Premium Season Ticket Holders Take Part in the First-Ever Mercedes-Benz Premium Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Event
Magic Rolls Out Red Carpet for Premium Season Ticket Holders
By Nicole Dupes | August 28, 2007
At the first-ever event of its kind, the Orlando Magic and premium corporate partner, Mercedes-Benz, hosted a VIP appreciation event for premium season ticket holders at the Amway Arena on Thursday, August 23, 2007.
The Mercedes-Benz Premium Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Event featured an evening of A-list treatment, as each of the 230 guests in attendance received either a free three-day, two-night vacation from the Ritz-Carlton Club or a free golf foursome from Falcon’s Fire as they entered the building.
Once inside the main arena, guest were able to choose from a variety of fine cuisine, such as carving stations with Artisan breads, Asian noodles with fried wontons, assorted pastas with garlic sticks and banana pudding with bananas foster.
While enjoying the soothing sounds of the Orlando Philharmonic’s String Trio, guests were also able to mingle with Orlando Magic senior staff and get a glimpse of the brand-new 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class that would be given away as a one-year lease at the end of the evening.
“I think this event was great and that the arena looks great and the people have been very friendly,” new Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “It’s always great to get away from the office or the court and meet the fans, especially these fans because most of them have supported the Magic since day one and are the real die-hard fans.”
Serving as emcee for the evening, David Steele began the official program by first introducing the Magic’s COO Alex Martins to say a few words about the new arena and the future of the organization, followed by General Manager Otis Smith, who expressed his enthusiasm with the hiring of Van Gundy and the newest signings for the 2007-08 season.
Guests were then able to hear from Coach Van Gundy, who shared his coaching philosophy and his commitment to winning, and Rashard Lewis, who spoke about his excitement in joining a wonderful organization.
“This event is a great event for me to get to know some of the people that are supporting us this season,” Lewis said during the event. “It gave them a chance to meet me and get to know me besides just playing on the basketball court.”
With the evening winding down, Steele once again took to the stage to announce the lucky winners of the door prizes. With Lewis pulling the names, Steele announced the winners of the men’s and women’s Tiffany & Co. Atlas Stainless Steel Watches, as well as the winners of two Ritz-Carlton vacations.
The evening was capped off with the main event, the drawing of the one-year lease of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which was won by Kirk Stephens, a season-ticket holder since the Magic’s inaugural season.
“I think their commitment to us is tremendous,” Van Gundy said of the team’s corporate partners. “What they did tonight really created a lot of excitement. When someone gets a free Mercedes-Benz lease for a year, that’s really something to get excited about. You need the support of big companies like Mercedes-Benz to make an organization successful, and obviously with their commitment this evening, they have proven to be a great partner and supporter.”
Nicole Dupes is an intern in the Orlando Magic Communications department
