Filed Under Local Activities · Tagged: basketball, Brian Polark, Cincinnati, football, social network, volleyball, Xavier University, Young Professionals, YPs · Print This Article
A local company has really taken off — it’s called Cincinnati Sports Leagues (or CSL), and they run adult co-ed events that everyone is talking about.
The Business Courier recently profiled the company, saying CSL plays an ‘undeniable role in retaining corporate Cincinnati’s dream demographic.
“Anytime you can help people connect interpersonally in a city, they can’t help but feel connected to your community due to those personal connections,” said company founder Brian Polark.
“Take two people, for instance: one gets up, goes to work, leaves work, works out, heads home for dinner and bed, and then repeats. What connection does that person have to the city he or she is living in? The second person gets up, heads to work, leaves work, meets up with their volleyball team/running club/non-profit group, et cetera, then heads home for dinner and bed. This person has begun laying roots in a city by nurturing relationships outside their job.
“Anytime you are a part of something: a team, group, club, community…. you can’t help but feel a connection. That’s what CSL helps Cincinnati do — connect to its young professionals.”
CSL describes itself as a ‘lifestyle marketing company.’ They run 117 local leagues in 13 different sports like basketball, flag football and beach volleyball. Not athletic? Try euchre, cornhole, wine tasting, or get involved in one of the many social events. There are approximately 25,000 young professionals involved in the organization this year, with a mean age of 27 and an average income of $50,000. You can join as a team or individual.
Brian started CSL with a business partner after he graduated from Xavier University in 2000, and he says it has been a “labor of love” for him since then.
“I struggled early on to find where CSL fit into the business landscape of Cincinnati. We knew we wanted to provide an outlet for young professionals to be active, athletic and social, all in one place,” he explains. “The concept wasn’t a hard sell to your average 21-year-old, but I worried about how it would be perceived in the larger, more established business community.” CSL relied on keeping in touch with its members, and it really took off.
“Believe it or not, young professionals actually survived prior to Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn! We like to think of CSL as the original social network. Their behavior was similar, but how we reached them was different. After figuring how to reach YPs en masse, we were able to achieve a critical mass at all of our events.”
This large and growing following allowed CSL to grow into what it is today. CSL offers leagues, happy hours, parties, outings, travel opportunities and other social events throughout the year. The company has been growing at a 12-18% in participants each year since its inception. Brian says that people have formed great relationships that have extended beyond their time at the events. During this social time, people from different backgrounds can really come together.
“Young professionals, at the core, are interested in the same things: being social, being active, and being connected,” he says.
It’s beneficial for the Cincinnati community to have opportunities like this of which to take advantage. It can help draw people into the city — as well as retain them — which brings up our property values and makes the area more attractive to homeowners.
Brian says he really tries to concentrate on participant experience.
“At the end of the day, it boils down to customer service, and I think we’ve set a pretty high bar for customer service in this type of business. If you don’t lose sight of who or what drives your business… I would like to think that we have a pretty big part of the business equation figured out!
To learn more about CSL, or to sign up for a league, visit their website.
You can also follow CSL on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
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