THE MONTREAL RENDEZVOUS ADDS ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK AS SPOKESPERSON!

Transcription

1 Tickets available at Bell Centre Box Office By phone: (514) or Order online: Ticket prices: from $55.00 to $ (taxes and service fees included) VIP packages: $ premium ticket (including pre-event cocktail party + a visit by the players) Group sales: (514) or Order online: groupsales@evenko.ca THE MONTREAL RENDEZVOUS ADDS ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK AS SPOKESPERSON! evenko and StarGames are proud to announce that the Montreal native and WTA standout, Aleksandra Wozniak, has been named spokesperson for the inaugural Montreal Rendez-Vous which will feature tennis legends Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Michael Chang at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2012.

2 Wozniak, who reached a career high ranking of 21 in 2009, was excited about becoming involved with the event that is patterned after the annual BNP Paribas Showdown at New York s Madison Square Garden. "This is a great opportunity to showcase tennis in Montreal and do something to help the sport grow, said Wozniak who will also participate in clinics and other events surrounding the Montreal Rendez-Vous. Montreal is a great tennis town which has supported me during my whole career and I am honored to be able to do something to give back to the game and help make the Rendez-Vous an annual event. The Montreal Rendez-Vous Executive Director, Jerry Solomon of StarGames welcomed Wozniak s participation. Having someone of Aleksandra s stature join our team will help broaden the impact of the Rendez-Vous. In all of our events we look to give something back to the local community and having a bonafide home grown star as our spokesperson should help us accomplish this goal. Event promoters StarGames and evenko also announced that MSG Sports, the event productions arm of the World s Most Famous arena, has become a partner in promoting the event. The Montreal Rendez-Vous adds to MSG Sports and StarGames Inc. s tennis platform which includes the annual BNP Paribas Showdown, the world s most unique one-night tennis exhibition which debuted in The 2012 event is scheduled for March 5 at Madison Square Garden featuring matches between Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova as well as Andy Roddick against Roger Federer. Past participants have included Federer, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Lendl, John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Expanding MSG Sports to include partnerships and events outside of our venues is a key part of the growth strategy for our business, said Scott O Neil, president, MSG Sports. We have produced and promoted tennis events for more than 80 years at The World s Most Famous Arena, and most recently had great success with the annual BNP Paribas Showdown produced in partnership with StarGames. We are

3 excited to partner once again with StarGames, and new partner evenko, to expand our presence in the tennis world with The Montreal Rendez- Vous, which is sure to be another must-see night of tennis. "The growth of our partnership with MSG Sports opens up exciting new opportunities for us in tennis and other sports," said StarGames President and Rendezvous Executive Producer Jerry Solomon. "Having MSG as part of the Rendezvous will help us establish it as an important annual event and a "must-have" ticket." Jacques Aubé evenko's Executive Vice-President and General Manager added, "evenko is proud to present this prestigious tennis event at Montreal s Bell Centre, for the very first time, in collaboration with StarGames and now Madison Square Garden has joined us as copromoter. This illustrates just how the Bell Centre has become an uncontested destination for world-class events. This represents the association of two of North America s biggest and most well-attended arenas." The unique partnership between MSG Sports and StarGames Inc, also includes Tennis Night in America, a national USTA effort to attract more young people to the sport and kickoff the outdoor season as well as the first class television program World of Tennis presented by BNP featuring the ins and outs of the sport of tennis airing on the Tennis Channel and MSG Plus. Agassi, Connors, Lendl and Chang are four of the sports greatest stars, winning a combined 25 Grand Slam titles and 297 ATP tour titles. All have been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, with Agassi, Connors and Lendl also recognized into the Canadian Hall of Fame. The four tennis legends tout 10 Canadian open titles with Lendl winning six, Agassi three and Chang one. The Montreal Rendezvous will feature matches that highlight two of the game s great rivalries. The evening will open with Jimmy Connors taking on Ivan Lendl in an 8 game pro-set. Connors and Lendl faced each other 35 times in their careers with Lendl having bested Connors 22 times. Andre Agassi and Michael Chang will follow in a best of three set match between the two Americans who have been competitors since childhood, a point Agassi made clear

4 in his recent autobiography. Agassi leads their rivalry For more info about our events visit: Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest news! Presented by evenko, StarGames and MSG Sports. Information and interview requests: Christine Montreuil T. (514) cmontreuil@evenko.ca About evenko: evenko is a Quebec company which has become the most important independent promoter and producer in Canada. Presenting more than 850 musical, family and sporting events annually throughout the province of Quebec, Atlantic Canada and the eastern United States, evenko plays host to the biggest entertainers in the world and invests in the development and promotion of Quebec artists. evenko is also the creator and producer of two major festivals, the Osheaga Music and Arts festival and Heavy MTL which are held at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. In January 2011, Pollstar, the industry s most respected source, ranked evenko 13th worldwide in the Promoter category while the Bell Centre was ranked 4th in North America in the category of top Arena Venue. The evenko trademark is the property of L'Aréna des Canadiens Inc. About StarGames: StarGames, LLC ( is a fully integrated sports marketing, management and entertainment company based outside of Boston, MA. Now in its 17th year, StarGames represents current and former professional athletes, produces original content for mass media distribution, operates its own broadband television channels and produces live and made for television events. In 2008, StarGames orchestrated the return of tennis to Madison Square Garden with the NetJets Showdown and has turned that into an annual celebration for the sport including two competitions for the Billie Jean King Cup. More recently, StarGames has launched the Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island, in conjunction with Junior Sports Corporation, for elite junior athletes, produced the second season of World of Tennis presented by BNP Paribas and turned the Caesars Tribute figure skating show into an annual salute to the world s most popular winter sport. About The Madison Square Garden Company: The Madison Square Garden Company is a fully-integrated sports, media and entertainment business. The company is comprised of three business segments: MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment, which are strategically aligned to work together to drive the company's overall business, which is built on a foundation of iconic venues and compelling content that the company creates, produces, presents and/or distributes through its programming networks and other media assets. MSG Sports consists of owning and operating sports franchises, including the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL), the New York Liberty (WNBA), and the Connecticut Whale (AHL). MSG Sports also features the presentation of a wide variety of live sporting events including professional boxing, college basketball, track and field and tennis, as well as MSG Action Sports, an action sports and lifestyle division. MSG Media is a leader in production and content development for multiple distribution platforms, including content originating from MSG's venues. MSG Media consists of the MSG Networks (MSG, MSG Plus, MSG HD and MSG Plus HD) regional sports networks and the Fuse Networks (Fuse and Fuse HD), a national television network dedicated to music. MSG Entertainment is one of the country's leaders in live entertainment. MSG Entertainment creates, produces and/or presents a variety of live productions including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes.

5 MSG Entertainment also presents or hosts other live entertainment events such as concerts, family shows and special events in MSG's diverse collection of venues. These venues include Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, the Chicago Theatre and the Wang Theatre. More information is available at