Ep. 5 Vince Cicero
"Right now I operate in soccer, it doesn’t mean I’m leaning on something that I did in the soccer space. It may have been something I did in NFL or NBA space. It might have been something I did at Ironman, might be something I did in tennis space that are like circumstances that I can draw some experience."
Vince Cicero's career has taken him across the spectrum of sports, including amateur, college and professional with work in a number of leagues, including the NBA, NFL and now MLS as the Senior Vice President, Partnerships and Broadcasting at FC Cincinnati. A very unique trait to Vince’s work is his involvement with four major facility projects during his career, including the opening of three new facilities. From a new arena where a college would move its basketball team to fan-facing amenities at a professional tennis tournament to being involved with building two new stadiums for two different organizations in the same city, Vince shared the insights he has learned from each of these projects.
In this episode, Vince talks not only about those construction projects but also the importance of relationship building during the sales process, how he cultivates a team approach to all aspects of sponsorship and all his previous experiences work to inform his current dealings.
Vince Cicero
FC Cincinnati
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Below are Show Notes from Episode 5 with Vince Cicero.
• FC Cincinnati Joins MLS, Cincinnati Enquirer
• MLS
• USL
• FC Cincinnati growth timeline, Cincinnati Enquirer
• FC Cincinnati fan support, The Guardian
• FC Cincinnati 2019 season review
• FCC third in 2019 MLS Attendance, Cincinnati Business Courier
• NBA jersey patches, ESPN.com
• European soccer jersey sponsorships
• Soda company ad spending, DigiDay
• Gambling in the US, ESPN.com
• NBA
• Ironman
• MECCA
• About MECCA: The Floor That Made Milwaukee Famous, ESPN 30 for 30
• Riverfront Stadium - Baseball
• Riverfront Stadium - Football
• Nielsen 2020 Designated Market Area Report (Cincinnati is 37)
• MLB
• Cicero Named Western & Southern Open Tournament Director, Journal-News
• Western & Southern Open Grounds Expansion
• FCC VR
• FCC Downtown Experience Center
• Feld Entertainment https://www.feldentertainment.com
• Great Moments in Marquette Basketball, Marquette Wire
• NCAA Tournaments in Milwaukee, including 1992 and 1996, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• NCAA role included 1992 Georgia Tech vs USC in second round, The Athletic
• Carson Palmer ACL injury, ESPN.com
• Wounded Bengals: The Injury That Changed the Course of Two Franchises, Bleacher Report
• 2005 AFC Wild Card Game recap, NY Times
• 1982 World Series - Cardinals d Brewers, Game 7, Baseball Almanac
SET PIECES
Liz Keating's Thought of the Day
Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon
You Win the Locker Room First, by Jon Gordon and Mike Smith
The Firm, by John Grisham
Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman with Quibi, NY Times
Wisconsin Tailgating, WUWM
Host note - Proud to say my Grandfather, Eugene Howard was the Milwaukee County Director of Public Works when the Stadium was built. He is seen in the lead photograph running with this story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
