Tampa Bay Goes Beyond the Baseline

By Joey Johnston

They are accustomed to working behind the scenes, but when five women took the stage during Thursday’s Beyond the Baseline panel discussion as part of NCAA Women’s Final Four festivities, their influence and accomplishments quickly became apparent.

LaKendria Robinson, director of social impact and legacy initiatives for the Tampa Bay Local Organizing Committee, described it as “stepping into the engine room of the Tampa Bay sports scene’’ because these female leaders “represented the heartbeat of our sports culture.’’

On the surface, there were widely divergent backgrounds and career responsibilities — including Tampa Bay Lightning senior vice president of philanthropy and community relations Elizabeth Frazier, Tampa Bay Rays chief public affairs and communications officer Rafaela Amador Fink, USF deputy athletic director Kris Pierce, Tampa Bay Buccaneers chief impact officer Kourtney Sanchez and Tampa Bay Sun president and general manager Christina Unkel — but common priorities have been established for the group dubbed as “Team Tampa Bay’s Front Office.’’

Handling challenges.

Creating value.

Giving back.

People first.

And, of course, having fun.

They were former athletes who hoped to find a career niche. Some discovered a sports career almost by accident. But they are resolute in their belief about the powerful impact of sports in the Tampa Bay area.

Frazier spoke about the Lightning Community Heroes program, which has donated more than $60-million to individuals and companies over 14 years.

“Using our platform to help those in need and to help the community has been amazing,’’ Frazier said.

Amador Fink said the Rays have created partnerships to solidify their community connections.

“Some of our fans may not ever get to a game, but they will watch 162 games on television and that is so important for us,’’ Amador Fink said. “We know we are touching people, no matter how we communicate with them, and we try to meet them where they are. Maybe it’s sending out (team mascot) Raymond to brighten someone’s day. Maybe it’s reaching someone through social media, broadcasting or writing. There are so many ways to make an impact, but there’s also so much noise. You just have to figure out a way to cut through that.’’

Sanchez said the Bucs have put a decade’s worth of research and execution into programs for women, such as the “She Is Football campaign, the women’s football summit and ongoing programs to promote and grow girls flag football.

“We have a real opportunity here, not to clarify and brag about what we’re doing, but to raise awareness for this thing we are so passionate about,’’ Sanchez said. “Specifically, that is keeping girls (involved) in sports because it develops the next generation of leaders. The more concise we are with our message, the more clear we can be with what we do, it’s easier for the community to join us in these priorities.’’

Unkel, leader of the Sun’s first-year professional women’s soccer franchise, said she has the rare opportunity to influence the organizational culture from the ground up. Beyond winning games and attracting fans, Unkel said her priorities have been clear.

“My biggest belief is having impact,’’ Unkel said. “We want to be a brand, not just a quick little fun thing to do. Our marketing and communication style is, instead of billboards, I’d rather invest $100,000 into the community by doing soccer clinics and getting our name and brand out there.’’

While understanding the direction of professional athletics, Pierce said her USF role has some differences.

“One of the greatest challenges is college should be a time when individuals are developing into who they are,’’ Pierce said. “They need to experience life. They need to experience other cultures. They need to try — and they need to fail. But when they fail, there are things on the line — such as people’s livelihoods and those fans who think every game should be won and that nothing can be learned from a loss.

“I think it’s really challenging in a leadership role to protect student-athletes — where they need to be protected — so they have room to grow. What’s great about the University of South Florida is we are a place that’s all about the grind. We are blue-collar and underdogs in almost every game we go into. But we love being that underdog because that’s where the competitive fire and spirit comes into play.’’

Winning and losing.

Whether it’s the USF Bulls or a professional franchise, that’s how these sports entities are ultimately judged.

But there’s more to offer.

Much more.

“When Mr. (Jeff) Vinik purchased the Lightning, the team was on life support,’’ Frazier said. “We were giving away tickets … and now we’ve had 300-plus consecutive sellouts. We are now a hockey town, but it took us time to get there. We transformed the team — on and off the ice — and then around 2015, 2016 we saw our USA Hockey registrations going up, our fan support going up. We wanted to do good for the community and the community recognized that with their support.

