This is Buying Sideline — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of sports hospitality and premium experiences.
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In the email today:
🏈 RevelXP, College Football Playoff to Continue Premium Partnership in 2027
Last week, we touched on why Las Vegas stands out as a premium sports hospitality town, and this January RevelXP and the College Football Playoff will get the latest high-profile opportunity to prove it.
For a fifth straight season, the two sides will team up for a “Playoff Premium” experience that spans the festivities of College Football Playoff National Championship Game weekend, set this year for Jan. 22-25 in Sin City.
CFP Executive Director Rich Clark recently told Sports Business Journal, "When you talk about our premium packages and some of those things that we can do to elevate it to another level, RevelXP has helped us to do that like nobody else.”
So what are some of the things they will do, exactly?
Benefits include:
a party the night before the game with former players, celebrities and prominent sports personalities
a pregame party with open bars, food offerings from some of Las Vegas’ best restaurants
premium seat and suite seating at Allegiant Stadium
concierge services that span transportation, dining reservations and entertainment options
“We’re trying to set the bar higher every year, but it’s got to be bigger in Vegas. It just does,” RevelXP CEO Wes Day told SBJ.
Our Take: What is perhaps most interesting about the announcement is that the CFP National Championship Game itself almost felt secondary to the rest of the package. Sure, premium seating is part of the equation, but it is increasingly just one piece of a weekend-long championship experience. Weekend parties, celebrity and college football hero meet-and-greets along with concierge element of restaurants, spas and golf bolt onto and perhaps even overshadow the game itself.
Not unlike the potential for premium offerings around international NFL games, this is yet another example of a sporting event serving as a springboard for what is ultimately a premium luxury weekend, with football as the catalyst. In this way, the lines are increasingly blurred between an upgraded sporting experience and the luxury travel industry as a whole.
🚢 Gameday Transport That Adds To The Experience
In the words of Peter Griffin: “A boat’s a boat. But the mystery box could be anything, it could even be a boat!”
Getting to and from sporting events is generally an awful experience. Well what if the worst part of attending a sporting event now becomes part of the reason you buy the package?
We linked to IHG’s Racquet Cruiser in Friday’s send. The exclusive motorcoach offers lucky fans a ride home from Arthur Ashe Stadium to select IHG hotels in Manhattan near Penn Station and Grand Central. On the cruiser they offer Prince St. Pizza slices, express facial treatments, post-match replays, device charging, Wi-Fi, and more.
In Venice, Italy 75 Venezia FC fans climbed aboard La Serenissima, the club’s first-ever hospitality boat, and sailed an hour to the Serie A opener. Venezia FC’s new agency operating partner, Elevate, created the experience.
The journey begins in St. Mark's Square, the timeless heart of Venice, where guests board a beautifully crafted traditional Venetian boat before sailing across the lagoon towards Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo. More than simply transportation, the round-trip voyage transforms the approach to the match into an experience in itself, where water, history and the passion of the Arancioneroverdi come together in a truly unforgettable prelude to kick-off. Even the vessel reflects the Club's identity, featuring a striking black marble-inspired livery adorned with the golden Winged Lion of St. Mark—a powerful symbol of the bond between Venice, its heritage and Venezia FC.
Here’s what the €300 package entails via Venezia FC’s site:
Match ticket, DJ, premium food and beverage service.
Elegant interiors with rich wood panelling, leather finishes, and velvet accents using the club’s color scheme.
Open-air upper deck with panoramic views and rooftop garden inspired by the club’s future stadium.
Venezia FC also plans future invitation-only events offering selected guests the opportunity to meet ownership, executives, and key figures.
Our Take: A couple trends I want to touch on.
The fan’s journey is becoming premium inventory. Venezia FC took a typical 60 minute roundtrip on gameday, doubled it, and no one is complaining. More teams will start to strategize how they can own the first and last mile of the fan’s journey now that the venue is no longer the boundary of sports hospitality.
Premium inventory no longer has to be permanent. Pop up premium real estate we’ll call it. Last year, boat hospitality didn’t exist for Venezia FC. Now you can manufacture premium experiences with less construction, cost, and sacrificing square footage. F1 is one of the best at pushing this concept as we saw at the 2026 Miami GP. A temporary "Super Yacht" structure was created with 400 premium seats, VIP areas, private cabanas, bars, a commercial kitchen, and four pools at Hard Rock Stadium.
Entry-level premium can become a significant new tier below the suite. The €300 price tag doesn’t necessarily make your eyes bulge, but the experience also shows you don’t need a $10,000 package to make something feel premium. That could attract younger affluent consumers who want something memorable but aren't your typical suite buyers...yet. Similar to what Mercedes-Benz Stadium does. The Sports Illustrated 300 Level Club intentionally creates premium inventory away from the traditional best seats. Instead it emphasizes atmosphere, F&B, and social experience instead of proximity to the field.
With ticket inventory for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics shrinking by the day, some prospective buyers are turning their attention to premium hospitality options to secure access, per a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.
For many, the dilemma is this — is it worth waiting out uncertain availability and what could be exploding ticket prices as the games draw closer or splurge now with a premium upgrade?
Enter On Location.
They’re offering selections ranging from $400 per ticket for preliminary water polo matches to $15,000 per ticket experiences around premium Opening Ceremony access, featuring an in-venue lounge near seats, priority venue entry, chef-curated regional cuisine, on-site support and an LA28 Olympic Games gift.
Fans can also purchase “Follow My Team” packages that essentially creates an itinerary access, most notably for both the USA men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Our Take: What you see here is that premium hospitality isn’t just about upgrades, it is something that can be sectioned off by organizations, event organizers and hospitality companies as its own separate inventory. In other words, rights holders get to monetize the uncertainties of the ticket market through the premium hospitality avenue.
While it comes at a price, it’s an upgraded inventory that brings certainty in both event-specific access and cost, serving as a secure alternative to what could become a volatile (and possibly exploding) ticket market as the games draw closer. With On Location providing several paths to securing Olympic access ahead of the next ticket drop on a yet-to-be-determined date next year, there’s a dual value proposition in play: a better experience while also bypassing ticket scarcity and gaining greater convenience.
For some fans (and corporations looking to host clients), knowing the exact cost, event, and upgraded amenities six or twelve months in advance can hold immense value. Ultimately, this model figures to play a major role in how teams and leagues plan future stadiums and high-profile events and monetize premium inventory.
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See you on the field.