Bamboo More Than A CoWorking Space A Tigers Game

Some people come to Bamboo looking for the camaraderie of an office space while they work on their own projects and jobs. The water cooler chats, the comfortability of light day to day connection with those around you, finding some of those “office” experiences that you might get in a big office space.

Sports are a way to bring all walks of life together. Each year, we now host an all location Tigers Game and have started to integrate sports business topics into our centers.

Bamboo Tigers Game

Typically when we plan events at Bamboo, it’s intended for that location. It caters to our members and brings new people into the spaces. Though there is great value in that, one of my favorite things to go beyond our local walls and bridge the physical gaps between our locations by create something that is for everyone.

One of the beauties of bringing a sports element into Bamboo is that we are a Michigan-based company so we all (most of the time) support the same sports teams.

Boom! Instant connection point no matter which location you work from.

I did some research, showed my team what I wanted to do (they were awesome and supportive as always), and got the first one in the works.

Picture this: A Friday night in July with a pre-game party at our Downtown Detroit location, food, beverages, limited edition merch, a short walk over to Comerica Park, and a Friday Night Party in the Park (fireworks included). It was a great evening in Detroit, enjoying a game and connecting with each other outside of the our work environment. It sold out!

Learned to sit on the opposite side of the park after the first year!

A few weeks we hosted our 3rd Annual Bamboo Tigers Game. Bamboo has grown from 3 locations to 5 in this time and this event has sold out every time. One of the most fun surprises this year for me was the excitement from our locations that are actually the furthest from Downtown Detroit. I’m not sure if that comes from seeing the previous year’s games, hearing the Bamboo team member’s excitement, or just the desire for connection across the state. It was a chance to connect and meet people that you would not necessarily get to cross paths with, at least outside of the digital space.

The event is a fun chance for us to relax and hang out in person, and also connect with the members from across our state. It has become a staple of the summer for myself, the Bamboo team, and the Bamboo community. Only members and Bamboo team members are able to sign up and they can choose to bring a guest. It’s become a conversation among the halls of Bamboo and a fond memory for those that have attended. It’s also a way for smaller teams and to still get those “office outings” bigger companies provide.

Get Ready for Gameday: Celebrating Women in Sports

After finding out that sports were something that our members enjoyed, I wanted to bring more of that topic to Bamboo. If you’re a sports fan at all, you will know there has been a lot of hype around Detroit Lions football so I wanted to build on that and do an event in the Fall. This time though, getting a little more into the sports industry itself.

One of the coolest things about today’s digital age is that you get to see a little more behind the scenes of businesses, industries, and people on your TV. I wanted to create a space to pull back this curtain more and celebrate women in the sports industry. I connected with Amanda, the owner of Kiloh & Co, a fantastic sports apparel brand out of Northville, MI, known for her “gameday is for the girls” branding. We aligned on the ideas for this event and she was a huge part in bringing this to life. It was an event that we both felt personally interested and connected to, which is my favorite type of event to create at Bamboo.

Get Ready for Gameday was a way to look at sports from other angles - getting ready to watch a game, getting ready to play in a game, getting ready to work a game. It was fashion, sports fandom, and girls night energy all wrapped together.

We had amazing vendors like Kiloh & Co, Brewhouse Coffee Co, Uh Huh Huggie, and Looking Glass Photo Booth to shop and enjoy. There were content corners for posting on socials, and lots of chances to just connect with a community of women all with a common interest in sports! To top it off, we brought in a powerhouse panel of women in the sports industry: Daniella Bruce - Reporter/Host for the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, Monica Bradburn - Sports Photographer/Content Creator for the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, and Candice Turner - Deputy Athletics Director, Senior Woman Administrator, and Provost Senior Staff Representative at Wayne State University. Attendees (and event hosts) got to learn what it’s really like to be a woman in sports with intentional questions lead by our Moderator and Bamboo team member, Lexi Williams. There were more than 70 women in the room and we all left feeling connected and inspired and with a cute new piece of clothing, Photo Booth strip, and cup of coffee! The event was both fun and inspiring.

What else is on the roster?

The Tigers Game has become a staple each year, so that will definitely be happening again. Make sure you get your tickets right away when they come out next summer! I would love to do some more focused events like Get Ready for Gameday. Maybe a collegiate athlete version at Bamboo Ann Arbor? In keeping the statewide connection going, I’d also love to plan more game outings across the state. Grand Rapids Griffins and UofM Football are on my list.

This past year, we also created a sports committee (shoutout to Lexi and Matt!) that is dedicated to keeping up the addition of sports to Bamboo - from streaming games at our Bamboo locations, to creating March Madness brackets and Fantasy Football leagues (coming soon, keep an eye out!) connecting our members across the state, to planning more outings to games. With this committee, we are integrating sports into all of the Bamboo locations throughout the year and bringing new ideas to the table each time we meet!

Please reach out if you’d like to partner or collaborate on a sports-themed panel or activation with our community.

A guest post by Abby Reattoir

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