We are looking for freelance writers for a new website (launching 2024) that covers all things related to the stadium/fan experience. This includes travel, lodging, seating, food, the gameday and in-stadium experience, and everything else associated with being a fan who attends sporting events in person.
IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION, PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW AS PART OF YOUR APPLICATION ON UPWORK. ONLY APPLICATIONS THAT INCLUDE THIS WILL BE CONSIDERED. See the end of this listing for notes about what we're looking for; we want to know why YOU are the right person to introduce visitors to your stadium!
THIS IS NOT A "SPORTS JOURNALISM" POSITION. We do not cover the event on the field (i.e. the game, the score, the stats, the players, betting/fantasy sports, etc.) We help fans by creating tools such as stadium insider guides, roadtrip planners, stadium food guides, and advice for traveling to sporting events, gameday activities, etc. We are at an interesting cross-section of travel, sports, leisure, food, and entertainment.
We are looking for enthusiastic, passionate, self-starting, self-managing freelancers who can write an insider guide to their assigned stadium. This will include information on transit, lodging, local gameday activities (around the stadium), seating, etc. The expected amount of time to complete this will be anywhere from 40-60 total hours over the course of four weeks, depending on the stadium.
You MUST reside within 30 miles of the ballpark you are looking to cover and have significant experience attending events at that stadium. "Significant experience" means at least 7-10 games per year for at least the last three years.
Available ballparks are:
Angel Stadium (Anaheim)
Comerica Field (Detroit)
PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati)
Progressive Field (Cleveland)
Oakland Coliseum (Oakland)
Qualifications:
--You must be an excellent writer! Past journalism experience at any level (collegiate, post-collegiate, professional) would be great, but we are willing to consider candidates who can otherwise demonstrate journalistic or written proficiency. Please note: your answers below will be considered as part of the review process. This is your chance to sell us on YOU. If you can't (or won't) sell yourself in words, then you're not the right person for this. Even though this is Upwork, please understand: we are evaluating your writing.
--You do not need to be an expert in sports for this position because we do not cover what's happening on the field. But you DO need to have significant experience in attending games at your home stadium, including buying tickets, and engaging in the surrounding environment, as well as a thorough understanding of local transit and lodging options (not specific experience staying at hotels, but rather understanding what areas of the city fans should be staying in).
--Photography and video skills: contributors should be able to capture high quality content using their cell phone camera. You MUST have a phone or camera with a wide-angle lens (Android S20 or later, iPhone 12 Pro or later, or comparable other phone/camera). We do have guides on how to shoot better content and are happy to train people.
Compensation will be a combination of per-word comp for written content, and an hourly stipend for research pertaining to the stadium. All expenses related to the creation of this content will be covered by the company, including game tickets, concessions, gameday expenses, etc. It is expected that some of this content will require attendance at events on multiple occasions.
Please answer the following questions as part of your application on Upwork.
--Explain what made you passionate about attending live sports, or share any details about your most memorable live sports experience (please keep in mind: we are interested in the experience, not what happened on the field, although we understand that the two may be related. But "the Red Sox won and it was amazing" or "Lebron scored 50" isn't what we're looking for. Try harder!)
--What experience and/or demonstrated skills you have that would qualify you for this opportunity.
--What stadium you are looking to cover, how long you have been attending games there, and why you believe you are qualified to write about it.
--Links to any writing samples and/or creative content that you believe is relevant in demonstrating your skills
This is a great opportunity for a sports fan with superior creative writing/content skills to do something really fun. We're looking forward to hearing from you! Selected candidates will be contacted during the week of April 15th for Zoom interviews. We appreciate your patience as we consider all of the candidates that apply.