Jan 5, 2021 | Boxing, Entertainment, General News, Sports
One of the premier casino and entertainment destinations in the United States made a vital pivot during the pandemic to safely host major sports, primarily inside the award-winning Mohegan Sun Arena
UNCASVILLE, CT (January 5, 2021) – 2020 was a historic year that resulted in every major entertainment venue across the globe shutting down due to the worst pandemic in a century, accounting for billions in lost live entertainment revenue. Mohegan Sun Arena still found a way to stay open and generate a new revenue stream by reimagining itself as a residency broadcast center. Industry leading safety protocols joined the hard-working entertainment division at Mohegan Sun, led by Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment’s (MGE) President of Sports & Entertainment, Tom Cantone – and soon major sporting events (Bellator MMA, SHOWTIME Sports and College Basketball), were planned and executed without fans in attendance. As a result, Mohegan Sun Arena became one of only few venues in the United States open and producing live events. In all, these residencies in 2020 brought in 650+ professional and college athletes competing to audiences stretching in the millions across network TV, pay-per-view, social media platforms and streaming services, the latter of which had huge impacts on increased viewership.
“We wanted to adapt in an impactful way to the unforeseen challenges that Mohegan Sun, especially our award-winning Mohegan Sun Arena, suddenly faced when the pandemic arrived,” said Dave Martinelli, Chief Marketing Officer of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE). “These high-profile sporting events that we signed on and in which were successfully and collaboratively ran, did just that.”
The first deal was struck by Cantone this past summer when a historic residency with SHOWTIME Sports and Bellator MMA was made, creating the opportunity for a string of nationally televised and much anticipated sporting events to be featured in Mohegan Sun Arena. These live broadcast events with the ViacomCBS owned SHOWTIME Sports and Bellator MMA, which will continue in 2021, featured Premier Boxing events on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View (PPV) as well as action packed Bellator MMA fights most frequently broadcast on the Paramount Network and CBS Sports Network. The success of the ViacomCBS residencies soon led to additional interest from other major sports – including the NCAA. Martinelli netted a deal to host 25+ Division 1 NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball teams over the course of 10 days in late November and early December 2020. The agreement came together through partnerships with The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Gazelle Group.
“We created positive momentum with the incredible bubble-site residencies Mohegan Sun Arena hosted for SHOWTIME Boxing and Bellator MMA,” said Cantone. “Our efforts to keep our Arena in action proved how important relationships can be and allowed for additional opportunities such as “Bubbleville” to come to fruition. Through all of these events, comprehensive health and safety standards were carried out with tremendous efficiency by everyone involved, including the healthcare professionals with the Mohegan Tribal Health Department and other healthcare teams assisting us. I’m extremely proud of what our Mohegan Sun management, team members and our partners executed in such a challenging year.”
“Bubbleville,” as it was billed and came to be known in national press coverage ahead of and during its run from November 25th – December 5th of 2020, saw multiple big-time teams from the likes of Villanova, Florida, Virginia, USC, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Uconn and Arizona State take the floor for the start of their seasons. Similar to the boxing and MMA events, in-person crowds were not present though various games were played to national audiences through ESPN networks and the online streaming platform, FLOHOOPS. After unfortunate setbacks to start, where some teams were not able to take part in “Bubbleville,” the tournaments moved forward, in large part due to the strict safety measures enacted and vital testing schedules conducted by Hartford Healthcare and Mirimus, who administered 2,800 tests among teams and staff.
“Bubbleville protocols included all teams, staff and other vital personnel like referees and broadcasters to take saliva based tests upon arrival and during their stay in the bubble,” said Dave Martinelli, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment’s CMO. “We hit some setbacks just as the games were set to begin, though focus wasn’t lost, and what followed was 10 days of great College Basketball under a tight system of the type rarely seen before at a casino resort destination.”
Villanova’s championship winning head coach, Jay Wright, also commented to APNews mid-way through “Bubbleville” at Mohegan Sun by saying, “You feel safe, you know you can get a game in here and you know the team you’re playing is going to be safe. I think that’s going to be important throughout this year to find environments like this.”
