MSG, OVG TEAM UP TO FORM CROWN PROPERTIES COLLECTION

Three weeks before U2 plays the first of 17 sold-out dates to mark the opening of Sphere in Las Vegas, MSG Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment—together the MSG family of companies—and Oak View Group have founded Crown Properties Collection.

According to the joint announcement issued on 9/7, CPC will co-manage partnerships with sports and entertainment brands and venues worldwide in conjunction with MSG and Sphere. Industry veteran Jay Voelker (pictured), previously SVP of business development for the PGA Tour, joins OVG as president of CPC, reporting directly to OVG Chairman/CEO Tim Leiweke.

MSG and Sphere will also serve as CPC’s first clients, with CPC overseeing the global-partnership and sponsorship representation of all brands and properties in the MSG family of companies, including Sphere, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, the Chicago Theatre, the Knicks, the Rangers and MSG Networks. Global-partnership sales and strategy will be managed by CPC, while MSG will provide expertise and advisory services to CPC and retain partnership activation and fulfillment.

“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,” reads Voelker’s quote. “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.”

“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/COO of MSG Sports, who oversees global marketing partnerships in 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.”

Leiweke crafted a quote as well: “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.”