Denver Native (Carol)
06-28-2010, 05:57 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=10209
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- For the fourth straight year two NFL teams will bring American football to London, England.
The Broncos face the 49ers at historic Wembley Stadium at 11 a.m. MST on October 31st, but representatives from both teams recently crossed the Atlantic Ocean to make preparations for the match months before brown leaves hit the ground.
Members from the Broncos' operations, video, and public relations departments traveled more than 4,500 miles to make preparations for the franchise's eighth international game, and the second in London.
Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Smyth made the trip to ensure that the Broncos' local media as well as international press covering the team in London would have proper accommodations. Smyth said the team expects approximately 10 members of the media from Denver as well as 40 to 50 international reporters during its stay in London.
"Our advanced trip to London was an opportunity for us to get a feel for how the week will run for the Broncos from a logistical standpoint with regard to operations, media relations, security and travel," Smyth said.
The first order of business involved setting up the team's home away from home.
"During our time in London, our team facility will in fact be at our hotel," Smyth said. "It will be equipped with all the amenities they have at home - from a training room to a place where they can watch video - to help the club prepare for the 49ers."
The hotel will basically act as Dove Valley Britannica, offering much more than just warm beds for members of the organization. A team meeting room, position meeting rooms, training rooms, a locker room and work space for the video and operations departments take up a whole floor of the hotel reserved for the Broncos.
Smyth and others sampled a tasting menu from the kitchen to narrow down a selection of vittles fit for an American footballer's palate.
"The goal for us is to keep things as familiar and comfortable as possible for the players, so a lot of the food that we're going to have at the hotel is going to be a similar menu to what our nutritionist prepares for them here," Smyth said.
Team representatives also scoured the city for potential practice grounds, including the Brit Insurance Oval, the South London home of the Surrey Cricket Club since 1845. The Oval hosted the country's first international soccer match pitting England against Scotland in 1870 and has set the stage for numerous big-ticket soccer, rugby and cricket matches since. Smyth was told that the Oval is England's version of Boston's Fenway Park.
Moving from one legendary playing field to the next, Smyth and the rest of the Broncos contingent took a tour of Wembley Stadium.
"It's a massive facility," Smyth said. "It seats over 80,000 people and can accommodate up to 500 media members. The press setup is going to be perfect for us."
Smyth said the NFL told the teams to expect 350 to 400 credentialed media members in attendance at the game, as well as another 200 or so media members working for CBS Sports and Sky Sports, which are televising the game. The state-of-the-art complex includes press boxes, individual media work stations and interview rooms equipped with high-speed wireless Internet for journalists from all over the globe.
The NFL wanted the employees representing the Broncos and the 49ers to see how the stadium handles a main event, so the league offered them admittance into the Green Day concert at Wembley.
The foreign fans get just as amped up for the annual NFL showcase as they do for punk rock superstars. Wembley sold out for all three NFL regular season games it's hosted.
"In the United Kingdom there are 10 to 11 million NFL fans -- of that group 3 million are considered avid fans -- so there's a lot of interest in the league over there and lot of interest in the Broncos," Smyth said. "We want to continue to promote that, but ultimately the goal is to have success on the field."
A country swept up by the World Cup and Wimbledon is still interested in the NFL's product.
"Anywhere we went, when people found out we were part of the NFL they were very inquisitive. They wanted to know about our players and our head coach. They were eager to find out anything and everything about our sport," Smyth said. "It's a wonderful opportunity for us to continue reaching out to a new fan base."
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- For the fourth straight year two NFL teams will bring American football to London, England.
The Broncos face the 49ers at historic Wembley Stadium at 11 a.m. MST on October 31st, but representatives from both teams recently crossed the Atlantic Ocean to make preparations for the match months before brown leaves hit the ground.
Members from the Broncos' operations, video, and public relations departments traveled more than 4,500 miles to make preparations for the franchise's eighth international game, and the second in London.
Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Smyth made the trip to ensure that the Broncos' local media as well as international press covering the team in London would have proper accommodations. Smyth said the team expects approximately 10 members of the media from Denver as well as 40 to 50 international reporters during its stay in London.
"Our advanced trip to London was an opportunity for us to get a feel for how the week will run for the Broncos from a logistical standpoint with regard to operations, media relations, security and travel," Smyth said.
The first order of business involved setting up the team's home away from home.
"During our time in London, our team facility will in fact be at our hotel," Smyth said. "It will be equipped with all the amenities they have at home - from a training room to a place where they can watch video - to help the club prepare for the 49ers."
The hotel will basically act as Dove Valley Britannica, offering much more than just warm beds for members of the organization. A team meeting room, position meeting rooms, training rooms, a locker room and work space for the video and operations departments take up a whole floor of the hotel reserved for the Broncos.
Smyth and others sampled a tasting menu from the kitchen to narrow down a selection of vittles fit for an American footballer's palate.
"The goal for us is to keep things as familiar and comfortable as possible for the players, so a lot of the food that we're going to have at the hotel is going to be a similar menu to what our nutritionist prepares for them here," Smyth said.
Team representatives also scoured the city for potential practice grounds, including the Brit Insurance Oval, the South London home of the Surrey Cricket Club since 1845. The Oval hosted the country's first international soccer match pitting England against Scotland in 1870 and has set the stage for numerous big-ticket soccer, rugby and cricket matches since. Smyth was told that the Oval is England's version of Boston's Fenway Park.
Moving from one legendary playing field to the next, Smyth and the rest of the Broncos contingent took a tour of Wembley Stadium.
"It's a massive facility," Smyth said. "It seats over 80,000 people and can accommodate up to 500 media members. The press setup is going to be perfect for us."
Smyth said the NFL told the teams to expect 350 to 400 credentialed media members in attendance at the game, as well as another 200 or so media members working for CBS Sports and Sky Sports, which are televising the game. The state-of-the-art complex includes press boxes, individual media work stations and interview rooms equipped with high-speed wireless Internet for journalists from all over the globe.
The NFL wanted the employees representing the Broncos and the 49ers to see how the stadium handles a main event, so the league offered them admittance into the Green Day concert at Wembley.
The foreign fans get just as amped up for the annual NFL showcase as they do for punk rock superstars. Wembley sold out for all three NFL regular season games it's hosted.
"In the United Kingdom there are 10 to 11 million NFL fans -- of that group 3 million are considered avid fans -- so there's a lot of interest in the league over there and lot of interest in the Broncos," Smyth said. "We want to continue to promote that, but ultimately the goal is to have success on the field."
A country swept up by the World Cup and Wimbledon is still interested in the NFL's product.
"Anywhere we went, when people found out we were part of the NFL they were very inquisitive. They wanted to know about our players and our head coach. They were eager to find out anything and everything about our sport," Smyth said. "It's a wonderful opportunity for us to continue reaching out to a new fan base."