The unpredictable South Florida weather made for last minute changes at yesterday’s NFL Players Association networking reception. Originally designed to take place at the downtown Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s three-tiered outdoor courtyard, the event was called on Tuesday afternoon, just a mere 48 hours before its scheduled start time.
“It is always a disappointment to have to jump to plan B, but we were prepared,” said Felice Jones, assistant vice president of special events for the NFL Players. “Moving indoors, we lost some of our organic elements in the transition like natural lighting and the river backdrop, but overall the execution was successful.”
Riffing on its most recent marketing campaign—launched in September—“Football Does Not Define Me,” the bi-level space featured about 10 all-white, to-scale silhouettes of NFL players. Also flanking the black-carpet entry, the silhouettes represented the idea of the player not being defined soley by his jersey, team, or talent on the field, but rather his passion and inspirations explained Lara Potter, assistant vice president of communications for the association.
Additional branding elements included video footage of the campaign displayed on plasmas throughout the space, branded lounge pillows, and a expansive 30-foot media wall that the roughly 40 sports icons in attendance were encouraged to autograph and pose in front of for photo ops.
Co-produced by San Diego-based Meeting Architects and MOB, the networking-focused event drew 650 guests, down 150 from last year.
“Our attendance is down slightly, but we had anticipated that and made adjustments along the way,“ commented Danika Rainer, special evens manager for the association. “Because of Tampa’s smaller market, many of our partners have reduced their number of guests, in turn cutting our guest list slightly.”
The evening progressed with live music and tropical fare from the venue’s in-house catering team. As guests departed they were each presented with a commemorative pen in memoriam of Gene Upshaw, longtime executive director of the NFLPA until his death late last year.
The NFLPA will continue its festivities tonight with a player-only party at A La Carte Event Pavilion.
