Modernization of PanamSports Begins

(ATR) A new logo, branding, website and office in Miami are just the surface changes of a continental association seemingly on the brink of total transformation.

These changes to the PanamSports Organization were detailed in depth by PanamSports President Neven Ilic and his colleagues on Nov. 4 during PanamSports General Assembly. The day-long meeting in Prague Saturday followed the Association of National Olympic Committees GA that concluded Nov. 3. ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad, secretary general Gunilla Lindberg and the IOC NOC relations director Pere Miro all attended the first half of the assembly.

Delegates of the 41 NOCs of PanamSports got their first glimpse of the revitalization efforts of the organization today. New Marketing and Media Commission chair Lisa Baird and Athletes Commission chair Alexandra Orlando led the big reveal.

Baird, the United States Olympic Committee’s chief marketing officer, gave a step-by-step walkthrough of PanamSports’ new branding, complete with a logo that encompasses the geography of North and South America and the Caribbean in a circle and typeface logo reminiscent of the Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games.

Branding one year later

The branding will be on all official documentation of the organization moving forward. Merchandise without the Olympic logo can be used as a revenue stream as well; the new website PanamSports.org completes the new look.

The designs laid out today are the results of a year of work on revamping the continental association promised at last year’s assembly in Doha, Qatar. Ilic was elected president in April and has since held extensive outreach with NOCs and put together the marketing commission to give PanamSports a new look and feel.

With the tedious process of constitution overhauls of the past two years now out of the way and the election of a youthful and energetic president, PanamSports can now turn its efforts to maximizing profit of its flagship Pan American Games and Parapan Am Games properties.

Santiago 2023

Santiago, Chile confirmed at the meeting as as the host of the 2023 edition of the Games will be the first to fully benefit from six years of the new marketing strategy.

"Today the most important is to support the Pan American Games in Lima, to stay there and push every day to make sure we have good Pan American Games in July 2019," Ilic told Around the Rings at the midway point of the assembly.

Concerns over preparations for Lima 2019 were at an all-time high at the gathering of PanamSports in Miami this June when the construction of the Athletes Village had yet to commence. An outstanding debt of $3.3 million also existed for the Peruvian Olympic Committee for the staging of the Lima 2019 Pan Ams.

To rectify this, PanamSports will now receive profits from the marketing rights of these upcoming Games, with the organization recovering 75 percent of the profits in order to recuperate this unpaid debt. Pan American host cities typically retain 100 percent of the marketing rights.

Panams progress

The Pan American Village construction began in September and competitive tenders are out for the remaining venue construction needs. PanamSports leaders expressed much more optimism that the Peruvian capital will be ready for the July 2019 Games than shown in previous meetings.

"At the Executive meeting in Miami, I was a little bit more optimistic than many of my colleagues with regard to the capacity of Lima to deliver," Lima 2019 Coordination Commission chairman Keith Joseph told the assembly. "I say that because I keep saying that I’ve never known of any of our hosts of the Pan Ams two years out were fully ready.

"We are accustomed going to Games and finding you may get a bit of paint on your pants because they just completed something."

By profiting more off its premier product, PanamSports can then turn its attention towards delivering that money to regional NOCs to further enhance the development of sport.

"After that, we are thinking of ways to do better things for the countries of our region and as I said in my speech, we have different countries, big, small and medium, with different needs," Ilic told ATR. "We will work closely with them to help the countries to develop their products."

Throughout the meeting, Ilic received numerous declarations of support from the NOC delegations. Ilic, 55, led the assembly with an exuberance and passion not seen in the organization for years. Since his election in April, he has also taken a seat as an IOC member.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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