CHICAGO, Ill. (February 22, 2010) — Madison Square Garden has formed a co-promotional agreement with Bellator Fighting Championships to bring a total of four nationally televised Bellator events to two of the most historic and prestigious theaters in the United States, the Chicago Theatre and the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston.
The events — which will be broadcast on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo — will be staged at the legendary Chicago Theatre and the famed Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston, the same grand and majestic venues that, over the years, have hosted a collection of the world’s top entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Prince, Beyonce, Kanye West, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Neil Young, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and countless others.
“The Madison Square Garden name is synonymous with the greatest sports and entertainment events in U.S. history,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Moreover, these MSG venues, the Chicago Theatre and the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre, are synonymous with the history and culture of their respective cities. We are thrilled to be aligning Bellator with these magnificent brands to bring world class, nationally televised mixed martial arts to Chicago, Boston, and the entire country.”
Dates for the four events of the series are as follows:
– April 15, 2010 – Bellator XIV – The Chicago Theatre
– May 6, 2010 – Bellator XVII – Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre Boston
– August 19, 2010 – Bellator XXVI – The Chicago Theatre
– October 21, 2010 – Bellator XXXV – Site To Be Announced (Boston or Chicago)
“Madison Square Garden is excited to bring the world’s fastest-growing sport to these historic venues,” said Joel Fisher, Madison Square Garden’s Executive Vice President of Sports Bookings and Arena Renovation. “We look forward to four great nights of action-packed fights in these legendary locations for the thousands who will be in attendance and the millions watching on FOX Sports Net, NBC, and Telemundo around the country.”
Each of Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed live in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.
Tickets for Bellator XIV at the Chicago Theatre, priced at $200, $150, $100, $65 and $35 will be on presale beginning Thursday, Feb. 25 at 10 a.m., and will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, thechicagotheatre.com, The Chicago Theatre Box Office, or by calling 1-800-745-3000. For more presale information, and to become a Chicago Theatre Insider, log onto www.thechicagotheatre.com/insider.
Presale and on-sale dates for the remaining events will be announced at a later date.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.
It’s going to be interesting to see what becomes of Bellator and how far they can take this thing. They have a great concept with trying to keep it with a “pure sport” setup. They have developed some great partners, and are signing a ton of talent. But all that talent costs money. I hope they succeed, but time will tell.