| EVENT REPORT 02.04.08 2:02 PM |
PRINT | SEND TO A FRIEND |
|
| Best of the Rest: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Fox, and More Super Bowl Parties |
|
FROM SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. Though Maxim, Playboy, and Victoria's Secret garnered the most buzz among the Super Bowl parties here, clever production details abounded throughout the weekend. Here's our wrap-up of the other big events.
ESPN the Magazine
On Friday and Saturday, ESPN the Magazine returned to the Super Bowl with its Next Big Weekend party, setting up shop on the rolling, grass-lined lawns of the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center. Things kicked off on Friday night, with Ludacris performing for some 800 V.I.P.s in a massive, red-hued tent. Produced by ESPN vice president of marketing solutions Fred Bucher, with Event Eleven and East Side PR, the Friday-night fete was accented with chandeliers, cabanas, a circular 20-foot bar, and beer carts that allowed guests to grab a quick Corona on the go. |
|
CONTINUED > |
|
|
PHOTO GALLERY |
 | At Fox's party, the Snake Babe entertained with an albino python.
Photo: Tony Marinella for BizBash |
|
|
 | Eva LaDare performed the electric slide and even jumped roped on stilts at the Fox party.
Photo: Tony Marinella for BizBash |
|
|
 | At Fox, flat-screen TVs hung from two trees, showing a compilation video of casino graphics, black-and-white burlesque photos, and Fox Sports footage.
Photo: Tony Marinella for BizBash |
|
|
 | Guests could get tattooed at ESPN's Next event.
Photo: Sara Jaye Weiss |
|
|
 | Ludacris performed at ESPN the Magazine's Friday-night party.
Photo: Sara Jaye Weiss |
|
|
 | White highboys and sleek trumpet-lily centerpieces decorated the Cadillac lounge at Club SI.
Photo: Jason Merritt/WireImage.com |
|
|
 | The Roots peformed on an intimate stage during the Club SI party at Barcelona.
Photo: Jason Merritt/WireImage.com |
|
|
 | Club SI featured a Patron bar made of ice.
Photo: Tony Marinella for BizBash |
|
|
 | A model stood encased in ice at Vice the Party while LL Cool J performed on stage.
Photo: Courtesy of Vice the Party |
|
|
 | At the Penthouse fete, artist David Garabaldi painted while dancing.
Photo: Tony Marinella for BizBash |
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Saturday, the ESPN event turned family-friendly as the entire 21-acre outdoor site hosted a sports-themed fair that was open to the public. There were high-tech simulators including a “ProBatter Professional Pitching Machine,” where wannabe major-leaguers could test their mettle against 100 mph fastballs thrown by virtual replicas of actual pitchers such as Greg Maddux. Other interactive displays included the Richard Petty Nascar Driving Experience, a Great Catch football play area, and a hockey goal display where little Wayne Gretzkys could attempt to score goals. The dual focal points of the day had to be the announcement of the 2008 NFL Hall of Fame inductees and a performance by Soulja Boy Tell ’Em.
Vice the Party
Vice the Party returned for its second year on Friday, taking over the French Quarter-themed Venue of Scottsdale. Vice co-producers Toast and Book ’Em Danno’s Dan Parente eschewed the location’s Cajun theme, instead channeling a Hollywood Western look, accented by a live LL Cool J performance.
Ice was another theme at the Coors Light-sponsored party, featuring a female model completely encased in ice (a trick whipped up by the people who previously froze David Blaine), and a chilled, fog-floored lounge area known as the Cooler, where Spike TV’s “Sexiest Bartender” contest winner interviewed patrons while wearing a definitely not-NFL-approved referee shirt. Event details were varied and carnivale-esque: Guitar Hero 3 showdowns took place on a big-screen TV, a cowboy walked around on stilts, and a sword-swallower, dressed in a crisp baby-blue suit and ruby red shoes, swallowed swords.
