Brian Corcoran, founder of Shamrock Sports & Entertainment, plans a busy 2020 calendar

Photo / Jim Neuger Brian Corcoran, CEO and founder of Shamrock Sports & Entertainment in Portland, sat down with Mainebiz at his company’s Commercial Street headquarters to talk about upcoming events and business plans.

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By Renee Cordes

Brian Corcoran is the CEO and founder of Portland-based Shamrock Sports & Entertainment, a sports marketing company that employs 25 people and recently launched Shamrock Signature to branch out into live local events. They include the Portland Pops July 4th celebration, Carnaval Maine in Portland this winter and the Live + Work in Maine Open pro golf tournament in Falmouth in June.

Mainebiz, which honored Corcoran on the 2016 Next List, caught up with him at his Commercial Street office, which is filled with action photographs and other sports memorabilia.

Mainebiz: What’s your balance between sports and entertainment?

Brian Corcoran: The unique nature of Carnaval and even the PGA arguably bring us into the entertainment space, and what we’re most excited about in 2020. Even though we’re still Shamrock Sports & Entertainment, most of what we do is lifestyle marketing.

MB: Do you have a backup plan for Carnaval in case of a winter storm?

BC: That’s my reason for paying a heavy event insurance. You always hate to pay the premium, but you rest pretty nicely knowing that if Mother Nature brought us a nor’easter, we would find a way to do that – we’ve got such a great working relationship with the city and with other vendors that we certainly could. There’s always a Plan B.

MB: Is now a good time to cash in on Portland’s cachet with tourists?

BC: No question! We’re taking a calculated risk that not just residents, but even more so tourists, as much as they enjoy the Maine experience, are looking for programs and entertainment options. It’s nice to come to greater Portland for a great dining and hotel experience, so to layer on top of that the spark of Carnaval, it then becomes true destination planning and an additional way for us to market Maine being a state for all seasons. Of the three events, Carnaval has the greatest long-term growth-potential.

MB: Why is that?

BC: From an economic and community impact, you’re never going to be able to have the delta growth of something in late January. Our dream is three to five years from now, we deliver the hotels and restaurants such a big shot in the arm of economic impact, they then find their own way to create extensions of Carnaval in terms of special events and experiences.

MB: Any new clients on the sports marketing side?

BC: The one big high-profile one that we’re working on now, because we’re launching the tour in 2020, is the Professional Cuesports League. They’ve taken the best billiards players around the world, and they’re launching a tour via a league, so each of the professionals will be paired up and put on teams. They’ll be competing for big purses and prizes with a showcase event in Las Vegas at the end of 2020. We are doing consulting, sponsorship development, media and brokering. It’s been a labor of love, but a lot of fun. And our biggest Shamrock Sports & Entertainment client for 2020 will be motor sports.

MB: What’s next for Shamrock Signature?

BC: We want to grow the team, so later in 2020 if not early in 2021 I could envision Shamrock Signature being 10 to 12 people entirely focused on the management, operations and marketing of all three core events. All are committed to delivering charitable, community and economic impact.

MB: And what about “Greenlight Maine,” the startup pitch contest TV series produced by your media venture, Portland Media Group?

BC: The Collegiate Challenge has given us a new spark, but moving forward, should “Greenlight Maine” become a 501(c)(3) and, as a result of such, become eligible for foundational grants and giving? Not that I would exit per se, but my dream for 2020, at least for Season 6, is: Do we find an executive director, and should we merge with Startup Maine or another entity that would also be better served by having a full-time leader? We moonlight it, and we make it work because we love it.