Chicago Sports Network and Wind Creek sponsorship deal teams new sports network and casino
The sweeping sponsorship package will add the Wind Creek name to 'The Chicago Lead,' the network's signature 6 p.m. roundup and lead-in to nightly play-by-play broadcasts. In addition, CHSN will broadcast the show live each month from the south suburban casino, along with other high-profile onsite promotional events.
'We're a new brand, we're a new facility,' said Ken Rohman, chief marketing officer for Wind Creek Hospitality. 'It gives people a reason to come into the casino.'
Wind Creek will also be a prominent commercial advertiser across all CHSN platforms and programs.
CHSN President Jason Coyle called the sponsorship a 'truly significant' step in the evolution of the startup regional sports network, but both he and Rohman declined to disclose the terms of the agreement.
Both CHSN and Wind Creek launched in the fall, with the casino enjoying a somewhat smoother early trajectory than the regional sports network.
A joint venture between the Bulls, Blackhawks, White Sox and Nashville-based Standard Media, the Chicago Sports Network supplanted NBC Sports Chicago, the 20-year-old regional sports network whose broadcast rights expired in September.
CHSN went live in October on pay-TV platforms DirecTV and Astound, and over the air with WJYS-Ch. 62 in Chicago. It has since added streaming service FuboTV and rolled out its own direct-to-consumer streaming app.
But two-thirds of the way through its inaugural Bulls and Blackhawks seasons, CHSN has yet to reach a carriage agreement with Comcast, essentially blacking out the teams to 1 million Chicago-area viewers.
A Comcast spokesperson Tuesday said there were 'no updates' to the ongoing negotiations with CHSN, presaging a lost season for many fans of Chicago's struggling NBA and NHL teams. Opening day for the White Sox, coming off the most losses in a season in major league baseball history, is on deck for next month.
Coyle likewise said there was 'nothing new to report' on the Comcast front, declining to offer specifics on the negotiations.
'We're ready to go when they are,' Coyle said.
Meanwhile, Wind Creek Chicago Southland opened its new 70,000-square-foot casino in East Hazel Crest on Nov. 11 to large crowds, and its business has continued to grow. The facility features 1,400 slot machines, 56 table games and other attractions, with a 252-room hotel set to open early this year.
Last month, Wind Creek generated nearly $13.3 million in adjusted gross receipts and drew more than 171,000 visitors, ranking second among the state's 16 casinos, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board.
Owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Alabama-based Wind Creek started with a bingo palace in 1985. It opened its first casino in 2009 and now operates 9 casinos and two dog tracks in the U.S. and Caribbean, including its new suburban Chicago property.
Rohman, a Chicago native now based with the company in Alabama, said his understanding of the city's passion for sports helped drive the deal with CHSN.
While it only opened in November, Wind Creek is already in its third season of a six-year deal as the official casino of the Chicago Bulls, a sponsorship that preceded its launch by two years. The casino had initially targeted a 2023 opening, but COVID-related construction delays pushed the start date back a year, Rohman said.
Adding a twist to the new Wind Creek promotional partnership, CHSN has an ownership connection to a rival casino company.
Standard Media, which owns 15% of CHSN, is part of Standard General, the New York-based hedge fund which also controls the Bally's casino chain, including its nascent flagship in Chicago.
While Wind Creek has yet to open its planned sportsbook, the tie-in with CHSN is a natural marketing partnership that will not only build the brand, but actually deliver potential customers to their door, Rohman said.
'By bringing live audiences in, they're taking it one step further than with traditional media,' Rohman said. 'Traditional media is: Advertise to your people and pray that they'll come. The partnership we've got with CHSN is they're bringing their fan base in a bus for us.'
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
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