Chattanooga has a once-in-a-generation branding opportunity this month as some of the world’s highest paid and most followed athletes, and their hordes of devoted fans, have their eyes on the city during the World Cup.
To understand why it matters that the city is the training base camp for the Spanish national soccer team, it helps to see an Instagram post shared with more than 73 million followers of various ESPN pages in late May. The post, which has been liked more than 243,000 times, features a photo of Spanish soccer stars Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams below a lush aerial photo of Baylor School, where the team will train.
The words “Chattanooga, Tennessee” stretch like a banner across the first image of a post announcing where the top teams in the world are training.
If the city had paid for that level of global media exposure, it would have cost far more than the $600,000 proposed by Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly’s administration to help cover security costs during the team’s stay. And the team, known as “La Roja,” hasn’t even arrived yet.
“This is probably the most visibility the city will receive through sports globally maybe ever, especially because of who they’re hosting,” Patrick Rishe, a leading expert on the business of sports, said in a phone call. “The earned media value being generated for Chattanooga vis-a-vis hosting the Spanish national team is massive and not something that the city would otherwise invest in.”