Sports Illustrated Kicks Off Big Game Weekend With First-Ever Golf Invitational
Sports Illustrated Tees Off Friday, February 10th, at Talking Stick Golf Club
Sports Illustrated (SI) announced today the inaugural Sports Illustrated Invitational, the ultimate golf excursion for A-List celebrities, athletes and golf enthusiasts. Foursomes will hit the links on the morning of Friday, February 10th to get a head start on the biggest weekend in sports.
“We are thrilled to debut the first-ever SI Invitational in Phoenix this year,” said Matt Goldstein, SVP of Entertainment and Special Projects at Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), owner of the Sports Illustrated brand. “Sports Illustrated is known for unprecedented and unforgettable experiences and we are proud to partner with JP Sports + Entertainment and Talking Stick Golf Club to bring the SI Invitational to life to kick off Big Game Weekend.”
“When it comes to celebrating The Big Game, no one does it better than Sports Illustrated. We are excited to be part of this unique event and deliver a memorable and compelling tournament experience,” said Pete Falcone, Owner & CEO at JP Sports + Entertainment.
The SI Invitational will be an 18-hole competition with the winners taking home the SI Invitational Cup. The event will feature buzzworthy partner activations, friendly competitions, including Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive. Additionally, Scottdale’s most sought after local businesses will face off for the title Best Local Culinary Fare and Best Local Cocktails.
“We're thrilled to kick off SI’s first-ever Invitational by delivering the ball for the opening tee via drone delivery,” said Shannon Nash, CFO at Wing, an inaugural sponsor.
The SI Invitational tees off at 11:00 am on Friday, February 10 and is co-produced by Authentic and JP Sports + Entertainment. Sponsorship partners of the SI Invitational include Wing, LA Golf, CDW, Dough Ball Whiskey, Fresh Vine Wine, Reebok, Brooks Brothers and Thomasville.
For inquiries about The SI Invitational, please reach out to Authentic Hospitality.
About Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated (SI) is an unparalleled and influential leader recognized for shaping modern culture and uniting athletes, teams and fans worldwide. At the intersection of sports, lifestyle and entertainment, Sports Illustrated is a 360-degree enterprise that delivers immersive content, innovative digital experiences, unforgettable events, and original products. Its award-winning media arm brings powerful storytelling to life through probing profiles and up-to-date news on SI.com, across social media platforms and through the monthly print magazine. The most trusted name in sports transcends media through SI Tickets, a fan-first ticketing platform, SI Sportsbook, a digital sports betting platform, SI Studios, the brand’s home for film, TV, and long form audio adaptations of SI’s thought-provoking storytelling, and more. SI brings its unique and authentic perspective to marquee events and captivating brand activations including The Sportsperson of the Year Awards, “The Party”, SI Swimsuit Launch Weekend and the SI Circuit Series.
For more information, visit SI.com.
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About Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group (Authentic) is a global brand development, marketing and entertainment platform, which owns a portfolio of more than 40 iconic and world-renowned Lifestyle, Entertainment and Media brands. Headquartered in New York City, with offices around the world, Authentic connects strong brands with best-in-class partners and a global network of operators, distributors and retailers to build long-term value in the marketplace. Its brands generate approximately $25 billion in global annual retail sales and have an expansive retail footprint in more than 150 countries, including 9,400-plus freestanding stores and shop-in-shops and 356,000 points of sale.
Authentic is committed to transforming brands by delivering powerful storytelling, compelling content, innovative business models and immersive experiences. It creates and activates original marketing strategies to drive the success of its brands across all consumer touchpoints, platforms and emerging media. Authentic’s brand portfolio includes Marilyn Monroe®, Elvis Presley®, Muhammad Ali®, Shaquille O'Neal®, David Beckham®, Dr. J®, Greg Norman®, Neil Lane®, Thalia®, Sports Illustrated®, Reebok®, Eddie Bauer®, Spyder®, Volcom®, Airwalk®, Nautica®, Izod®, Brooks Brothers®, Barneys New York®, Judith Leiber®, Ted Baker®, Hervé Léger®, Frye®, Juicy Couture®, Vince Camuto®, Lucky Brand®, Aéropostale®, Forever 21®, Nine West®, Jones New York®, Tretorn®, Prince®, Van Heusen®, Arrow®, Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx® and Thomasville®.
For more information, visit authentic.com.
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About JPSE
Founded in 2007 by Pete Falcone, JPSE is comprised of professionals who are experts in the golf, sports and entertainment industries. Our experienced team is committed to precise strategic development, negotiation, turnkey activation and ROI measurement. Our expertise is in flawlessly producing events including, but not limited to celebrity golf tournaments, hospitality programs at marquee events, sponsorship activations and public concerts. Since 2008, JPSE has been responsible for raising over $30M for hundreds of charities including Make-A-Wish, the Motion Picture & Television Fund and DonorsChoose through its development and management of events such as the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational, the Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf Tournament and the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge. The JPSE leadership team has assisted notable sports and entertainment celebrity icons such as Jack Nicklaus, Michael Jordan, Lady A, Maria Sharapova, Chris Paul and more. JPSE also has extensive experience assisting Corporate America including sponsorship activations for clients such as iCapital, UKG, ZipRecruiter, etc. and the execution of C-level, customized corporate hospitality programs for various Fortune 500 companies in conjunction with major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, Masters, Ryder Cup, Kentucky Derby and more.
For more information, visit www.jpse.net.
Follow JPSE on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Media Contacts:
Michelle Ciciyasvili – Authentic
Amanda Brocato – Authentic
Hospitality Contact:
Zachary Goldberg – Authentic
Partnership Contact:
Steven Feld – Authentic