The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) has extended and expanded its partnership with digital sports entertainment and gaming company DraftKings.
The deal makes DraftKings the official and exclusive sports betting and daily fantasy sports (DFS) partner of Madison Square Garden, as well as NBA basketball team the New York Knicks and NHL ice hockey franchise the New York Rangers, which both play at the iconic arena.
DraftKings’ partnership includes significant exposure at Madison Square Garden for all Knicks and Rangers games, as well as promotions for DFS during NBA G League team Westchester Knicks’ games at the Westchester County Center.
Integration during games will incorporate a variety of elements including digital and static signage throughout the arena, exposure on GardenVision, the arena’s centre-hung multimedia display, and branding on the apron of the court for Knicks games and on the penalty box and visiting team bench for Rangers games. DraftKings will have the ability to set up activation areas at a variety of fan events the Knicks and Rangers hold throughout the year.
The partnership between the two companies allows DraftKings to have a presence on the seven video boards on the outside walls of the Garden, which offer exposure to the more than one million people who walk by MSG each day.
Ron Skotarczak, executive vice-president of marketing partnerships at the Madison Square Garden Company, said: “We are both committed to ensuring that our customers have the best possible experience and we look forward to continuing to work closely with DraftKings on programs and promotions that benefit both of our businesses in significant and measurable ways.”
Ezra Kucharz, chief business officer at DraftKings, added: “The Madison Square Garden Company is known for providing fans with unforgettable moments, and this emphasis on immersive engagement perfectly complements DraftKings and our likeminded commitment to experiential excellence.”
The deal comes after it was announced last month that DraftKings is set to go public through a three-pronged deal with special-purpose acquisition company Diamond Eagle Acquisition and SBTech, an international provider of sports betting and gaming technologies, which is set to create a new entity valued at around $3.3bn (£2.5bn/€2.95bn).
The combined company will become the only vertically-integrated pure-play sports betting and online gaming company based in the United States. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.
DraftKings currently offers mobile and online sports betting in the US states of Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and retail locations in Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York. DraftKings’ DFS product is available in 43 states and eight international markets including Australia, Canada and the UK.
Image: MSG
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