Production Passport | 📈 Sports Hospitality to Hit $74B—The Stakes Are Rising

Welcome to Production Passport! Each week, we bring you tailored insights, expert tips, and industry updates to streamline your travel and logistics within sports production. Let’s make your next event stress-free and unforgettable!

⏱️THE MINUTE READ

Behind the Itinerary: Why Travel Management Needs a Radical Rethink in 2025

In 2025, travel is no longer just a logistical exercise—it’s a critical function of performance, reputation, and resilience. For high-impact travellers in business, sport, and luxury, getting from A to B isn’t the challenge. It’s ensuring they arrive prepared, supported, and protected in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Geopolitical instability, rising costs, and increasing demands for sustainability and wellbeing have reshaped the travel landscape. While technology has advanced, many providers still operate reactive, one-size-fits-all models—offering automation without true accountability.

What’s needed is a proactive approach: where human expertise and AI work in sync to design travel that anticipates needs, minimises disruption, and delivers measurable value.

At Coraaj, the team specialise in managing complex, high-stakes travel with discretion, precision, and purpose. From Olympic athletes and CEOs to heads of state, they provide more than bookings—they provide assurance. Every itinerary is built with performance and trust in mind, managed by experts with decades of experience supporting the world’s most demanding clients.

Travel isn’t an afterthought. It’s a strategic asset. If your current provider isn’t treating it that way, it might be time for a rethink.

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

SPORTS HOSPITALITY
Global Sports Hospitality Market To Reach $74.32 Billion By 2036
The global sports hospitality market is experiencing a remarkable surge, projected to escalate from $15.23 billion in 2024 to an impressive $74.32 billion by 2036, driven by a CAGR of 14.12%. The demand for lavish sports experiences is intensifying, catering to affluent fans and corporations eager for luxury offerings, such as VIP suites and exclusive access. Flagship events like the FIFA World Cup and Wimbledon are setting the stage for this burgeoning trend. Significant investments in infrastructure, especially in regions like Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, underscore the market's expansive growth, opening doors for premium service providers.

Despite challenges like economic volatility and regulatory complexities, key opportunities emerge through strategic alliances and technological innovations. Partnerships between sports franchises, travel operators, and other sectors present new avenues for enriching the customer experience. Technologies facilitating digital ticketing and AR/VR experiences enhance customer interactions. As the market broadens, regions like North America, Europe, and Latin America are capitalising on these trends, with tailored experiences integrating local cultures gaining traction. The scene is set for a transformative era in sports hospitality, promising unparalleled, premium engagements globally.

LA OLYMPICS
Trump Forms Task Force for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics Security and Planning
President Donald Trump has established a task force to oversee the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, marking the U.S.'s first hosting of the Olympics since the 2002 Winter Games. The task force is primarily tasked with coordinating security measures, streamlining visa processes, and ensuring efficient credentialing for athletes, coaches, and media personnel. In an assertive move, Trump suggests that national security forces, including the National Guard, may be deployed to ensure the safety of the event.

Serving as chair, Trump emphasises the importance of these Games in showcasing American athletic prowess and fair competition, notably supporting the barring of transgender women from competing in women's categories. The initiative aligns with the broader strategic focus on major international events, as Trump also looks forward to the U.S co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This coordinated effort underscores the dedication to delivering an exceptional Olympic experience and the United States' active participation on the global sporting stage.

PARTNERSHIPS
Athletics and Aramark Forge Hospitality Partnership for New Las Vegas Ballpark
The Athletics' collaboration with Aramark Sports + Entertainment heralds a new era in ballpark hospitality in Las Vegas, with the intention to elevate the fan experience at their forthcoming venue. Notable restaurateur Will Guidara joins the team to infuse creativity and personal touches into the hospitality vision, ensuring that visitors leave with unforgettable memories. Aramark, renowned for its food and beverage prowess, will oversee both casual and upscale dining services, further solidifying its role as a pivotal player in shaping a dynamic, guest-focused environment.

The long-term partnership will extend beyond standard sports events, enhancing concerts and corporate functions with a consistent, high-quality experience. By becoming a minority owner of the team, Aramark deepens its investment and demonstrates a shared commitment to excellence and innovation. Set to open in 2028, the Las Vegas ballpark aims to set a new benchmark for hospitality in sporting venues, combining Aramark's operational expertise with Guidara's acclaimed service approach.

⚡QUICK READS

Youth Facilities Chase Margin Discipline: SportsTravel outlines five tech-enabled habits—dynamic space splits, auto-waitlists, data-led upsells—that can turn thin-margin community complexes into seven-figure assets. Operators eyeing tournament overflow revenue should benchmark now.(More)

Four Seasons Singapore Hosts First-Ever Summer Smash Padel And Pickleball Tournament: Four Seasons Hotel Singapore's Summer Smash event, on 30-31 August 2025, offers padel and pickleball players an upscale sports experience. This event, aimed at racquet sports enthusiasts, reflects the growing interest in these sports among millennials. Participants pay SGD 98 nett, enjoy high-quality hospitality, and can win premium prizes such as resort stays.(More)

🧠ANALYST BRIEFING

Travel, Performance, and the New Stakes of 2025

In the world of sport, travel has often been seen as a backdrop — a logistical exercise, separate from the real work of performance. But that’s changing. As this week’s headlines show, travel and hospitality are now central to experience, brand reputation, and operational resilience across the sports sector.

The projected $74 billion growth of global sports hospitality isn’t just about luxury. It’s about expectation. Athletes, executives, fans — everyone is demanding more: more precision, more support, more foresight. Whether it's new infrastructure in Asia-Pacific or cutting-edge ballpark partnerships in Las Vegas, the industry is waking up to a truth Coraaj has long worked by: travel isn’t an afterthought. It’s a strategic asset.

With the LA Olympics and the 2026 FIFA World Cup looming, logistics is becoming a proving ground. Who can deliver seamless mobility across borders, under pressure, at scale? Who can adapt to sudden changes — political, environmental, operational — without compromising the experience? That’s where the conversation turns. Not to software alone, but to expert systems built on trust. The kind of behind-the-scenes orchestration that high-performance travellers don’t see — because it works.

At Coraaj, that means managing every detail: from geopolitical risk to airport fast-tracking to contingency plans for the unknown. It means giving heads of state and Olympic athletes the same thing: assurance. The future of sports travel lies in hybrid models — where automation meets human intelligence, and personalisation isn’t a perk, but a baseline. As the lines blur between competition, commerce, and culture, travel becomes a crucible for what matters most: readiness, reliability, and relationships that last.

The bar has never been higher. And that’s exactly where it should be.

The Production Passport is a ClickZ Media publication in the Travel division