LAS VEGAS, Sept. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) and new professional football league, The
Alliance of American Football, have entered into a transaction that
includes an investment in The Alliance and a three-year sponsorship
establishing MGM Resorts as the official sports betting sponsor of
The Alliance and exclusive gaming partner.
For MGM Resorts, the investment represents its forward-looking
view on the combination of live sports, real-time second-generation
stats, and fan engagement – either for fun or for those who may
choose to wager. The Alliance's new technology is revolutionary and
will create a state-of-the-art experience for fans. The Alliance,
founded by Charlie Ebersol and
Bill Polian, is building its media
and technology platform as part of the launch of the new league in
February 2019.
For The Alliance, the partnership aligns the league with the
best gaming operator in the country and gives the sports entity the
ability to utilize MGM Resorts' vast experience and
industry-leading operations with mobile gaming. When The Alliance
takes the historic first snap in February
2019, fans will be able to stream Alliance matchups for free
through its first-of-its-kind app, while accessing integrated
gaming with real rewards, and now, in states where sports gambling
is legal, the sports betting platform owned and operated by MGM GVC
Interactive will provide fans with in-game wagering while also
still providing traditional sports betting.
"We are excited to team with The Alliance on this unprecedented
partnership, which allows us to fully engage with fans and
revolutionize the fan experience," said MGM Resorts Chairman &
CEO, Jim Murren. "We look forward to
expanding our customer base into this exciting new league and
sports betting opportunity."
"Our focus has always been to bring together best-in-class
partners to build a spring football league that will change the
landscape of professional sports," said Charlie Ebersol, CEO and co-founder, "We
realized our overall mission and vision were in complete alignment
with MGM. As one of the world's largest and most successful
gaming companies, and an industry leader in innovation, together we
can revolutionize the sports wagering experience for fans in a way
that's never been done before. I'm proud to welcome them to
The Alliance as our first official corporate investor."
ABOUT MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global
entertainment company with national and international locations
featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art
meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical
entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant,
nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive,
iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts
portfolio encompasses 28 unique hotel offerings including some of
the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. Expanding
throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company in 2018
opened MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau, and the first Bellagio-branded hotel in
Shanghai. The 81,000 global
employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being
recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired
Companies®. For more information visit us at
www.mgmresorts.com.
ABOUT THE ALLIANCE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Led by some of the most respected football minds in the game,
The Alliance of American Football is a dynamic professional
football league fueled by an unprecedented Alliance between
players, fans and the game. Founded by TV and film producer
Charlie Ebersol and Hall of Famer
Bill Polian, The Alliance will
feature eight teams with 50-player rosters playing a 10-week
regular season schedule in the spring beginning February 9, 2019 on CBS, followed by two playoff
rounds and culminating with the championship game the weekend of
April 26-28, 2019.
The eight cities, stadiums and head coaches are as follows:
- Alliance Orlando/Spectrum
Stadium/Steve Spurrier
- Alliance Atlanta/Georgia State Stadium/Brad Childress
- Alliance Memphis/Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium/Mike Singletary
- Alliance Salt Lake/ Rice-Eccles Stadium/Dennis Erickson
- Alliance Phoenix/Sun Devil
Stadium/Rick Neuheisel
- Alliance San Diego/San Diego
County Credit Union Stadium/Mike
Martz
- Alliance Birmingham/Legion Field Stadium/Tim Lewis
- Alliance San
Antonio/Alamodome/Mike
Riley
Fans will be able to stream Alliance matchups live via the free
Alliance app while accessing integrated fantasy options with real
rewards — for themselves and the players they are cheering on. With
a focus on player well-being on and off the field, The Alliance
will provide players with a commitment to safety and
state-of-the-art equipment as well as a comprehensive bonus system,
post-football career planning, financial counseling and scholarship
support for postsecondary education.
Statements in this release that are not historical facts are
"forward-looking" statements and "safe harbor statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
that involve risks and/or uncertainties, including those described
in MGM Resorts' public filings with the SEC. MGM Resorts has
based forward-looking statements on management's current
expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples
of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements
regarding the expected benefits to be achieved as a result of the
partnership. Among the important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those indicated in such
forward-looking statements include effects of economic conditions
and market conditions in the markets in which MGM Resorts operates
and competition with other destination travel locations
throughout the United States and the world, the design,
timing and costs of expansion projects, risks relating to
international operations, permits, licenses, financings, approvals
and other contingencies in connection with growth in new or
existing jurisdictions and additional risks and uncertainties
described in MGM Resorts' Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form
8-K reports (including all amendments to those reports). In
providing forward-looking statements, MGM Resorts is not
undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements
publicly as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by law. If MGM Resorts updates one or
more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that
it will make additional updates with respect to those other
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE MGM Resorts International