INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN BONSIGNORE

From high school rivalries to college and pro matchups, Short Hills resident and Jersey Sports Finder founder Stephen Bonsignore is getting families out of the house and into the stands.

What is your professional background, and when did you start Jersey Sports Finder? 

My career has been focused on brand communications, including more than two decades in public relations and marketing. I’ve run my own consultancy for the past seven years, working with brands, agencies, and startups, and currently serve as CMO at a leading advertising agency. Concepting for Jersey Sports Finder began earlier this summer, and the site soft-launched in August. 

What was the spark for Jersey Sports Finder—what problem were you trying to solve when you created it? 

Sports are a big part of our family’s life. Not just playing and participating, but as a social event. We often head to local high school or college games on a relative whim, in addition to more planned outings. I struggled to find a quick, easy place to scan all the games happening, whether on a weekday evening hours before tipoff or looking ahead. It felt like a gap and a need, as today the information is fragmented and puts the onus on the fan to already have a plan. Jersey Sports Finder brings all the games to you. 

Was there a specific moment (a game you wanted to find, but couldn’t) that pushed you to act? 

Not a single moment, but more ongoing frustration. With all the technology at our disposal, it bothered me that you had to go “digging” in multiple places to discover what should be available and accessible on one site. There have also been numerous times we’ve been identifying potential outings or family activities and were unaware of great matchups happening close by. It’s what specifically motivated the customizable alerts on the site. 

How did your background as a sports fan, and as a dad, shape what the platform needed to do? 

Both have shaped the early-stage build. The ability to search games based on drive time. The breadth of sports across levels, gender, and region. Even showing real logos of college and pro teams. Those details were all sports-loving fan-driven. The dad part reminds me that this is about the power of athletics to bring people together. There are so many positives about watching sports (at any level), in different places with diverse fan bases, beyond simply seeing tremendous players and the inherent drama sports provide.

When parents, students, and fans use your site, what are they typically trying to accomplish in that moment—find something nearby, last-minute tickets, or plan a weekend? 

Early users are parents for whom frequent sports outings are already part of their lifestyle. They’ve enjoyed the notion of exploring more options in one spot and being able to purchase tickets from the same place. In time, I see the power of Jersey Sports Finder for players, coaches, and fans who want to see teams that they’ll meet on their schedules that season or simply to catch top prospects playing across the state in-person versus via a social media highlight. 

Are there certain sports and levels you are most passionate about showcasing—high school, college, pro, youth, everything? 

The goal and the value of Jersey Sports Finder is to bring as many events onto the platform as possible. There’s magic in catching a Devils game at Prudential or seeing the Jets or Giants at MetLife, for sure. But, particularly if you’re the parent of a young athlete, I find it just as exciting to get up close and personal at a Seton Hall women’s hoops game or a Somerset Patriots minor league game. Not to mention classic rivalries like Don Bosco vs. Bergen Catholic in football or Seton Hall Prep vs. Delbarton in lacrosse are all within a short distance. It’s such a great state for sports across the board, both on the men’s and women’s side, that we wanted to go far beyond pro. 

Why do you think live sports, especially high school and local games, create such strong community connections? 

The reality of family life today, for better or worse, is a lot of running around. Gathering in the stands with friends, neighbors, and strangers forces community in a way that’s visceral and powerful. High school and local college games offer something different than fancy arenas and elite pros. It’s more attainable and more accessible. Those experiences don’t carry triple-figure price tags, and the lower barrier to entry contributes to something purer.

Photograph courtesy of Stephen Bonsignore