Grand Prix Entertainment Appoints Alan Rothenberg as Board Chairman, Names Premier Partnerships as Sponsor Sales Representative for New Rugby Ventures

Grand Prix Entertainment Appoints Alan Rothenberg as Board Chairman, Names Premier Partnerships as Sponsor Sales Representative for New Rugby Ventures | Bild: © ad-hoc-news

William Tatham, Chairman of Grand Prix Entertainment, praised the move, saying, ?Leadership and timing and are everything. We recently completed a successful multi year ? multi-million dollar start up effort, building a Formula 1 + Olympic sport model operating platform. Without a doubt, Olympic and FIFA World Cup official and MLS founder Alan Rothenberg is exactly the right man, at exactly the right time, to lead the launch of Grand Prix Sports.?

?Grand Prix has the right recipe for Rugby,? said Alan Rothenberg, ?After what we saw in the formation of MLS, it?s plain to me that all the ingredients to create a significant global success with exclusive sanction rights and holdings in connection with professional Rugby are in place. I am excited to contribute to what I think will be a major league success.?

Chaired by Rothenberg, Grand Prix advisory board members include Bernstein, Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports; Kelly Crabb, Olympic attorney and senior partner of the international law firm of Sheppard & Mullin; Rich Rose, former President of Caesars World Sports; Ray Harmon, RFHarmon Media, former Director of Finance, VP Business Planning, CBS Sports, and Gary Marenzi, former President of MGM Worldwide Television.

USA Rugby, an official member of the Unites States Olympic Committee as well as the Rugby World Cup?s International Rugby Board, awarded Grand Prix the exclusive U.S. sanction, license and global broadcast rights to own, operate and globally broadcast the professional sport of Rugby Sevens, which was soon after named a new Olympic sport.

Rothenberg brings to Grand Prix his long and highly successful track record in the development of international sports leagues. In 1984, Peter Ueberroth, organizer of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, asked Rothenberg to take on the role of Soccer Commissioner for the Games. The unexpected popularity of soccer that summer - including multiple sell-outs of the 100,000+ seat Rose Bowl - established before the world that an American audience for the game existed, and Rothenberg's success caused FIFA to seek out his services as Chairman and CEO of the 1994 World Cup, which had been awarded to the USA. In 1990, Rothenberg, with FIFA's backing, was elected to the Presidency of the United States Soccer Federation, a position he would occupy until 1998. Under Rothenberg's guidance, the 1994 FIFA World Cup became a major success, setting attendance records that still stand and earning a surplus of over $50 Million. Fulfilling a promise to FIFA made as part of the World Cup bid, he oversaw the establishment of a full-time Division I U.S. league, Major League Soccer. He also served as Chairman of the record breaking 1999 FIFA Women?s World Cup. In 2007, Rothenberg was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, located in Oneonta, New York, in recognition of his contribution as a "Builder" of the sport in the United States and received the coveted FIFA Medal of Honor.

In addition to soccer, Rothenberg was also an important figure in professional basketball for many years, including variously representing the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trailblazers. Rothenberg was the long serving Chairman of the Los Angeles Sports Council.

Rugby Sevens will be included in the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The U.S. stop on the IRB?s global broadcast and attendance record breaking HSBC Sevens World Series will be held in Las Vegas, on February 10th - 12th, and will be seen live on NBC.

About Grand Prix Entertainment, Inc.

Grand Prix Entertainment is a diversified multi-media production and distribution company that owns and manages sports, entertainment and gaming properties. Based in Los Angeles, GPE has obtained its launch sport content, the Olympic sport of Rugby Sevens, and established an exclusively sanctioned partnership for the development of professional Rugby Sevens in the United States in conjunction with USA Rugby. Grand Prix controls the exclusive sanction rights to own and operate professional Union Rugby Sevens in the United States, with unparalleled global distribution rights for any events held in the United States. Members of the Grand Prix executive management team include Rich Rose, Bob Finkel, Bruce Skinner, Tom George, Warren Weideman, Jeff Zimmerman, Phil Shelp, Gavin Smith and Mike Keller; as well as recent key additions to senior management, general counsel Scott Earnshaw and Jamison Davis, Managing Partner of the global branding consultancy firm of Davis & Partners Worldwide.

About Premier Partnerships

Premier Partnerships is a nationally recognized sports sales and advisory firm specializing in the development and execution of customized commercial sales strategies for top tier facilities, sports and entertainment destinations, league and team properties, and municipal projects. Premier was founded in 2003 to provide experienced, focused, passionate, and results driven commercial sales solutions. Headquartered in Los Angeles with representation in Cleveland and New York, Premier was recently honored as Sports Business Journal?s Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services. Premier executives have created thousands of mutually beneficial business partnerships, including successful naming rights agreements at O.Co Coliseum, PPL Park, Viejas Arena, and Pizza Hut Park. Additional information is available at www.PremierPartnerships.com.

About USA Rugby

Founded in 1975, USA Rugby is an official member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB).The organization has approximately 98,000 members and is responsible for the development of the boys, girls, high school, collegiate and club rugby programs, and ultimately all of the national teams representing the U.S. in international competitions. USA Rugby's national headquarters is located in Boulder, Colo., and is run by full-time staff under the direction of current CEO and President of Rugby Operations Nigel Melville.