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Ryder Cup

In September 2014, the Ryder Cup returns to Scotland. With the influx of tourism, increased media profile for the golfing industry and a global focus on Scotland, the impact of the Cup will have financial reverberations throughout many Scottish sectors.

With great crowds comes great responsibility, so serving the multi-faceted needs of a global event will open up prospects in many areas. From clothing brands and companies like Harris Tweed and Hawick Cashmere, to William Tracey waste management services, plenty of Scottish businesses are serving the Cup, illustrating the huge commercial opportunities in the sporting arena.

Making connections

ICT supplier NVT, the current Technology Services Integrator to the 2014 Ryder Cup, originally proved their worth with a Commonwealth Games contract. This Bellshill-based supplier – Scotland’s largest independent ICT Company – won the Glasgow 2014 contract and was charged with planning, designing and implementing the IT infrastructure and network for the Games.

This two-year project saw NVT provide an integrated computer network that spanned 11 days of sporting competition on 29 sites – stretching from the sports arenas to the media hub and Athlete’s Village. With representatives from all over the world, global media coverage and unprecedented pressure on the network – it was a huge project to deliver.

Innovative solutions

According to Hamish Fraser, director of NVT Group, innovation was key to helping them deliver their solutions. He says “taking an innovative approach to what we had to deliver was vital”. Drawing inspiration from a simple Glasgow map, they sought to “give the command centre a unique bird’s eye view of any system issues that could then be identified and resolved within minutes – not hours”. This offering impressed Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, who praised their “tradition of supporting sporting events in Scotland”. The cutting-edge technology that they implemented under immense pressure was the perfect showcase for their skills.

Furthering the future

Through their successes, NVT has been able to introduce various volunteering and apprenticeship schemes – allowing young people a chance to gain invaluable experience on high-intensity, high-value projects like the Ryder Cup, whilst building the skills base of the company.

Getting started

Even for companies without a sporting contract track record, it’s possible to harness the potential of global events. Cobbs Bakery grew from a farmhouse kitchen company to an official food supplier to the Commonwealth Games. Finding support through a Skills Development Scotland grant, this small bakery - based in Drumnadrochit, near Inverness –began to evolve.

Business Development Director, Willie Cameron, supervised the growth of this “kitchen-table business” into a company with a £2 million annual turnover. However, to achieve a £5 million annual turnover, he realised that they “needed to invest more in our existing staff to ensure they had the skills to cope with rapid expansion and much larger orders”.

Let them eat cake

Through Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Cobbs was referred to Skills Development Scotland. This connected them to a Skills for Growth Plan – designed to provide an in-depth consultancy from Investors in People, plus a detailed action plan to enable them to get started. The business insight they gleaned from this – including identification of a significant skills gap – saved them around £40,000 and massively improved employee efficiency.

Within months, they were on the official supplier list for the Commonwealth Games – providing 70,000 delicious traybakes to spectators and athletes at the 2014 Games.

SE and the Ryder Cup in Scotland

The most connected Cup in history, 2014’s Ryder Cup will see over a quarter of a million golf fans descend on Gleneagles for the event – with a virtual audience of around 500 million people, as the tournament is broadcast to around 183 countries.

At Scottish Enterprise, we’re keen to help businesses take advantage of the multitude of opportunities that global sporting events like this can offer. 

Find out how we can help you get involved in the international sports market.

Get involved in global sporting opportunities