The Presidents Cup announces Opening Ceremony plans featuring international festival, Rascal Flatts concert
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 24, 2013
For
More Information:
Laura Neal, PGA TOUR, 904.273.7655, [email protected]
Tom Sprouse, HNS Sports Group, 614.889.6791, [email protected]
The Presidents Cup
announces Opening Ceremony plans featuring international festival, Rascal
Flatts concert
For first time, Opening Ceremony held off site and open to public for $30;
portion of proceeds benefit Nationwide Children’s Hospital
DUBLIN, Ohio – For the first time in event history and as part of the 10th
staging of The Presidents Cup, tournament officials are excited to announce
plans for an off-site, open-to-the-public Opening Ceremony, featuring an
international festival and concert by Grammy Award-winning group Rascal
Flatts. The celebration will be held at
the Columbus Commons located in downtown Columbus at 160 South High Street, on
Wednesday, October 2, with an international food and entertainment festival
from 5-7:30 p.m.; Opening Ceremony from 7:30-8:30 p.m.; and a concert by Rascal
Flatts (two of three members hail from Columbus), followed by fireworks, from
8:30-9:30 p.m.
|
Photo, from left: RJ Cavallaro, Mills James; Linda Logan,
Columbus Sports Commission; Guy Worley, President/CEO Columbus Downtown
Development Corporation; Dr. Steve
Allen, CEO Nationwide Children’s Hospital; Dan Sullivan, Tournament Director;
Andrew J. Ginther, City Council President; Jim Schimmer, Director of Franklin
County Economic Development & Planning; Mayor Tim Lecklider, Dublin, Ohio |
Beginning August 1, a total of 5,000 General Admission tickets to the Opening
Ceremony – inclusive of all the above activities – are available via
www.presidentscup.com and at all Columbus-area Kroger grocery stores for $30
(plus applicable taxes and fees), with a portion of the proceeds benefitting
Columbus-based Nationwide Children’s Hospital (existing Presidents Cup ticket
buyers will be offered an exclusive pre-sale opportunity between July 24 and
August 1). Ranked in all 10 specialties
on U.S. News & World Report’s 2013-14 “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals”
list, Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s largest
not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks providing wellness,
preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children
and adolescents, as well as adult patients with congenital disease. Nationwide Children’s remains true to the
original mission since its founding in 1892 of providing care regardless of a
family’s ability to pay.
The Presidents Cup, a premier, international, team match-play competition
featuring 24 of the world’s top golfers, returns to the United States, October
1-6, at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
“We are thrilled with the full slate of entertainment and activities for
Opening Ceremony,” said Dan Sullivan, The Presidents Cup tournament
director. “This is the perfect start to
what will be an incredible week for Dublin and Columbus, as we gather the entire
community together for an evening of fun, food and, of course, a concert by
superstars Rascal Flatts. We’ve always said that The Presidents Cup is more
than just a golf tournament, and that fact will be on display October 2 in the
Columbus Commons as we celebrate the pageantry, international flavor and
charitable impact of this great event.”
“We can’t wait to throw one heck of a party at the Opening Ceremony for The
Presidents Cup,” said Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts. “What better way to kick off the tournament
than with a fun–filled concert for all of our friends and family in Columbus to
help generate funds for such a great and charitable cause.”
Columbus Commons is a seven-acre green space located in the heart of Downtown
Columbus with a state-of-the-art performance space, Columbus Bicentennial
Pavilion, world-class gardens and much more. The Presidents Cup Opening
Ceremony, festival and concert are being produced by Columbus-based Mills James
Creative Media, in conjunction with the PGA TOUR and in partnership with the
Columbus Downtown Development Corporation & Capitol South and CAPA.
International Festival, 5-7:30 p.m.
Fans of all ages are invited to bring their chairs – and their appetites – to
enjoy a variety of entertainment and food for purchase that represent the
global nature of The Presidents Cup.
Lawn seating and limited, open-bleacher seating are available on the
general lawn. Three stages will showcase
music and performances from locally based acts that specialize in authentic
entertainment from countries such as Japan, Argentina, South Africa, Thailand,
South Korea, Zimbabwe, Australia and the United States; a sampling of these
acts include Mojo Kings, Powerhouse, Thiossane African Dance and Drums, Jacked
Up, Hiuchi Taiko, The Bush Men and Buchaechum Dance. Fire performers, stilt
walkers, aerialists, jugglers and magicians will roam the crowd, entertaining
attendees with internationally themed performances.
