Over the past several years, The Bahamas has hosted some of the largest sporting and entertainment events in the region, and in an effort to further establish the country as a world class sports and entertainment brand, The Bahamas government has teamed up with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), one of the top marketing firms in the world, to help manage and market the recently renovated Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

At a press conference held at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, both Prime Minister Perry Christie and AEG representative Charles Steadman were on hand for the signing of the contract, which allows the firm to market the stadium as a sports and entertainment venue to the rest of the world. Also on hand for the signing was Don Perry from the law firm of Joel Katz out of Atlanta, Georgia; Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr. Daniel Johnson and Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis.

In terms of the benefits of the partnership, Johnson said this is exactly what The Bahamas needs to take the next step in becoming one of the top venues in the region. He said that AEG brings the perfect blend of marketing, funding and training to the equation.

"Just like we did with the IAAF, the best in the world at athletics, we're now going to partner with the best company in the world, in terms of management of stadiums, content and consistency," he said. "This is consistent with the prime minister's vision of having local Bahamian teams sit beside some of the best in the world and see how we perform. We are at last going to enter into the world of global sponsorship, which we know will drive the consistency of our brand, but also assist in maintaining the product we have now."

AEG facilities, is a stand-alone division of AEG that owns, operates and consults with more than 100 of the industry's preeminent venues worldwide. Steadman said that he is eager for the chance to be involved with The Bahamas, and expects the partnership to strengthen.

"On behalf of the 27,000 worldwide employees of AEG, it is a tremendous honor and privilege to represent them all here today," he said. "We have a global brand and a global reach that we hope to combine with the already world class destination that is The Bahamas, and the opportunity to create and expand on the great content that has already taken place here. Whether it's cultural, live music, or sports, our job is to work on behalf and execute the vision of the prime minister and the ministers that have chosen us.

"It has been a very long process. We began discussions about this in The Bahamas almost two years ago, but as they say, all great things are worth waiting for."

Prime Minister Christie added that he was more than ecstatic to welcome AEG to the country and that he is anxious to see the impact that it will have on the country's global appeal.

"When we had the CARICOM Prime Ministers' conference here in The Bahamas, we had commissioned the former prime minister of Jamaica, P.J. Patterson, to engage in a study and to report to other Caribbean prime ministers at the conference on the impact of culture and sports as an industry," he said. "In his paper, he demonstrated to us, that cultural industries amount to a multi-billion dollar enterprise world wide.

When you look at the athletes and music of Jamaica, you can see where a Caribbean country has maximized a return on creating athletic, sporting and cultural excellence.

"In The Bahamas, we began our journey by expanding Junkanoo into Junkanoo Carnival, and we found it was received in an extraordinary way by the Bahamian people and others who came in for it. The Ministry of Tourism articulated a vision for sports tourism, and so AEG tells me it is important for the sports authority, musicians' union, aspiring musicians and sporting personalities to know we are establishing a platform, on which they can build."

AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns, controls or is affiliated with a collection of companies including premier facilities such as the STAPLES Center, Sprint Center, Citizen's Bank Arena and Oracle Arena.

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