Today we’d like to introduce you to James Drury.
In 1921, Paul and his father, Frank Osgood Butler, planted the first polo field and brought polo to Oak Brook from Hot Springs, South Dakota, and in 1922, they established the Oak Brook Polo Club, affiliating itself with the United States Polo Association (USPA). Standing on the International Field at Meadowbrook Polo before the start of the 1927 Westchester Cup, an international series between the United States and Great Britain, Paul prophesied, “Someday all of this will be gone and the center of polo will be Oak Brook.” Paul’s prophecy came true in 1953 after the Open Championship was played in Meadowbrook. Meadowbrook was sold to developers, and the USPA came to Paul to ask him to take on the Open. The next year the Open moved to Oak Brook where it was played until 1979—the longest consecutive time the Open has been played at one location, 24 years. By 1956, Oak Brook Polo Club had 14 polo fields and stabling for 400 horses with games played six days a week during the summer season. The Club also included grandstands, bleachers and box seats, a clubhouse and 36 miles of tree-lined trails. Paul joined four polo fields so they could be used as East-West and North-South airstrips for the family and incoming guests. Those guests included royalty, dignitaries and celebrities. Over the years, HRH the Prince of Wales Prince Edward; HRH the Prince of Wales Prince Charles; Lord Cowdray, Major Ronald Ferguson, Lord Patrick Beresford, Lord Tyrone Waterford, King Hussein, The Maharaja and Maharani of Jaipur, Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and others visited the club. Paul also initiated and hosted a long-list of international polo matches that drew legendary players from around the world to play at Oak Brook. The Oak Brook team also traveled far and wide to support other clubs, and Oak Brook hosted international teams from Argentina, Mexico, England, Italy, India, Jamaica, Ireland, Canada and Germany.
Polo provided the Village of Oak Brook a lifestyle appeal—a social sporting scene, attracting people. It helped lay claim that Polo created Oak Brook. The Oak Brook Polo Club was the “largest polo operation in the world” from 1954 to 1979 and would be billed the “Polo Capital of the United States,” or “Polo Town.”
Paul’s Oak Brook team won many club and USPA tournaments, including six U.S. Open Polo Championships (1960, ‘64, ‘65, ‘67, ‘71 and ‘73), four Butler Handicap titles (1958, ‘59, ‘72 and ‘73), six USPA Gold Cup titles (1963, ‘64, ‘65, ‘68, ‘69 and ‘70), and the British Monty Waterbury trophy (1951). Paul’s son, Michael Butler, won three (3) Butler Handicaps (1979, ‘86 and ‘87). Paul’s daughter, Jorie, was co-patron and coach of the Rolex/Abercrombie & Kent Teams, which won two U.S. Open titles (1978 and 1981), three (3) Butler Handicaps (1983, ‘84 and ‘95), one (1) USPA Gold Cup (1978). In the UK, HRH The Prince of Wales Prince Charles, played #4 on the team, which won the Rolex Challenge Cup in 1988.
Oak Brook Polo Club is the fourth oldest Chicago sports property still in operation today (Chicago Cubs 1870, Chicago White Sox 1900, Chicago Bears 1919, and Oak Brook Polo 1922).
Following Paul’s death in 1981, both his daughter Jorie Butler Kent and son Michael Butler managed Oak Brook Polo Club’s operations until the late 1980’s. For the next 27 years, the Oak Brook Polo Club changed ownership and management multiple times, surviving the 2008 recession and declining interest in this ancient sport. After a brief absence, the Village of Oak Brook took over operations in 2013 with public money in hopes of preserving the sport. In just three years, the Village of Oak Brook lost nearly $300,000 and polo was at the risk of being discontinued, but in rode James Drury. A Barrington Hills resident who has played at Oak Brook for decades and CEO of JamesDruryPartners, a Chicago firm that provides board advisory services to major corporations. Mr. Drury put up the money to keep the club alive, with a nominal investment also coming from the Village of Oak Brook.
With help from a former marketing chief at the USPA, Drury overhauled everything – ticket prices, seating, food and beverages, etc. – with the intent of making the game more welcoming to spectators-guests. Even the presentation of the game itself needed a makeover to encourage the interest of new fans. Prior to the polo match, players demonstrate plays and the strategy of a game often called “hockey on horseback.” They also walk the field, personally greeting fans and posing for group photos, a far cry from matches of yesteryear when they would simply play the match and proceed to high-end parties. Oak Brook’s first Sunday event, under new management, drew over 500 attendees, more than double the average from the prior year. And 60 percent of corporate sponsors were new—brands like Trunk Club, Belvedere Vodka, Valley Air Services, Veuve Clicquot and Michigan Avenue Magazine. After a successful year that saw a 130% increase in paid admissions and a shift in attracting a younger audience, Jim renewed the Club’s license with the Village of Oak Brook to continue and sustain the Club’s growing momentum.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The Oak Brook Polo Club, for the last 30 years encountered a number of financial, economic, political and participation hurdles, and multiple ownership groups, including the sale and purchase of land, the 2008 recession, declining participation and attendance, etc. Following three failed years under public management, the Village of Oak Brook was prepared to discontinue polo after losing tax payer dollars in excess of $250,000. So, Jim Drury inherited a property with a history of declining attendance, sponsor investment, player and patron participation, etc. However, Oak Brook Polo has an incredible and storied history that has mostly been hidden from the public for the last 30+ years. Equivalent to other Chicago professional sports teams, it was a matter of uncovering and pulling together the right business and marketing strategy to make polo successful again both on and off the field.