More than 17,000 hotel room nights were booked at Mohegan Sun’s Sky Tower and Earth Tower during these three major sporting deals. In total, Mohegan Sun gained vast exposure on a variety of media platforms including CBS Sports, ESPN, Paramount Network, Showtime Network, YouTube, the Bellator App, DAZN, TV Spots 5 UK and additional streaming services like FLOHOOPS.
“The exposure we were able to receive as part of these opportunities last year was highly significant,” said Jeff Hamilton, President & General Manager of Mohegan Sun. “Bubbleville hosted a game on Thanksgiving night, live on ESPN, where the Arizona StateSun Devils battled and fell to the #4 Villanova Wildcats. This game had a household Television audience of 591,000, equating to nearly 1 million overall potential viewers. This was just one of many big-time national audiences our venue and brand was a part of in 2020.”
Additional highly rated events, live from Mohegan Sun Arena last year, included Bellator 249 (Cyborg vs. Blencowe on October 15th), Bellator 250 (Mousasi vs. Lima on October 29th) and Bellator 254 (Macfarlane vs. Velasquez on December 10th), among others. And one of the most anticipated boxing events came on September 26, 2020, when in a WBC World Middleweight title fight, Jermall Charlo defeated Sergly Derevyanchenko in a 12 round unanimous decision. Boxing history was also made on this night as the fight card included four other World Championship Title fights live from Mohegan Sun Arena and broadcast to viewers worldwide on Showtime Pay-Per-View (PPV). The pandemic created an opportunity to capture a home audience of more than 12 million viewers during the ViacomCBS broadcasts, with ratings in the double digits.
“During an unprecedented year, we found a way to generate a new revenue stream, create impactful brand exposure, fill hotel rooms and bring back an entertainment workforce,” said Cantone. “No virus could kill the spirit of this incredible team who made the words, “Live from Mohegan Sun Arena,” a monumental achievement in 2020.”
ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA
Mohegan Sun Arena is now ranked consistently among the top venues in the world according to Billboard Magazine, Pollstar and Venues Now and is also consistently ranked top 15 in the world for “All Size Venues.” The award–winning venue was named “#1 Social Media Venue in the World” in 2016 and is a seven–time Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM) national award–winner for “Arena of the Year,” with the most recent recognition coming in 2019. In 2020, Mohegan Sun Arena remained one of the top venues in the world according to year-end reports by both Pollstar and Venues Now. For more information and updates on Mohegan Sun Arena, call 1.888.226.7711 or visit Mohegan Sun.
ABOUT MOHEGAN GAMING & ENTERTAINMENT
Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) is a master developer and operator of premier global integrated entertainment resorts, including Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, Inspire in Incheon, South Korea, and Niagara Casinos in Niagara, Canada. MGE is owner, developer, and/or manager of integrated entertainment resorts throughout the United States, including Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Northern Asia, Niagara Falls, Canada, and coming soon pending regulatory approval, Las Vegas, Nevada. MGE is owner and operator of Connecticut Sun, a professional basketball team in the WNBA and New England Black Wolves, a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. For more information on MGE and our properties, visit www.mohegangaming.com.
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Aug 7, 2020 | Boxing, Entertainment, General News, Sports
Leading Combat Sports Entities Select the Flagship Integrated Entertainment Resort in Connecticut from a Short List of Top-Tier Venues for Live Sports Series and Broadcast Residency
Mohegan Sun, one of the world’s leading integrated entertainment resort destinations, today announced a historic residency with SHOWTIME Sports and Bellator MMA, who selected Mohegan Sun Arena as its broadcast center for a string of nationally televised and much-anticipated events. As part of this relationship, Mohegan Sun’s world-class arena will host a series of major Premier Boxing Champions events on SHOWTIME® and SHOWTIME PPV® and mixed martial arts (MMA) fights from Bellator MMA – under strict safety protocols and with no fans in attendance – over the coming months. These leading combat sports entities chose Mohegan Sun’s award-winning arena in part due to its health and safety practices, and versatile, broadcast-friendly arena.
