By Darren Cohen ('10)
One of the great benefits of attending my first Symposium was the opportunity to get to know many of the successful alumni that came back to Athens. Like my classmates, my first priority was to meet those in my particular field of interest. Having long been drawn towards major event / venue operations, I was fortunate the first speaker of the weekend was Don Hardman (’95).
Currently situated in Vancouver, BC, Hardman is the President of his consulting firm, Cascade Sports Group. Building on his own experience with the NBA’s Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies, Cascade focuses on assisting major sporting events in areas from soup to nuts.
As Hardman explained in his presentation, his path through the sports industry has required taking chances and a supportive family. These familiar refrains echo the sentiments of many other prominent alumni that have spoken to our class.
The San Antonio native made his way to Tulane where, as an undergraduate, he secured two internships. Working in the marketing department at UT – San Antonio, Hardman realized that he did not want to go into college athletics. The next year, Hardman landed the internship that would have a huge impact on his future. Working at the Louisiana Superdome, Hardman found out about and was accepted to the OHIO SAFM program. He made his way to Athens directly after graduation.
Having established a number of facility /event contacts in Athens, Hardman eventually landed in Vancouver. Despite the fact that he had never been west of Denver before, Hardman took a position with Orca Bay sports as an event coordinator. Orca Bay was the company that owned Vancouver’s GM Place and became the home of the NBA’s expansion Grizzlies. Describing the move as ‘a shot in the dark that worked out’, Hardman’s struggles through the 6-8 week immigration process eventually paid off.
However, exposing a country to the NBA brand was not easy and losses mounted both on the court and on the balance sheet. Hardman was ‘working his way up the food chain’ but knew the viability of Vancouver as NBA market was going to be called in to question, especially with new ownership. Despite initial promises from team ownership to consider keeping the team in Vancouver, due diligence eventually led the way the Grizzlies being moved to Memphis. My guess is that the $250 million dollar arena the subsidy city officials were offering made the decision easier.
The move to Memphis presented a number of unique challenges to Hardman both personally and professionally. Hardman was given 90 days to move a new franchise across a continent and into a new NBA city. Hardman also had 90 days to hire staff, sell tickets and sponsorships and … manage $7 million dollars worth of renovations to the Pyramid in Memphis where the Grizzlies would play their first season as their new arena was being built. Hardman described the approach on how to engage the passionate fans of the Memphis Tigers that the NBA was a different product as ‘difficult’. Hardman had to do all of this without his wife and step-son that chose not to navigate through the difficult immigration process and stayed in Vancouver.
Hardman also talked about the unique process of designing the future home of the Grizzlies, ‘feeling fortunate to design what the team was looking for.’ One $93 Million Dollar Agreement later, the Grizzlies new home had a name, the FedEx Forum. Designed in 2001, the FedEx Forum is still considered one of the top buildings in the NBA.
After seeing the Forum’s construction to completion, Hardman left the Grizzlies to return to Vancouver and be with this family and search for his next opportunity. Through the development of Cascade, Hardman has been active in major sporting events in the Pacific Northwest including the World Police and Fire Games.
Hardman left those in attendance with a number of lessons including a familiar
Mr. Kahler refrain that in any organization ‘everyone sells.’ He encouraged all guests to look beyond the horizon and to expect adversity. Most of all, Hardman stressed the importance of approaching each and every opportunity with 100% commitment as you never know where the industry will take you.
