Company Behind Metallica, Blake Shelton, and Garth Brooks Drive-In Concerts Tap Nashville Agency to Showcase Highly Anticipated Rematch Between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
NASHVILLE, FORT WORTH and LAS VEGAS, JANUARY 6, 2020 — UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and Encore Live today announced they will distribute UFC® 257: POIRIER vs. MCGREGOR II at drive-in theaters across the United States in partnership with Joe Hand Promotions and supported in marketing, advertising, and media buying by Grayscale Marketing. Headlining the January 23rd event is the highly anticipated rematch between former two-division champion and current No. 4 ranked UFC lightweight Conor McGregor and former interim UFC lightweight champion and current No. 2 ranked Dustin Poirier.
UFC 257: POIRIER vs. MCGREGOR II is historic in that it will mark the first time that UFC has distributed one of its events at drive-in and outdoor theaters. The experience will provide sports fans with a new, innovative way to watch events.
Following the cancellation of nearly all its conference and other traditional live event business due to COVID-19, Encore Live introduced the Encore Drive-In Nights concert series and in the process redefined live entertainment in the pandemic era.
Tim Gray, Grayscale Marketing CEO stated “This partnership comes on the heels of last summer’s massively popular Encore Drive-In Nights concert series featuring Metallica, Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton and Kane Brown. In only a few months we’ve been able to help entertain more than 900,000 fans at 1,100 concerts in 330 venues across 2 countries working with Encore Live.” Gray continued “What began as an innovative and experiential pivot during the 2020 pandemic may end up helping to lead the way into the future of live entertainment. Working with Walter and his team at Encore Live on their successful summer events only further excites us to again be part of this historic first with the UFC.”
“The massive turnout and overwhelmingly positive fan response to our summer drive-in concert series is proof that there's a strong appetite for live communal events,” said Walter Kinzie, CEO and Founder of Encore Live. “UFC is one of the most innovative global sports brands and we’re thrilled to partner with them for this first-of-its-kind drive-in experience that will provide fans the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy some awesome live sports in a safe way.”
“UFC’s pay-per-views are among the most popular live events in all of sports and significant customer attractions for commercial establishments everywhere,” said David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content. “By teaming up with Encore Live, we’re able to deliver this marquee event in a new, innovative way to broaden distribution and reach more UFC fans across the United States.”
Encore Live has a footprint of over 300 drive-in theaters across the United States, which can be accessed by visiting www.encorenights.com. Vehicle passes for the event will start at $59 for early bird and admit one car, truck or SUV with up to six passengers. Early bird tickets are available now and can be purchased by visiting www.ticketmaster.com/encore-ufc257. All participating theaters will adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended guidelines as well as state and local health mandates.
About Grayscale Marketing
Grayscale Marketing is an award winning fully integrated advertising, marketing, public relations, and strategy firm based out of Nashville, TN specializing in live entertainment. Grayscale represents a diverse client base in all 50 states and 4 countries that has sold over 1,000,000 event tickets in the last 4 years. Grayscale’s entertainment client have included Country Jam Colorado, Virgin Hotels, MilB, Empire Records, Warner Chappell Production Music, Dancefestopia, Heartland Stampede, SunFest, Live Nation, Ditty TV, Pilgrimage Festival, Forecastle Festival, Hendrick’s Gin, Sixthman, Panorama, Milagro Tequila, Jack Daniel’s, Old Settler’s Music Festival, Kessler Presents, and many more.
About Encore Drive-In Nights
Encore Drive-In Nights showcases the world’s most iconic stars with performances recorded exclusively for drive-in theaters across North America. From the safety of your vehicle, you will enjoy an exclusive cinematic experience under the summer night sky. Drive-in. Rock out.
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 318 million fans and 126 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to nearly one billion TV households across more than 171 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 72 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC was acquired in 2016 by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, along with strategic investors Silver Lake Partners and KKR. UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.
About Joe Hand Promotions
Joe Hand Promotions, the leading provider of live content to sports bars, restaurants, and dining establishments, has been bringing fan communities together to watch sporting events since 1971. Joe Hand Promotions has been the exclusive distributor of UFC events to the commercial marketplace since 2001.
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