Oran Park Hotel general manager Salvatore Bellomo has gone all in on boxing and UFC events at the western Sydney pub, and the venue is reaping the rewards.
Sal Bellomo has run several pubs throughout his career, and while he’s always been a firm believer in the value of Pay Per View (PPV) boxing and UFC events for the pubs he’s operated, showing these sporting matches at the Oran Park Hotel has brought the venue’s patron engagement to a whole new level.
“Pay Per Views and UFCs are so well received here, that for me it’s a really critical part of that strategy to the business,” states Bellomo.
For the GM, the success has come from identifying that there was a real appetite for the UFC and boxing within the local community, and being consistent with the investment to show these events – particularly with boxing.
“What I’ve found here is, I’ve gone all in with boxing, trying to push hard to get as much boxing on the screens as possible, as many cards as possible, as many pay per views as possible.
“Because it takes time. But once you generate that following, and patrons understand that ‘Oran Park Hotel always has boxing on’, it becomes a very critical part of the sports bar offering,” explains Bellomo.
“So that’s a lesson for me, to keep driving the boxing cards, because it’s certainly going to grow as there is a crowd for it.”
Being consistent with putting on the boxing and UFC events has driven new and repeat patronage to Oran Park Hotel – which has become known among boxing and UFC fans as the place to watch all the action.
“I noticed there was a bit of a trend happening, when I started getting some patrons walking in for some fights and I’d really done very little marketing on that fact, besides the widgets on our website saying we were showing it,” says Bellomo.
“That means there’s people looking around for it, trying to find venues that are showing these cards. So to me, the lesson I’ve learned is that the appetite’s there, but we need to make sure we go all in for it.”
Salvatore Bellomo, GM, Oran park Hotel
Mid-week bump
For Bellomo, the mid-week boxing and UFC nights are proving to be the most beneficial in terms of driving trade that the venue wouldn’t be exposed to otherwise.
“Where the massive advantages are, are in those midweek fights. [They] get us a good trade for a Wednesday night. So on those days that you’re traditionally not getting the patronage through the door, it’s huge.”
On Wednesday 20 August, Nikita Tszyu (Tim Tszyu’s younger brother) returned to boxing after a year out from hand surgery to battle Lulzim Ismaili. He made a statement by winning the match with a first-round TKO.
On a normal Wednesday night, the sports bar at Oran Park Hotel would host a few small groups, having a few drinks or playing darts. For the Tszyu v Ismaili fight, there were a couple hundred people across the venue enjoying the PPV.
“There was a good, solid crowd watching the fight. It’s chalk and cheese [compared to a normal Wednesday evening], and it’s exactly the reason that we invest in boxing.”
Bellomo said the sports bar more than doubles its revenue for a mid-week PPV or UFC event.
New patrons, more often
Besides the uplift in trade, Bellomo has found that the boxing and UFC events bring first-time guests to the pub who were unaware of the venue – and they help to convert those people into repeat patrons.
“The positive flow-on effects for me, especially with midweek events and the UFC, is with every new event we have a big amount of new faces. A lot of time it’s, ‘Oh, wow. I didn’t know this place was here, my friends told me to come down and watch the fight.’
On the day of a big fight, Bellomo will walk around and speak to anyone new he hasn’t met before, and often they tell the publican they’ll be back for more events.
“What I’m finding is if I see a new face on a Sunday for a UFC event, it’s not uncommon for me to see them the following week on a Tuesday night with their family having dinner in the bistro.”
Salvatore Bellomo
Bellomo says that while it’s easy to assume that boxing and UFC appeal to a male-only crowd, the amount of women and families showing up to watch the fights has pleasantly surprised him.
“If you ever come down here and see a big pay per view event day or UFC day, it’s a massive mixed crowd. We get groups of people here, partners here, families here. I’ve seen it over and over and over again.”
The ultimate test
On Sunday 20 July, the appeal of boxing and UFC was put to the ultimate test, with two major events occurring at the same time: the Tim Tszyu v Fundora fight; and UFC 318.
Oran Park Hotel, the flagship pub for Momento Hospitality, showed both these events in their sports bar (pictured above), splitting the screens between the evenly split crowd who were there to watch both contact sports.
The event brought the sports bar to full capacity very early on in the day.
“It was massive in regards to the impact that it had. The crowd was extremely happy, very well behaved, happy to have a good time watch some good fights. We’re pretty blessed here with the size of our sports bar and the way we can break it up,” says Bellomo.
“For us it was the first time that I’ve seen two really big, major events on pretty much at the same time. It really showed that, without those events, you’d have an empty hotel. The minute we opened the doors at 10 o’clock, people started pouring in for the boxing card.”
Salvatore Bellomo
Besides a packed sports bar, the event increased bar spend on a day when beverage trade is not at its peak.
“It gives us that little bit extra on the bar spend that you wouldn’t traditionally get on a Sunday, as it’s a big family day.”
You can order boxing and UFC events to show at your venue here.