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-New multi-year partnership provides Foxwoods with prominent placement on Liberty jersey
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The New York Liberty today announced a new multi-year premier partnership with Foxwoods Resort Casino, North America’s largest resort casino. As part of the partnership Foxwoods will receive prominent logo placement on the Liberty jersey, a first-of-its-kind partnership for an Eastern Conference WNBA team and the first resort casino to have branding on the front of a professional sports team jersey.
“The New York Liberty has a passionate fan base in the world's largest media market, and we are thrilled by the opportunity this partnership presents to promote our brand to WNBA fans, the team's loyal followers and the New York Metropolitan area at large,” said chief marketing officer for Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises Robert Victoria. “As North America’s largest resort casino and the East Coast’s premier entertainment destination, Foxwoods always strives to align itself with other best-in-class industry leaders, and we’re confident we’ve done just that with this partnership of the Liberty and its home venue, the legendary Madison Square Garden.”
The Foxwoods name and logo will appear on the front of the Liberty’s home and road jerseys as well as shooting shirts for all games, providing the company with premium brand exposure to fans in-arena and other consumers via national and local media coverage and television broadcasts. The Liberty will debut its new uniforms when the team takes on the Connecticut Sun on Friday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m.
“We are excited to welcome Foxwoods Resort Casino as the premier partner of the New York Liberty. This partnership between two premium brands and industry leaders is a perfect match, bringing together one of the world’s largest resort casinos and ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena.” said Scott O’Neil, president, MSG Sports. “This innovative new partnership provides Foxwoods with a powerful platform that connects an entertainment destination with our incredibly loyal and passionate Liberty fans and New York.”
Added Carol Blazejowski, president, New York Liberty: “We are very proud to partner with Foxwoods Resort Casino and welcome their support of the Liberty and WNBA. We look forward to strategically integrating the Foxwoods brand across all of our business platforms and developing a partnership that will be great for our team and fans both on and off the court.”
The partnership helps build presence for Foxwoods in the New York area and beyond, with brand integration across all of the Liberty’s promotional and marketing platforms, including extensive presence in-arena during Liberty home games with courtside LED signage, logo presence on-court, a feature on GardenVision, and Foxwoods branded on-court contests. In addition, Foxwoods will be promoted to the thousands of passersby daily on The Garden’s outdoor marquees on 7th and 8th Avenue.
"This partnership between Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Liberty is emblematic of the fact that there is strong interest among brands to align with the WNBA, not only for its elite athletes, high level of play, and outstanding entertainment, but also for its authentic connection to communities and to women," said WNBA president Donna Orender. "For Foxwoods, this unique partnership is a great way to build their business by reaching the loyal and passionate WNBA fanbase.”
As part of the new partnership, the Liberty and Foxwoods will also join together to host a number of community events each season, furthering each company’s strong commitment to the community. Through the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the Liberty along with all other areas of Madison Square Garden help “to make dreams come true for kids in crisis” by creating unique and unforgettable events and activities that have brightened the lives of more than 135,000 special children and their families. Foxwoods, which recently celebrated a milestone $3 billion cumulative contribution to the state of Connecticut, has a long, committed history of charitable giving. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, owner of Foxwoods Resort Casino, has donated tens of millions of dollars in cash and in-kind services to hundreds of charitable organizations both locally and nationally. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation first established a revenue sharing act with the state in 1993 to ensure that the benefits of tourism and commerce enjoyed by Foxwoods extended to the local community.
About Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden (NASDAQ: MSG) is a fully-integrated sports, entertainment and media business. The company is comprised of three business segments: MSG Sports, MSG Entertainment and MSG Media, which are strategically aligned to work together to drive MSG’s overall business, which is built on a foundation of iconic venues and compelling content that MSG creates, produces, presents and/or distributes through its programming networks and other media assets. MSG Sports consists of owning and operating sports franchises, including the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL), the New York Liberty (WNBA), and the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). MSG Sports also features other sports properties, including the presentation of a wide variety of live sporting events including professional boxing, college basketball, track and field and tennis. MSG Entertainment is one of the country’s leaders in live entertainment. MSG Entertainment creates, produces and/or presents a variety of live productions, including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes, throughout the country. MSG Entertainment also presents or hosts other live entertainment events such as concerts, family shows and special events in MSG’s diverse collection of venues. These venues include Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, the Chicago Theatre and the Wang Theatre. MSG Media is a leader in production and content development for multiple distribution platforms, including content originating from MSG’s venues. MSG Media consists of the MSG Networks (MSG network, MSG Plus, MSG HD and MSG Plus HD) regional sports networks and the Fuse Networks (Fuse and Fuse HD) a national television network dedicated to music. MSG Media is also responsible for managing interactive initiatives across all business segments. More information is available at www.msg.com.
About WNBA
The WNBA is a unique global sports property combining competition, sportsmanship, and entertainment value with its status as an icon for social change, achievement, and diversity. Now preparing for its 14th season, the WNBA is the most successful women’s professional team sports league in the world. The 2009 regular season featured increased attendance for the third consecutive year and increased viewership on ESPN2 for the second straight summer. Average viewership on ESPN2 jumped 76 percent from a year ago for the 2009 WNBA Finals presented by adidas. The five-game series also featured three sellouts plus the highest total attendance figure (82,018) in WNBA Finals history.
About Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods
North America’s largest casino, Foxwoods Resort Casino® is located in the rolling hills of southeastern Connecticut and is easily accessible from Boston, New York, Hartford, and Providence. Owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Foxwoods features six casinos with more than 7,200 slots, 380 table games, the only WPT World Poker Room™ in New England, High Stakes Bingo, and Ultimate Race Book. There are 1,416 guest rooms and suites in three hotels, more than 30 restaurants, a luxurious spa, more than 50,000 square feet of premium meeting and event space, 24 retail shops, and five entertainment venues, including the 1,400-seat Fox Theatre. Conveniently located adjacent to Foxwoods is Lake of Isles™, featuring two 18-hole championship golf courses designed by Rees Jones and a state-of-the-art Golf Academy. In May 2008, the MGM Grand at Foxwoods® debuted, adding 825 luxurious guest rooms, 115,000 square feet of meeting space, the 4,000-seat MGM Grand Theater, a 21,000-square-foot spa, and more dining, retail, and gaming facilities, bolstering Foxwoods’ preeminence as the East Coast’s ultimate casino resort destination. Foxwoods supports responsible gaming, and plays a leadership role in the Connecticut Council of Problem Gambling, of which it was a founding entity. For more information, call 1-800-FOXWOODS or visit www.foxwoods.com.
About the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
The Mashantucket Pequots are a native Algonquin people in southeastern Connecticut, having endured centuries of conflict, survival, and continuity on and around one of America’s oldest Indian reservations, established in 1666. As the first native people within the borders of the continental United States to suffer attempted genocidal massacre by Puritan Colonists in 1637, the Pequots and their repatriation is an unprecedented story of restoration exhibited in detail at the Tribe’s world-class Museum and Research Center (www.pequotmuseum.org). Today the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation owns the largest resort casino in the world, Foxwoods Resort Casino (www.foxwoods.com), along with several other economic ventures including the Lake of Isles Golf Course (www.lakeofisles.com), a joint-venture partnership establishing the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, and Foxwoods Development Company dedicated to world-class resort development throughout the United States and Caribbean. All together, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation remains one of the State of Connecticut’s highest tax payers and largest employers. Likewise, the Tribe provides significant financial contributions to state and local nonprofit organizations that support neighboring communities.