As live, in-person entertainment takes a backseat to virtual and televised content amid the current climate, Mohegan Sun has made proactive and strategic improvements to its facilities to successfully operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the brand has made several enhancements to ensure Mohegan Sun Arena is a fully functional, international remote broadcast center until audiences can be safely welcomed back to the property.
“We are extremely pleased and excited to join forces with these major sports brands, SHOWTIME Sports, Premier Boxing Champions and Bellator MMA. Our world-class venue, along with our accommodating resort facilities on-site, allows us to create a safe environment as a broadcast center and adhere to today’s sports protocols. Being chosen as host is truly a compliment to Mohegan Sun’s leadership role in the entertainment industry,” said Tom Cantone, President of Sports & Entertainment for Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment. “This is a result of a strong longtime relationship, and we are eager to bring world-class sports and entertainment back to Mohegan Sun Arena where it belongs.”
Since its phased reopening earlier this summer, Mohegan Sun has also developed a series of best-practice safety protocols to ensure proper social distancing for groups is made possible and convenient for production staff, athletes and executives while on-property. This operational framework allows Mohegan to embrace the complexity of creating a health and safety ‘bubble’ for two different organizations running live broadcast events through the month of December.
“Tom Cantone and his team at Mohegan Sun have been excellent partners and the venue has suited our unique needs to deliver both boxing and MMA,” said Stephen Espinoza, President of SHOWTIME Sports. “In order to safely broadcast these events, we have a wide range of logistics to consider. Mohegan Sun has provided everything we could need in terms of safety, continuity, and convenience. We’re proud to work with them as we deliver our first live sports telecasts since March.”
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® at Mohegan Sun Arena is presented by Premier Boxing Champions and kicked off on Saturday, August 1st, with a matchup of unbeaten prospects, Angelo Leo and Tramaine Williams, battling for the vacant Jr. Featherweight World Championship. The next Premier Boxing Champion events slated for SHOWTIME from Mohegan Sun Arena includes David Benavidez vs. Alexis Angulo on Saturday, August 15th and Erickson Lubin vs. Terrell Gausha on Saturday, September 19th.
Upcoming Bellator MMA events, broadcast on Paramount Network and DAZN, include Bellator 243: Chandler vs. Henderson 2 tonight, Friday, August 7th, Bellator 244 on Friday, August 21st and Bellator 245 on Friday, September 11th broadcast live from the Mohegan Sun Arena.
For additional information on entertainment offerings at Mohegan Sun and live COVID-19 updates, please visit: mohegansun.com/updates.
ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN:
Owned by Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, Mohegan Sun is one of the largest, most spectacular entertainment, gaming, dining and shopping destinations in the United States. Situated on 185 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is home to two unique casinos, 1,600 deluxe hotel rooms, two world-class spas, a golf course, over 80 shops, restaurants and bars as well as three award-winning entertainment venues including a 10,000-seat Arena. Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country. More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or visiting mohegansun.com. Connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @mohegansun, view us on YouTube and find us on Snapchat at username MoheganSun.
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Oct 16, 2019 | Boxing, Entertainment, Sports
WHAT: Mohegan Sun is proud to announce the newest Arena Walk of Fame inductee, mixed martial arts organization, Bellator MMA. Owned by media and entertainment giant Viacom, Bellator MMA has hosted over 20 events at Mohegan Sun Arena since their first show on April 10, 2009 at Bellator 2. In that span, there have been incredible moments along the way, including monumental title fights, season premieres and highly anticpated matchups in both the heavyweight and welterweight World Grand Prix tournaments. Bellator MMA’s President, Scott Coker, will be presented with the Walk of Fame star outside Mohegan Sun’s Box Office prior to Bellator 231 on the evening of October 25th. Special appearances at this public event will be made by MMA legends Royce Gracie and Chael Sonnen, as well as on-air personalities “Big” John McCarthy and Jay Glazer.