Following the Village of Oak Brook’s failed attempt to rebuild polo, we had to make a number of important decisions to get wasteful spending under control, while finding ways to increase the Club’s visibility and making the sport more accessible and affordable. In addition, we wanted to elevate the level of the sport, as well as the spectator-guest experience. This included revisiting the Club’s early roots as one of the world’s finest polo venues – safe field conditions, quality and higher-goal competition, and international player and team participation.
Another challenging task was restoring past sponsor and vendor relationships, and convincing new partners that polo remained healthy and a wonderful investment to promote a company’s brand. With a nominal investment from the Village, we had to make up a large financial deficit to revitalize the Club. This included an overhaul of the Club’s sponsorship program, including enhancement of the sponsor experience and more affordable sponsor pricing. As a result, we’ve doubled our sponsorship participation over the past two years.
Please tell us about James Drury Partners.
JamesDruryPartners was founded in 2001 by Jim Drury, a former management consultant and Vice Chairman of a global executive search firm. Well known for his interest in the effectiveness of America’s corporate boards, he founded two nationally recognized corporate governance conferences in the early 1990s, both continuing today – the annual conference “Toward Common Ground”, held at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business; and the “The Directors College”, hosted by Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Jim’s decision to start a new firm was motivated by his personal view that a decades-long resistance to change in the executive search industry, had made it difficult for firms to truly differentiate themselves. He founded our firm with the commitment to embrace fresh, new thinking. We increasingly shifted our focus from executive search to “value-added” services such as board director recruitment and board consultation, with an eye toward innovation. The unique new advisory services introduced have emanated from creative energy that has been absent in our industry for far too long. To cite a few examples:
- The Weight of America’s Boards. In 2011, we published, for the first time in our industry, an annual study that benchmarks the corporate governance capacity of America’s largest public corporations.
- BoardSelect®. In 2006, we introduced this unique “gold standard” advisory service, enabling CEOs and other top executives, for the first time, to proactively control their selection of an appropriate outside board appointment.
- DirectorSelect®. Recognizing the high importance that boards place on “culture fit” when selecting directors, we developed this advanced assessment methodology to reduce the risk involved. Our unique DirectorSelect® process incorporates the benefit of our long experience placing board directors, the insights of our advisory board of distinguished directors, and the disciplined techniques of proven assessment technology.
- Our Future. As innovation seems to come naturally to JamesDruryPartners, we anticipate the continuing introduction of valuable boardroom services in the years ahead.
How do you, personally, define success? What’s your criteria, the markers you’re looking out for, etc.?
The future success of the Oak Brook Polo Club will be measured by the following criteria:
- Raising the competitive level of the sport at the Club, by attracting a growing number of amateur players, professional players, and teams.• Attracting and teaching Polo to beginner players who would like to participate in the sport.
• Achieving a very high level of guest enjoyment. Providing a truly memorable day of fun and excitement – watching human and thoroughbred athletes engage in one of the most exciting sports on the planet. Make Oak Brook Polo the most popular weekend social-sporting event in Chicago – for both young and old.
• Persuading businesses and cultural institutions to embrace “Sunday Polo at Oak Brook” as the new exciting alternative for special events, fundraising, and entertaining clients, employees, and good friends.
Pricing:
- Lawn Seating – $10 per person
- Club Seating – $40 per person
- Tailgate Spots – $45 per person
- Brunch & Club Seating Package – $80 per person
- Reserved Club Tables – $300 for eight (8) guests
- Box Club Tents – $650 for sixteen (16) guests
Contact Info:
- Address: Oak Brook Polo Club
Prince of Wales Field
2606 York Road
Oak Brook, IL 60523 - Website: www.oakbrookpoloclub.com
- Phone: (630) 368-5095
- Email: info@oakbrookpoloclub.com
- Instagram: @OakBrookPolo
- Facebook: @OakBrookPoloClub
- Twitter: @OBPoloClub
- Yelp: Oak Brook Polo Club
Image Credit:
Karl Knapp
Bari Baskin
Nima Taradji
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