LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Venue management firm Oak View Group, Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., and Sphere Entertainment Co. announced the launch of Crown Properties Collection, a new company that will manage high-profile sports and entertainment brands and venues worldwide.
Under the terms of the partnership, MSG Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment will be founding partners in CPC with OVG and will also be the new venture’s first two clients.
The deal will see CPC overseeing global partnership and sponsorship representation of all brands and properties across the MSG family of companies, including Sphere (which opens in Las Vegas on September 29), Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, New York Knicks, New York Rangers, MSG Networks, the Radio City Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular.
Additionally, global partnership sales will be led by CPC, with the MSG companies providing expertise and advisory services as well as retaining partnership activation and fulfillment.
As part of the deal, Jay Voelker will join OVG as president and take on a leadership role at CPC, reporting directly to OVG CEO Tim Leiweke. Voelker most recently served as senior vice president of business development for the PGA TOUR where he oversaw the TOUR’s global sponsorship business.
“Crown Properties Collection’s purpose is to provide unprecedented global representation for world-renowned sports and entertainment brands and venues, and there is no greater portfolio to begin with than the MSG family of companies’ world-class assets. I am honored to join OVG, the leading full-service live entertainment and hospitality company to represent CPC and create a new model for global partnerships in our industry,” said Jay Voelker.
“The alliance of our two global powerhouses through Crown Properties Collection will revolutionize the partnership space across the sports and entertainment industries,” said David Hopkinson, President and Chief Operating Officer of MSG Sports, who oversees global marketing partnerships across the MSG family of companies. “We’re honored that our iconic brands will be the first to be represented by CPC and that, together, we will be on the forefront of creating game-changing opportunities for our venues, teams, and brands.”
“Under Jay’s leadership, Crown Properties Collection will represent only the most valuable properties in all of sports and entertainment together with the most revolutionary venue in the world, Sphere in Las Vegas. This, along with OVG’s already industry-leading Global Partnerships platform, which has proudly sold $4.5B in partnerships over the last five years, will create the largest partnership of its kind in the live industry and change the game for partnerships as we know it,” said Tim Leiweke, chairman and CEO of OVG.