Leading a hockey business through the covid-19 pandemic

Sports organizations were in a vulnerable situation in the spring of 2020 because of covid-19 lockdowns and isolations worldwide. The cancellations and postponements of sports events and tournaments caused billions of dollars of losses in the sports business, impacting professional and amateur leagues. The current health policy affected the sports industry; every country’s government modified it, changing weekly and sometimes daily. The research aim was to find out how two different pro hockey organizations, San Jose Sharks from California, the U.S., and IFK, Helsinki, Finland, managed their sports business over the seasons 2019–2020, 2020–2021, 2021–2022 that were impacted by the covid-19. The research was implemented to improve the understanding of the sports business, especially the hockey business, over the first three covid-19 seasons by collecting data from two hockey organizations. The research was implemented using a qualitative method with two semi-structured in-depth interviews. CEOs from the Sharks and the IFK were interviewed. The data collection was divided into five themes: business, leadership, communication, digi and innovation, fans and stakeholders, and finance. The data was analyzed with the content analysis method. The research provided an interpretation and experience of the Sharks and the IFK point of view of the pandemic. In contrast, both organizations were in a similar situation by having the strictest restrictions out of the cities with a team in their own leagues. Many operational moves were executed in both organizations that would only have been done with the happening of the covid-19. While the covid-19 was initially a worldwide disaster with many negative effects, it offered new ways to look at the hockey business and upgrade and improve it after covid-19, for example developing new innovations, such as the Sharks de-signed together with a local bank, an ATM type of machine that gives a prepaid debit card for cash instead of giving cash which was the solution for a cashless arena that they were looking for. The Sharks and the IFK wanted to secure their employees financially at their best but also keep business running one way or another, and this meant modifying employment contracts and cutting salaries. Many events were organized online at that time, and organizations were forced to re-think their everyday operations; for example, working remotely was one of the most significant challenges at first. However, there is a need in the future to do the research again, and collect data about covid-19 long-term impacts on the sports business, and compare the data to this research to see the overall point of view. The findings can help hockey organizations and other sports organizations prepare and improve their state of completion for future crisis with this research