WHEN/ WHERE: Friday, October 25th at 4:00pm; Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office Forecourt
WHO: Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of Entertainment: Tom Cantone; Bellator MMA President: Scott Coker
IN DETAIL: Mohegan Sun Arena’s most memorable performers including Bon Jovi, KISS, Rod Stewart, Taylor Swift, Mötley Crüe, Keith Urban and so many more have been honored as Walk of Famers and have stars lining the floor by Mohegan Sun’s Box Office. Bellator MMA returns to Mohegan Sun Arena for massive doubleheader on October 25th & 26th.
Friday: Bellator 231 headlined by Frank Mir and Roy Nelson in an explosive heavyweight rematch; Saturday: Rory Macdonald meets Douglas Lima in the Welterweight World Grand Prix Finals for the world title and one million dollars. This sets the perfect timing to recognize the Bellator MMA organization as the 34th inductee into the Walk of Fame.
The Walk of Fame award recognizes those individuals who have made significant contributions to the success of Mohegan Sun as the Northeast’s premier entertainment destination. All of the individuals inducted into the Mohegan Sun Walk of Fame will have their name engraved on a plaque that will be permanently located at the entrance to Mohegan Sun Arena.
For more information, visit mohegansun.com/entertainment.
*Media and public are invited to attend the induction ceremony.
Mohegan Sun Arena is now ranked consistently among the top venues in the world according to Billboard Magazine, Pollstar and VenuesNow. Mohegan Sun Arena is consistently ranked among the top three “Arenas in the World for its Size” and top 15 in the “World for All Size Venues.” The award – winning venue is the “#1 Casino Venue in the World,” “#1 Social Media Venue in the World” and a seven – time national award – winner for “Arena of the Year.”
Jun 25, 2018 | Boxing, Comedy, Entertainment, General News, Hot Summer Fun, Sports, Travel & Leisure
Headliners include U2, Britney Spears, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello, 5 Seconds of Summer, Sugarland and so many more!
UNCASVILLE, CT (June 25, 2018) – Mohegan Sun is rolling out the best in entertainment for all types of fans and concertgoers! From live music, to comedy, the CT Sun and boxing, there is no other place to experience the variety of entertainment Mohegan Sun will bring this summer. In late June, the Barenaked Ladies kick off the summer with a spectacle you won’t want to miss. A record of more than 290 shows and sporting events will follow this performance, for a full 10 weeks until September 3rd.
The star-studded lineup set to hit Mohegan Sun Arena includes: Barenaked Ladies June 29th, Slugfest at the Sun (STAR Boxing) June 30th, U2 July 3rd, The Off Color Comedy Tour Presented by Comix July 7th, Steely Dan & The Doobie Brothers July 8th, Barry Manilow July 10th, Britney Spears July 15th, Charlie Puth July 19th, Jeff Dunham July 21st, Evanescence & Lindsey Stirling July 25th, Smashing Pumpkins July 29th, Camila Cabello July 31st, Halestorm + In This Moment August 2nd, Rise Against August 3rd, Jason Mraz August 4th, Brantley Gilbert August 11th, 3 Doors Down & Collective Soul August 16th, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy August 24th & 25th, 5 Seconds of Summer August 29th, Sugarland August 30th and Fall Out Boy August 31st. Tickets are available at the Mohegan Sun Box Office or through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to Ticketmaster.com or call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge by Phone number 1.800.745.3000.
