Since Authentic Brands Group’s 2019 purchase of Sports Illustrated from magazine company Meredith (who bought it from previous owner Time Inc.), it has focused on finding ways to leverage the SI brand outside of the magazine and website.
One is with events, which have become increasingly important for many media companies. One of its biggest is “SI The Party” around the Super Bowl, which it announced Monday will return for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in February.
SI The Party was first launched in 2019 and has stood out for its combination of a star-studded event full of sports and entertainment celebrities, but one (unlike many top Super Bowl parties) with tickets available for the general public. It’s put on in conjunction with event hosting company Medium Rare.
Here’s more on what to expect from this year’s event (which will be held at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans) from a release ABG, SI, and Medium Rare put out Monday:
Sports Illustrated is excited to announce the return of SI The Party at Big Game Weekend 2025, set to take place at the historic Mardi Gras World in New Orleans on Saturday, February 8th. This exclusive, A-list event will feature live performances from superstar artists including Dom Dolla and Diplo, alongside branded experiences from renowned partners including CELSIUS, Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Verizon, U.S. Polo Assn., St. James Iced Tea and more – creating the ultimate Big Game celebration in one of America’s most dynamic cities. Premium All-Inclusive Tickets, VIP Clubhouse access, and VIP Tables are on-sale this Friday December 20th at 10:00AM CT, pre-register now via sitheparty.com.
…From exclusive activations to unforgettable live performances from The Chainsmokers, Jack Harlow, Kygo and more, Sports Illustrated offers sports fans the chance to engage with the world of sports in ways beyond its iconic print pages. Past attendees of SI The Party include Alex Rodriguez, Shaquille O’Neal, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Miles Teller, Machine Gun Kelly, Kevin Hart, Jeff Bezos, and Leonardo Di Caprio, to name a few. This year’s VIP tickets begin at $499.99 and include access to the performances, a five hour open bar featuring a variety of spirits and sips from the likes of Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, CELSIUS, and St. James Iced Tea, as well as all branded experiences.
…“From the very beginning, our goal has been to create the best experiences at the world’s biggest sports stages,” said Matt Goldstein, EVP of Entertainment and Special Projects at Authentic Brands Group, Sports Illustrated’s parent company. He continued, “We’ve built SI The Party into a must-attend event, where sports and culture converge in a celebration that is second to none. With New Orleans as our backdrop and our unparalleled lineup of talent, this will be the most exciting SI The Party yet.”
…“New Orleans is one of America’s most fun and vibrant cities, with a thriving music culture,” said Adam Richman and Joe Silberzweig, Co-Founders of Medium Rare who will produce the event alongside the team at Authentic. “The organic energy of New Orleans combined with the excitement of Big Game Weekend, plus our world-class talent will make SI The Party the most sought-after event of the Weekend.”
Here’s a flyer for the 2025 event:
There are plenty of other parties around the Super Bowl, but this one has some unique elements. Those include that mix of celebrity guests with the open-to-the-public nature, plus the prominent musical performances. Ahead of the February 2023 version of SI The Party around Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, Medium Rare (a company that’s worked with SI on other event-focused projects, including the SI Awards, and a company that also held parties with Shaq, Rob Gronkowski, and Guy Fieri at Super Bowl LVII) executive director of partnerships Tatum Mannion told AA SI The Party stands out for the connection to SI’s legendary brand.
“We’re all in the business of storytelling,” he said. “So how you tell the story of Shaq with Shaq’s FunHouse or Gronk with Gronk Beach, it’s the same thing with Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated has more of an elevated feel to it, kind of the brand itself, and that’s exactly what the event is. We don’t have a carnival there, we have more VIP and experiences, a lot of VIP tables, the cool nighttime flair. And it’s been incredible working with the Sports Illustrated team and our partners at Authentic Brands Group [which owns SI] to bring this to life.”
This also fits in with many of the other moves ABG has made recently to emphasize Sports Illustrated‘s brand beyond its print and online content. Those include buying naming rights for the New York Red Bulls stadium and launching Club SI at Churchill Downs, the famed home of the Kentucky Derby. And with the publishing side getting much smoother and “back to normal” following the licensing shift there from Arena Group to Minute Media earlier this year, that perhaps makes it easier still for ABG to leverage SI’s brand around events.