Bryan Harper is the Touchdown Club and suite sales executive for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN with THE TEAM?
Harper worked in sales and marketing for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team until he began promoting premium seats for the Jaguars last August. He is 27 years old.
WHY RELOCATE?
With the Pirates for three years, Harper saw the team through the conversion from Three Rivers Stadium to PNC Park (named after a Pennsylvania bank). “Once we opened PNC, my goal in Pittsburgh was realized. I was thinking about new challenges I could find and I was contacted by a friend who said he heard there was a position open in Jacksonville. From there, a headhunter contacted me.”
HOW WAS THE TRANSITION?
“I enjoy the area, the weather and the benefits Jacksonville has. I’m a golfer, too, and the quality of golf down here is pretty good. Plus, in baseball there are 81 home games but in football there are 10 home games so the schedule played a large factor. The area is growing rapidly and I looked at it as a new business opportunity.”
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR THE JAGUARS?
“My role is to sell and market Touchdown Club seats and luxury suites. Here at the end of the seventh season, seats are available now that were not available in the past [due to some initial season ticket holders not renewing their tickets].”
GETTING TO KNOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD
“I try to attend as many networking events as I can. You’ve got to try to meet as many people as you can and follow up. I let them know who I am and what I can do for them, paying attention to publications to find out what’s going on and making sure I get my face in front of the right people.”
WHO DO YOU SOLICIT ?
“Our clients are 80 percent corporate. I deal with vice presidents and those in charge of the sales force. They use the tickets to entertain clients and build their own business. It helps them relate to their clients on both a business and a personal level. For suites, I deal with the top officer in a company.”
HOMETOWN
Evansville, Ind.
EDUCATION
Harper majored in communications at the University of Southern Indiana.
SEGUE TO SPORTS
“[In school] I worked in the athletic department for the coach and decided I wanted a career in sports management. When I graduated, I sent letters to teams informing them that I would be in the area and would like to meet with them. I landed a job with Columbus Crew, a Major League Soccer team, for two years.”
WHY GO INTO THIS LINE OF WORK?
“It’s the competitive nature. It’s just as competitive off the field as on. In high school, I participated in athletics [basketball and baseball]. In college, my skill level wasn’t up to par but I wanted to stay in the industry. I like the camaraderie; it’s like a close-knit fraternity. ”
WHAT’S YOUR IMMEDIATE GOAL?
“To see a full house 10 times next year would be a great feeling.”
WHAT OBSTACLES DO YOU FACE?
“The challenge we face is with our size relative to our NFL markets. We need to do a good job of marketing to the surrounding area. This is a football-crazy area. If you can prove you have a quality product, you should be able to fill this place.”
TOO RICH FOR MY BLOOD
“One misconception is that we have the fourth highest ticket prices in the NFL. What’s actually true is when you take the premium suites out of the equation, we are 19th. We have the second largest amount of premium seats in the NFL, 90 suites and 10,000 club seats. It pumps up the average ticket price, but 28 percent of our seats are priced at $22 or less. We offer season tickets that are $134.50, including taxes and surcharges. That’s one of the lowest in the NFL. Most of the everyday fans are looking for general seats.”
WHO DO YOU ADMIRE?
“Larry Bird. He played basketball for the Boston Celtics and later coached the Indiana Pacers. Here was a kid from a small town in Indiana who used his basketball ability to open doors for himself.”
PERSONAL
A Southside resident, Harper enjoys playing golf, dribbling a basketball or traveling. He is a member of Business Network International and takes part in the Chamber of Commerce’s Uncampaign membership drive. He savors a steak at Ruth’s Chris Steak House or tuning into SportsCenter.
— by Monica Chamness