Inside the Rise of Luxury Experiences Around Sports and the Women Staffing Them - Celeste Durve

There’s a major shift happening in sports, and it’s become clear over the past 5 years: access is the new currency, and luxury experiences are how it’s delivered.

Brands are investing heavily in premium, invite-only experiences surrounding major sporting events, and nowhere was that more evident than during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. Private dinners replaced traditional watch parties. Branded estates rivaled nightclub takeovers. Guest lists at premium events became more valuable than game tickets themselves.

Over time, these rooms have been curated to perfection for every sport - from the guest list filled with influencers, celebrities, and industry change-makers, to the space itself. The purpose of these events is to borrow the credibility, audience, and influence of the invited guests to generate attention, grow the fan base, and build hype around a specific brand, team, or experience. 

We live in an era where online influence guides purchases - a trend I also see heavily in the film, TV, and retail industries - where sports teams are building a world and community through their invited guests and experiences, thus capturing and converting the talent’s fans into the team’s fans.  

Luxury in Sports was once limited to courtside seats and VIP suites; now it’s about how a moment feels, how a space moves, and how seamlessly everything comes together. But what actually goes into building these experiences? 

That’s something Celeste Durve and her company VIPER have mastered. 

VIPER is a premium staffing and operations agency working behind the scenes of some of the world’s most exclusive events in sports and entertainment. If you’ve been inside a high-level activation, private lounge, or VIP hospitality space during a major weekend like All-Star, Super Bowl, or Coachella, chances are, her team helped bring it to life.

Q&A with Celeste Durve, Founder of Viper

Q: How have you seen the evolution of the premium events space since you originally started VIPER, and when did you notice the rise of luxury events around sports?

Celeste: When I started VIPER, premium was mostly defined by access. Who could get in, where they were placed, and proximity to talent. Now, it is about how you feel once you are inside.

We saw that shift early through our work with Bootsy Bellows at SoFi Stadium, where we helped build the operational flow behind a high-touch, VIP hospitality experience inside a sports environment. It required blending nightlife-level service with stadium-scale logistics, and in many ways, it became a blueprint for what premium hospitality in sports can look like.

Since then, the demand has only grown. Teams, brands, and venues are investing more in guest experience as a core part of their strategy. A game is no longer just a game; it is a full hospitality environment, and that expectation is only getting higher.

Q: From an operations standpoint, what separates a premium experience from a standard event?

Celeste: Precision.

A premium experience isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about how seamlessly everything runs. Guest flow, timing, communication between teams, and how quickly issues are resolved all determine how an event feels.

At VIPER, we think a lot about the psychology of the room. Who’s arriving, how they’re being greeted, and how transitions are handled. The difference is in the details most people don’t consciously notice, but absolutely feel.

Q: For most people, these events look effortless. What are some of the behind-the-scenes details VIPER handles to make that seamless experience happen?

Celeste: A lot of what we do is invisible by design.

We’re managing guest lists, coordinating with production and security, tracking VIP arrivals, running bottle service, and adjusting in real time when timing inevitably shifts. There are often multiple entrances, different tiers of guests, and competing priorities happening at once. Our role is to absorb that complexity so the guest experience stays calm, polished, and consistent. If it looks effortless, that usually means the operations were done right.

Q: How has Los Angeles shaped the way these luxury experiences are designed? Are there differences you see when creating experiences in LA versus other cities?

Celeste: I'm biased as an LA baby… but to me, LA sets the tone.

There’s a higher expectation around aesthetics, cultural relevance, and social awareness; people here are very attuned to what feels current and what doesn’t. You’re not just producing an event, you’re contributing to a larger cultural moment.

Compared to other cities, LA requires a stronger point of view. It’s less about formality and more about creating something that feels effortlessly cool, while still being highly structured behind the scenes.

Q: Looking ahead, where do you see luxury sports experiences going next?

Celeste: The biggest shift in sports right now is the rise of the female fan.

We are seeing more investment in women’s sports, more attention on female audiences, and a clear shift in who is influencing culture in these spaces. Women are not just attending, they are shaping the room, driving demand, and influencing how these experiences are designed.

As a female-founded company, that perspective has always been natural to us. We build teams that understand both sides and know how to operate within high-pressure environments while elevating the overall experience.

The future of luxury sports experiences is more inclusive, more intentional, and far more culturally aware.

The Takeaway

Luxury isn’t about access; it’s the seamless experience and how you feel once you are in the room. The real value lies in the spaces where deals are made, relationships are built, and culture is shaped - spaces where brands, athletes, and industry leaders converge under carefully curated experiences.

Luxury experiences aren’t an add-on to sports anymore. They’re a central part of the ecosystem.

And in cities like Los Angeles, where sport, entertainment, and influence naturally collide, those experiences aren’t just events. Their strategy.