A wide variety of international food options will be available for purchase, catered
by Columbus-based Cameron Mitchell Restaurants and Cameron Mitchell Premier
Events including six of their flagship restaurants: Marcella’s; Cap City Fine
Diner & Bar; The Pearl; Mitchell’s Ocean Club; Cameron’s American Bistro;
and Rusty Bucket; with additional concession tents that showcase food from
nations expected to be represented in The Presidents Cup, such as South Africa,
South Korea, Australia and Argentina.
Also as part of the festival, flags from each country represented by the teams’
players will be raised by members of The First Tee of Central Ohio as national
anthems are performed. Official
Presidents Cup merchandise will be available for purchase throughout the
festival grounds.
Opening Ceremony, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Attendees will direct their attention to the Columbus Bicentennial Pavilion at
7:30 p.m. for the official Presidents Cup Opening Ceremony, which will be
televised live on Golf Channel in the United States and throughout the world
via PGA TOUR international television partners.
Emceed by Dan Hicks of NBC Sports, Opening Ceremony is the official
introduction of the U.S. and International Team players, captains’ assistants
and U.S. Team Captain Fred Couples and International Team Captain Nick
Price.
Opening Ceremony will include performances by The Ohio State University
Marching Band, as well as Columbus’ own 200-voice Harmony Project Choir.
Matching well with The Presidents Cup’s values of international goodwill and
charitable outreach, Harmony Project is a non-profit arts and service
organization that provides an opportunity for individuals of different racial
backgrounds, religions, ages and political affiliations to perform and bond
through the collective experience of community service.
Opening Ceremony will include speeches from World Golf Hall of Famer Jack
Nicklaus, whose Muirfield Village Golf Club is hosting The Presidents Cup; PGA
TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem; and a video message from U.S. President Barack
Obama, honorary chairman of The Presidents Cup 2013 (potential attendance to be
confirmed).
Golf and sports dignitaries from around the world will be in attendance for
Opening Ceremony, as will Ohio Governor John Kasich, mayors of Columbus and
Dulbin – Michael Coleman and Tim Lecklider, respectively – along with other
regional leaders who have been instrumental in bringing The Presidents Cup to
the area.
Rascal Flatts Concert, 8:30-9:30 p.m.
Attendees will enjoy a brief fireworks display as the Columbus Bicentennial
Pavilion is reset for a special performance by super group Rascal Flatts.
Rascal Flatts is the best-selling country vocal group of the past decade, and
with the No. 1 debut of their album, CHANGED, they have the distinction of
being one of only four acts to have seven consecutive studio albums debut in
the top spot on the Billboard Country Albums chart during the Soundscan era.
Since debuting in 2000, the band has sold more than 21 million albums, 25
million digital downloads and delivered 14 No. 1 singles to the top of the
charts. Rascal Flatts is the most-awarded country group of the past decade,
earning more than 40 trophies from the ACAs, ACMs, AMAs, CMAs, People’s Choice
Awards and more. They are currently on their sold-out world tour titled “LIVE
& LOUD.”
Following Rascal Flatts’ performance, a spectacular, 10-minute fireworks
display will signal the conclusion of the evening’s activities.
The Presidents Cup, a team, match-play competition featuring 24 of the world’s
top golfers – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding
Europe – is held every two years, and since 1996 has alternated between United
States and international venues. The Presidents Cup was developed to give the
world’s best non-European players an opportunity to compete in international
team match-play competition. The U.S. Team has won seven of the nine previous
Presidents Cups, and the only win by the International Team came at the 1998
event in Melbourne. The Presidents Cup 2003 ended in a tie. Couples is
returning as U.S. Team captain in 2013, and fellow World Golf Hall of Fame
member Price will lead the International Team.
The Presidents Cup is a unique golf event in that there is no purse or prize
money. Players are not paid for their
participation, but each competitor allocates an equal portion of the funds
generated to charities of his choice.
Since the event’s inception, more than $27 million has been raised for
charity from event proceeds, as well as contributions made on behalf of The
Presidents Cup, including a record charitable donation of $4.5 million from the
2011 event alone.
Citi and Rolex are the exclusive Global Partners of The Presidents Cup.
Weekly tickets for The Presidents Cup are on sale, available for $210 for
grounds access only or $360 for Captains’ Club access. Youth 12 and under are admitted free to The
Presidents Cup (grounds access only) with a ticketed adult. Tickets are available via
www.presidentscup.com or by calling 888-401-8000. Tournament officials are expecting a sell
out; currently, only 6,750 weekly tickets remain. For updates on The Presidents Cup, check
www.presidentscup.com, join us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thepresidentscup),
Twitter (@PresidentsCup) and via The Presidents Cup e-newsletter.
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