee everything that happens inside the ballpark on game days. The public-address announcements, digital content, implementation, timing, transitions, execution, entertainment resources, the sponsor fulfillment, you name it.

Anything that really goes on in game or on game day is going to fall somewhere underneath the umbrella of the event presentation and production department. Also, outside in the community, we also are responsible for the large-scale events such as the Royals FanFest and any kind of viewing parties. In addition to that, I continue to do Costante Group Sports and Event Management. I’ve been fortunate to have some really great clients. I’ve worked with NASCAR, worked with Major League Baseball. We actually did PLAY BALL Park in July for the first time in Cleveland. We have worked with the National Basketball Association on several NBA All-Star Events, All-American Games, the Golf Course Superintendents Association with their Golf Industry Show, which is the largest golf educational industry show in the world.

We work with the Milwaukee Brewers, Manchester City, Derby County Football Club, and University of Texas, and so on and so on. I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of great experiences.

Why Don Created The Rundown

[04:30] Don Costante:

So why do this? Why have a podcast, right? There’s several reasons. One, I want to be a resource. I’ve always said if I got myself to a position where I can help people, I want to do it. Because when I started out back at NC State, I didn’t have a mentor. I didn’t have somebody that I could go to and talk to or even find out a little bit more about event presentation because there’s not really a book on how to produce a game or how to run game operations. So I said, you know what, if I ever get to a point and I’m successful enough or I gain enough experiences, I want to be able to be that type of a resource. So that’s one thing. Two, I want to share information. I want to share what I’ve learned over 26 years.

I want to share the experiences of those individuals who I consider to be the best in the business who will give their blueprint for success in all areas of event presentation and production.

Season One Guests

[05:25] Don Costante:

Those are just some reasons why this podcast is important to me. Now, in this first season, who are you going to be hearing from? You’re going to be hearing from some teams like the Atlanta Braves, the Detroit Pistons. You’re even going to hear from NASCAR, Houston Texans, and others. you’ll want to tune in because the people that I have lined up and the people that I’ll be interviewing, I consider to be the best in the business and they have some really good best practices. Some of the topics that you’re going to hear on this podcast that we’re going to be

Topics Covered on The Rundown

[05:52] Don Costante:

The podcast will go in depth on a wide range of topics. we’re going to go in depth. We’re going to talk about team introductions, staffing, partnership integration, and the technology that is currently being used or what’s coming out there in terms of helping to enhance fan engagement. We’re going to get into digital production. We’ll also dive into directing and producing and what makes for a good game director. We’ll talk about timing, transition, and execution. We’ll talk in great detail about communication documents and what documents should be created to help facilitate the information and disseminate that information to all parties within an organization. We’ll get into entertainment resources. We’ll talk about promotions and content and fan engagement activations.

We’ll get into music, budget development, team branding, event atmosphere, the planning process during the off-season. We’ll go through a number of topics that I feel are very important if you’re going to be in the role of event presentation and production.

Share Your Ideas

[06:53] Don Costante:

So if there are some topics that you’d be interested in hearing about, by all means, send me your ideas at TheRundown@CostanteGroup.comEmail The Rundown. I’d love to see what you’re interested in hearing more about.

Closing Thoughts

[07:07] Don Costante:

Well, that about wraps up today’s introduction to The Rundown Podcast. I want to thank you for listening. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out at TheRundown@CostanteGroup.comEmail The Rundown. Also, please subscribe and share our podcast with as many people as you can. Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. I would really appreciate that. Until then, thank you, and thanks for listening to The Rundown. I’m Don Costante.