Ryan Gustafson is the executive vice president and COO of Ilitch Sports and Entertainment.
Gustafson and Ilitch Sports and Entertainment partnered with the Detroit Tigers for the Play Ball Detroit event on Sept. 9. The event provided an opportunity for community members to learn about the impact of Play Ball Detroit, and for approximately 60 youth participants from neighborhoods across Detroit the chance to interact with current Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo.
What is your role?
I oversee everything related to the Tigers’ and the Red Wings’ business operation, including sales, marketing, community impact, finance, venue operations, and anything that’s non-sporting related.
Tell us about your career trajectory.
I’ve always wanted to stay close to the game, especially baseball because I played in college, but I worked in baseball after business school for a number of years and worked with the Padres in San Diego, overseeing all their analytics and strategy. During the pandemic, I was doing some consulting, just because this industry was a little bit hammered with the tough time. Then I got a call to come out here, and it’s been an incredible opportunity for me. The passion of the sports fans here and celebrating this community is such a cool opportunity for me.
Why was it so important for you guys to host a celebration like this?
It’s such a big priority for us to grow the game of baseball, and hockey for that matter, with kids throughout the community and use the sports as an opportunity to engage the community. It also gives opportunities for kids throughout Detroit. We’ve had almost 3,000 kids participate this summer, and it’s only going to grow from here, but you can see the impact this can have and it’s something that we’re really excited about.
How do people find out about this in terms of outreach to the community and people wanting to participate?
We have an entire community impact department that works locally with different Boys and Girls Clubs and other local organizations to get the word out to anybody who wants to come out and participate in this kind of event.