Sports Illustrated
Taking over local nightspot Barcelona on Saturday, Sports Illustrated hosted its annual Club SI in conjunction with heavily promoted sponsors Cadillac and Patron. The mag brought in its own furniture, creating sleek, all-white lounges, accented by hundreds of candles, trumpet lilies, and the venue’s ornate mirrors. “We’re not like the Maxims and the Playboys, where people are lined up elbow to elbow,” said SI executive director of event marketing Christine Rosa. “We want a nice, full environment, but not to the point where you can’t have a good time.”
Several years ago, Rosa cut the guest list from 2,000 to 1,000, and she said the response has been great. “It’s a place where you can actually have a conversation and visit with the clients you’re inviting to the party, who you only see once a year.” The Roots took the stage around 11 p.m., performing in one of the weekend’s most intimate settings.
Fox
The Fox network held its annual invite-only (and sponsor-free) Super Bowl party on Saturday night inside a 24,000-square-foot tent in a downtown Scottsdale parking lot. The event donned a Rat Pack-era Palm Springs theme, with a casino (complete with roulette and slot machines) and a nonstop lineup of diverse entertainment and live performances (think aerialists, dancers, and a python).
“The idea was to have something going on every minute of the event, continuous entertainment, instead of spiking in the middle of the night,” said Fox vice president of special events K. Tomiko Iwata, who produced the event for 1,400. “For the theme, we always try to do something that makes sense with the destination, but we absolutely didn’t want to do a country-western look. So we started thinking about the desert and then came up with a stylized Palm Springs-in-the-’50s look.”
The tent’s interior was bilevel, divided into areas like the chartreuse-and-maroon-striped Bubble Lounge and the Playmakers Showroom, with its 10 Texas hold ’em poker tables. A cutesy detail: lip and eyelash stations, where professional stylists offered complimentary makeovers.
Penthouse
Penthouse returned with its annual fete on Saturday, this year dubbed “Desire.” The 1,400-person party took over the Venue of Scottsdale, with a red-all-over theme and a performance by Snoop Dogg. Cohosted by MSL Sports & Entertainment, the event featured performer David Garabaldi, who paints six-foot-tall canvases to music while dancing. “The theme was 'desire,' so we really used red lighting as the key production element,” said MSL vice president of branding and creative Eleni Roselli. The Penthouse Pets were omnipresent, wearing teensy referee uniforms.
—Courtney Thompson & Dawson Fearnow
RELATED TOPICS
Super Bowl, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Fox, Penthouse, Vice the Party
MORE EVENT REPORT STORIES
Gap, Banana Republic, American Eagle Open Stores With Musical Performances
Chicago Chefs Prepare Apple-Cider Bubbles, Whipped Salt Cod for Food & Wine Entertaining Showcase
MoMA Gets Suitably Whimsical and Macabre for Tim Burton Tribute
Nintendo Launches New Mario Game With Look Back at Franchise History
New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves
MORE STORIES ABOUT SUPER BOWL
More Super Bowl Shots: Events From NBC, NFL, Pepsi, and DirecTV
Super Bowl Highlights Reel: Faux Beaches, Red Bull Sky Divers, and Cuban Pinup Girls Take Over Tampa
What the Press Said About Super Bowl Weekend: Low-Key, With Little Imagination
MORE STORIES ABOUT ESPN THE MAGAZINE
ESPN Magazine Marks Anniversary With Live Concert
What NBA All-Star Party Hosts Thought of New Orleans
| More Suppliers/Venues to Consider |
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
|
|
Columbia University Faculty House
A new era for Columbia University Faculty House, Upper Manhattan’s premier event space, is here. Now accepting year-round bookings, this campus landmark welcomes meetings and events with a unique blend of cosmopolitan style and campus serenity. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
|
Jonathon Beck
Jonathon Beck provides complete production design and creative direction for corporate and fashion events. Beck is known for his imagination, style, and flair, indicative of his background as a set designer. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
|
Everett Hall Associates Inc.
Everett Hall Associates is a professional staging company focused on corporate meetings and events. Their clients rely on EHA’s knowledge, experience, and professionalism for outstanding results. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