The Wolf Den – open seven days a week, free and for guests 21 and over – will bring in acts such as Phil Dirt & The Dozers June 25th, Jimmy & The Hat Tricks June 25th, Aubrie Sellers June 28th, Tonic June 29th, Charo June 30th, Chris Lane July 1st, Crazy On You – A Tribute to Heart July 2nd, Steve Azar July 5th, Robert Randolph & The Family Band July 6th, Little Anthony & The Imperials July 7th, Michael Tyler July 8th, Red Light July 9th, Jeff Pitchell’s Legends July 12th, From Ashes To New July 13th, Home Free July 14th, The Social Animals July 15th, Wildee July 16th, Remember When Rock Was Young July 19th, 10 Years July 20th, ZZ Ward July 21st, Tony Jackson July 22nd, Juice Box July 23rd, Runaway June July 26th, Katey Sagal & The Reluctant Apostles July 27th, Mike Delguidice & Big Shot July 28th, Carbon Leaf July 29th, Sugar July 30th, The McCartney Years August 2nd, Luke Pell August 3rd, Us The Duo August 4th, Seth Ennis August 5th, No Mind August 6th, Boogie Wonder Band August 9th, Cam August 10th, The Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular August 11th & 12th, The Pop Rocks August 13th, Walker McGuire August 16th, The Menzingers August 17th, Eli Young Band August 18th, Draw The Line August 19th, Wicked Peach August 20th, Michael Ray August 23rd, Hatebreed August 24th, Everclear August 25th, The Doo Wop Project August 26th, Fast Ricky August 27th, Hannah Ellis August 30th and Canaan Smith August 31st.
Mohegan Sun’s very own WNBA team Connecticut Sun will have multiple home games inside Mohegan Sun Arena throughout June, July and August! Home games include:
- CT Sun VS. Indiana Fever – Wednesday, June 27th at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. NY Liberty – Wednesday, July 11th at 11:30am
- CT Sun VS. Phoenix Mercury – Friday, July 13th at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. Atlanta Dream – Tuesday, July 17th at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. Seattle Storm – Friday, July 20th at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. Washington Mystics – Tuesday, July 24th at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. NY Liberty – Wednesday, August 1st at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. Las Vegas Aces – Sunday, August 5th at 3:00pm
- CT Sun VS. Chicago Sky – Sunday, August 12th at 3:00pm
- CT Sun VS. Dallas Wings – Tuesday, August 14th at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. Minnesota Lynx – Friday, August 17th at 7:00pm
- CT Sun VS. LA Sparks – Sunday, August 19th at 3:00pm
For more information on events at Mohegan Sun, visit our website or call the Entertainment Hotline at 1.888.226.7711 X 27163.
About Mohegan Sun: Owned by Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, Mohegan Sun is one of the largest, most spectacular entertainment, gaming, dining and shopping destinations in the United States. Situated on 185 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is home to three unique casinos, 1,600 deluxe hotel rooms, 2 world-class spas, a golf course, over 90 shops, restaurants and bars as well as three award-winning entertainment venues including a 10,000-seat Arena. Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country. More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or visiting mohegansun.com. Connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram@mohegansun, view us on YouTubeand find us on Snapchat at username MoheganSun.
Feb 24, 2016 | Entertainment, General News, Sports
UNCASVILLE, CT (February 24, 2016) – Undefeated world champion Keith Thurman sustained an injury as a result of a car accident that has forced his welterweight title defense date against Shawn Porter at Mohegan Sun Arena to be cancelled. The announcement was made Monday by promoter Lou DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment. According to his doctors, Thurman’s injuries are not considered serious and he is expected to be cleared to resume training in the coming weeks. Thurman vs. Porter was the main event of a scheduled two-fight card to be broadcast in prime time on CBS on March 12th. This fight and the network broadcast will now be rescheduled for a later date.
Tickets purchased for the Thurman vs. Porter fight will be refunded at the point of purchase.
“While it is unfortunate that we must temporarily postpone this marquee matchup, a main event of the magnitude of Thurman vs. Porter requires both fighters be healthy and at their best,” said DiBella. “Keith is anxious to resume training as soon he is able and both he and Shawn are looking forward to a new fight date.”
Mohegan Sun Arena is now ranked consistently among the top venues in the world according to Billboard Magazine, Pollstar and Venues Today. It has won “Casino of The Year” at the Country Music Awards in 2008 & 2010 and in 2013, was voted “Arena Of The Year” at the G2E Global Gaming Conference in Las Vegas. Also in 2013, Mohegan Sun won “Casino of The Year” in 2 categories at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Mohegan Sun Arena was also ranked among the top 10 arena venues in the nation for 2014, regardless of size. In 2015, Mohegan Sun took home the IEBA award for “Casino of the Year.” For more information on concerts and other great events, visit Mohegan Sun. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.