Conversations with smart people: Frank Supovitz

Welcome to the latest in a series of conversations with smart people who I think provide great perspective on issues in sports.

Frank Supovitz literally wrote the book on sports event management. He founded Fast Traffic in 2014, an event management and consulting company based in New York.  Current and recent clients include the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Major League Baseball, New York City’s South Street Seaport, Major League Soccer and Australia’s National Rugby League.

 Frank served as Senior Vice President, Events for the National Football League from 2005 to 2014 and was the lead planner and executive producer for the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl and the NFL draft. He led the National Hockey League’s Events & Entertainment department from 1992 to 2005, managing and producing the NHL All-Star Weekend, the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL Awards Television Special and international competitions in Canada, Europe and Japan.

Frank and I have gotten together at various events over the years and last week reconnected over Zoom after he was back home in New York, having worked another Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend. And he wasn’t resting, either — he was continuing preparations for producing the prerace show at the IndyCar Freedom 250 race in Washington, D.C., this coming weekend.

An Event Unlike Any Other

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix will mark the first-ever auto race held on the National Mall and the streets of Washington, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The street circuit will feature a 1.7-mile, seven-turn layout, winding around the National Mall. Which means that to produce and put on a prerace show is not so easy.