Japanese students see Rome sports
They tour The Cage Center at Berry, the Rome Tennis Center and State Mutual Stadium to learn about sports management and tourism.
A dozen sports management students from Obirin University in Tokyo spent much of Friday learning about the impact of sports tourism and management during a one trip visit to Rome.
The unique partnership between the Rome Tennis Center and Berry College, which created a sports administration program at Berry, was part of the focus for the students Friday afternoon. Berry News Director Chris Kozelle said the college now has 24 students pursuing a major in sports administration.
The delegation met with officials at Berry where they toured the Cage Center, then moved over to the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College and ended the day with a visit to State Mutual Stadium where they took in a Rome Braves baseball game.
Translator Yuzuru Yamazaki said that professional sports is becoming a much larger industry in Japan. He said baseball has long been a big sport, followed by soccer and professional basketball is just beginning to get big.
“We are going to host the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, so that’s why more people are starting to learn,” Yamazaki said.
Professor Yasushi Shimojima, who is leading the delegation, said the students’ visit to Rome was really focused on sports tourism.
The students were spoken to about the travel involved and the fan following that is generated at the collegiate level during their tour of The Cage Center. Over at the Rome Tennis Center, they learned more about sports-related tourism, from the perspective of a facility that draws national and even international events.
Through translator Yamazaki, Shuuya Satou said he hoped to use his degree to get a marketing job with a sporting goods manufacturer in Japan.
The week-long visit, facilitated by the Japan-America Society of Georgia, also included stop at Georgia Tech, CNN and the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
The students are in Georgia for a full week and will be visiting other sites including SunTrust Park in Atlanta, Cool Ray Stadium, home of the Gwinnett Stripers, the Atlanta Motor Speedway and a number of other venues.