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  1. Production & Strategy
  2. Sports Events

ESPN and Allstate Bring LA Glamor to Game Day for the College Football Playoff

Allstate’s Party at the Playoff event brought together celebrity athletes, ESPN talent, and other A-listers for an affair that oozed football and the allure of old LA.

Shannon Thaler
January 25, 2023

LOS ANGELES—On Jan. 7, ESPN and the College Football Playoff (CFP) celebrated the Jan. 9 National Championship game (where Georgia beat TCU 65-7) with its Allstate Party at the Playoff event.

The VIP to-do—produced by 15|40 Productions—rolled out the blue carpet for 800 athletes (hello, Tim Tebow, Sedona Prince, and Antonio Gates), ESPN talent (like Elle Duncan, Jason Fitz, and Pat McAfee), and celebrities to LA’s The Majestic Downtown. 

It wasn’t your typical game-day affair with barbecues and backyard games. The night was “an ode to iconic LA,” described 15|40’s vice president of brand and experiential, Marissa Kiersch, with a “concept centered around the Regency Hollywood era,” added Craig Waldman, 15|40’s president and chief creative officer.

Want to see how football can be glamorous too? Keep scrolling to see more from inside the Allstate Party at the Playoff event, plus hear insights from the director of sports brand solutions at Disney and ESPN (ESPN is majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company)...

Waldman told BizBash that “design challenges coming into this year’s event were not only centered around creating a fresh take on the annual party, but also elevating and enhancing the existing architecture of the venue.” The concept was ever-present at the entrance into The Majestic Downtown’s 9,999-square-foot Grand Hall.
Waldman told BizBash that “design challenges coming into this year’s event were not only centered around creating a fresh take on the annual party, but also elevating and enhancing the existing architecture of the venue.” The concept was ever-present at the entrance into The Majestic Downtown’s 9,999-square-foot Grand Hall.
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
The night was inspired by the Regency Hollywood era, which cued up a retro take on football-centered decor—like “rich, black-and-white football imagery”—that “leaned into the glamorous nature of the time period,” Waldman said.
The night was inspired by the Regency Hollywood era, which cued up a retro take on football-centered decor—like “rich, black-and-white football imagery”—that “leaned into the glamorous nature of the time period,” Waldman said.
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
Servers were dressed in 1920s garb as they passed out retro penny candy. Themed bars not only boasted a hall-of-fame type display of black-and-white photos, but also served up a selection of beer, wine, and spirits.
Servers were dressed in 1920s garb as they passed out retro penny candy. Themed bars not only boasted a hall-of-fame type display of black-and-white photos, but also served up a selection of beer, wine, and spirits.
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
“Allstate has been with us as a sponsor of this event for all nine years, since it was created in 2014,” explained Lauren Barsamian, the director of sports brand solutions at Disney and ESPN. “Their official sponsorship of the College Football Playoff also began from the inception of the CFP, and simply put, the brand is synonymous with the sport.” Nods to the insurance company were “represented through key activation elements,” Barsamian said, including “the blue carpet for arrivals, the Allstate Lounge in the center of the event space, and the natural blue lighting throughout the venue.”
“Allstate has been with us as a sponsor of this event for all nine years, since it was created in 2014,” explained Lauren Barsamian, the director of sports brand solutions at Disney and ESPN. “Their official sponsorship of the College Football Playoff also began from the inception of the CFP, and simply put, the brand is synonymous with the sport.”

Nods to the insurance company were “represented through key activation elements,” Barsamian said, including “the blue carpet for arrivals, the Allstate Lounge in the center of the event space, and the natural blue lighting throughout the venue.”
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
ESPN’s longtime catering partner, Phoenix-based M Culinary Concepts, helmed F&B, which the team described as a celebration of “the diversity of California cuisine.” The result? Mini chili cheese dogs—a nod to MLB’s Dodger Dog—as well as Pacific favorites like pad Thai, Polynesian fried rice, and dim sum carts that rolled throughout the space. In true LA style, vegans were not forgotten—there were also plant-based “chicken” sliders. And for pescatarians, there were smoked cioppino soup sips as well as pawn and pesto flatbreads.
ESPN’s longtime catering partner, Phoenix-based M Culinary Concepts, helmed F&B, which the team described as a celebration of “the diversity of California cuisine.”

The result? Mini chili cheese dogs—a nod to MLB’s Dodger Dog—as well as Pacific favorites like pad Thai, Polynesian fried rice, and dim sum carts that rolled throughout the space. In true LA style, vegans were not forgotten—there were also plant-based “chicken” sliders. And for pescatarians, there were smoked cioppino soup sips as well as pawn and pesto flatbreads.
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
LA-based DJ Miss Ninja mixed beats throughout the night, and Mike Posner “capped off the night with a confetti-filled rendition of his hit song 'Cooler Than Me.'”
LA-based DJ Miss Ninja mixed beats throughout the night, and Mike Posner “capped off the night with a confetti-filled rendition of his hit song 'Cooler Than Me.'”
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
In another fun nod to Regency era decor (which was notable for its brass and gilded touches and maximalist nature), full bookcases hid photo ops behind speakeasy-style doors.
In another fun nod to Regency era decor (which was notable for its brass and gilded touches and maximalist nature), full bookcases hid photo ops behind speakeasy-style doors.
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
Barsamian noted that she and her team are already looking forward to the 10th edition of Allstate Party at the Playoff. “We’re excited to head to Houston in 2024!” she exclaimed, adding that “the event will always embrace the local culture of the host city.”
Barsamian noted that she and her team are already looking forward to the 10th edition of Allstate Party at the Playoff. “We’re excited to head to Houston in 2024!” she exclaimed, adding that “the event will always embrace the local culture of the host city.”
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
Aside from a noteworthy headlining performance by Posner, Barsamian attributed the greatest success of the event to its safety “from start to finish.” She continued: “Coming off the challenges with COVID, we were able to bring back the event, inclusive of the blue carpet with our most influential guest list to date.”
Aside from a noteworthy headlining performance by Posner, Barsamian attributed the greatest success of the event to its safety “from start to finish.” She continued: “Coming off the challenges with COVID, we were able to bring back the event, inclusive of the blue carpet with our most influential guest list to date.”
Photo: Courtesy of 15|40 Productions
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