“Our goal continues to be keeping our next generation (engaged) with ball hockey. You know, we have a lot more concrete than ice here in Tampa. So we have 10,000 kids every year playing ball hockey — and about 3,000 playing ice hockey. Ten years ago, we had 300 kids in our high-school hockey league. Now we have 800. Those are fun things to measure, but you can also feel the warmth and fuzziness in what that has created. One thing I will say about all our (Tampa Bay) teams: We all lead with empathy.’’

Sanchez, a third-generation St. Petersburg native, said she became a Bucs fan “in my mom’s womb.’’ She was not an athlete, but “had such pride for Tampa, what this community has been and what it’s going to become.’’

Through her college education, she had a clear goal of working for nonprofits, but as her career began in Tampa, she built significant relationships at the Bucs.

“The Buccaneers and the Glazer family had always been a donor or generous supporter of every single stop I’ve been in,’’ Sanchez said. “So when the chance came to join the Bucs and my role opened overseeing our community initiatives and the Glazer family’s philanthropic strategy … the rest became history.

“It has been a unique pathway, but my role is really all about community. And that is really what the Buccaneers and Glazer family are focused on.’’

Amador Fink has the unique challenge of finding the right communication channels for two franchises — the Rays and Rowdies, a tradition-rich soccer brand that has been reinvented in the last decade with a loyal following in St. Petersburg.

“The passion of Rowdies soccer is palpable in so many ways,’’ Amador Fink said. “But it’s a much different game than baseball. In soccer, everybody’s up and going and noisy all the time. In baseball, you’re chatting about stuff, you can hear a conversation, then you hear the crack of the bat, turn and look what happened.

“It’s important to know your fan base and your audience. You can’t do the same thing with the Rays and Rowdies, but the commonality is how much our region really appreciates and embraces our sports. Even though we have two different sets of staff working on those sports, in both cases, we have the psychological staff to test the bounds of different things and see what works. It’s important for our people to feel safe to give their opinion and present what’s really happening in the community. And we have to be great listeners internally, taking that feedback, figuring out what’s best, keeping one eye on the present and one eye on the future.’’

Unkel said she has a similar philosophy with the Sun. Even as a first-year franchise, Unkel said it’s important to establish standards — then cling to them passionately.

“When I was asked to be the (Sun’s) president and general manager, I sat across from Darryl Shaw and David Laxer (the owners) and I had a direct question for them,’’ Unkel said. “I have been part of women’s professional soccer and I had seen people either buying it for their daughters or buying it for the wrong reasons.

“So I asked, ‘Why do two men want to buy a women’s professional soccer franchise?’ They said out of the gate, ‘Because we believe it’s a (good) business investment.’ Then they said, ‘It also has that community aspect to it.’ So I said, ‘Good. I’m in. We’re in for the right reasons.

“What’s going to get you through the 60-to-80-hour work weeks when you’re in the extremes, when you’re doing repeated laps like an athlete? You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. The reality is sport doesn’t make money right out of the gate, so sometimes, it’s a lot of money to be uncomfortable with. But the biggest thing is knowing your ‘why,’ sticking to your principles and playing the (long) game. And I think that’s a characteristic of all the sports entities here in Team Tampa Bay.’’

Pierce said she’s honored to be part of it all, through her association with USF.

“For me, sports has always been about connecting people,’’ Pierce said. “I love working in everybody else’s passion, whether it’s athletes, coaches or fans. They come so passionately with their beliefs and what they want for the sport. I love helping to make that happen and setting the stage for people to realize their dreams.

“There’s always an additional challenge for females in that role because it just looks different. How we think about the game. How we think about leadership. How we do things. It’s just different — but different is not always bad. Different can be good. You provide another perspective and I actually think it makes for better decisions at the table when you bring all those different perspectives.’’