With the announcement, Osage Casino is now the only tribally-owned entity to be a presenting sponsor of a professional sports team.
TULSA, Okla. – The Tulsa Shock announced a multi-year partnership with Osage Casino Thursday.
Starting with the 2013 season, Osage Casino will be the marquee sponsor of Tulsa's WNBA team. The casino's logo will be prominently featured on the team's home and away jerseys, as well as on signage at the BOK Center during Shock home games. The casino had been a sponsor of the team since it relocated to Tulsa from Detroit before the 2010 season.
'We are taking this relationship to the next level,' WNBA President Laurel Ritchie said. 'This partnership has the potential to be bigger and bolder than what we imagined. The Shock and Osage Casino were already holding hands – this is just squeezing a little tighter.'
'This partnership will have several benefits for Osage Casino and the Osage Nation,' Osage Casino CEO Neil Cornelius said. 'This will significantly increase our visibility. Wherever you see the Tulsa Shock, you'll see Osage Casino.'
Terms of the multi-year contract were not disclosed. The Shock is the seventh WNBA team to enter into a marquee partnership agreement. Other companies with similar agreements include Farmers Insurance, bing.com and LifeLock, who are partnered with the Los Angeles Sparks, Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury respectively.
With the announcement, Osage Casino is now the only tribally-owned entity to be a presenting sponsor of a professional sports team. The WNBA's Connecticut Sun, based in Uncasville, Conn., is owned by the Mohegan Tribe and plays at the tribe's Mohegan Sun casino. However, logos for the tribe and its casino do not appear on the team's jerseys.
'Tulsa is the smallest market among the WNBA teams but with this announcement, other teams are sitting up and taking notice,' Shock managing owner Sam Combs said. 'We continue to be the little engine that could through outreach efforts across the state.'
Osage Casino operates seven facilities in Osage County. Its flagship location in north Tulsa is the closest casino to the BOK Center.
The 2013 Shock home opener is scheduled for May 27 at 2 p.m. at the BOK Center and will be televised on ESPN as part of a doubleheader. The team has the No. 3 pick in the 2013 draft on April 15.
Sara Evans performs at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on July 20, 2017. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World. Stay at this 3.5-star hotel in Tulsa. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking. Our guests praise the breakfast and the pool in our reviews. Popular attractions BOK Center and Osage Casino - Tulsa are located nearby. Discover genuine guest reviews for Osage Casino Downtown Tulsa along with the latest prices and availability – book now. Book great deals at Osage Casino Downtown.
byBrandy McDonnellA version of the story appears in Friday's Weekend Life section of The Oklahoman.
Virtual showcase
Oklahoma Songwriters Festival goes online in fifth year
- Sara Evans on Jul 20, 2017 in Catoosa, OK(Tulsa metro area) at The Joint at Hard Rock Casino Tulsa.
- ©2020 Sara Evans Contact.
Like so many other musicians, Zac Maloy missed out on plenty of opportunities during this year's coronavirus pandemic.
But he was determined to keep the fifth annual Oklahoma Songwriters Festival on the calendar, even if it meant adopting a new virtual format.
- Related to this story
- Article:Here's what faith leaders say Oklahomans should do to stay safe from COVID
21 dukes casino no deposit bonus 2019 philippines. 'We always knew we were gonna make this happen. It's just too important to me, this event: Celebrating what I do for a living, songwriting, in my home state, which I'd put right up there with the most musically talented state there is,' Maloy said in an email interview.
'At first we'd held out hope it could be a regular show with full audience. Then, came the realization that's just not happening in 2020. So, this new format is the path we're taking.'
Presented by the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, this year's Oklahoma Songwriters Festival is set for Saturday and will include a free morning songwriting Zoom panel and a ticketed evening Songwriter Showcase that will be live-streamed via the platform veeps.com.
'The festival has developed dramatically. It's now an event I get people here in Nashville hearing about and talking about. This year I feel we would've had our biggest audience. And I guess, weirdly, because of the online format, we might actually hit our biggest viewership yet. Again, not where we wanted to be, but I'm just happy we're able to bring some kind of show .. seven months after the original date, but here we go,' Maloy said.
Zooming in on songwriters
Sara Evans Osage Casino Tulsa Casino
An Ada native who has been based in Nashville, Tennessee, for the past decade, Maloy created the Oklahoma Songwriters Festival in 2016 to highlight songwriters and the art of songwriting. Along with fronting the Oklahoma-based alt-rock band The Nixons - who rose to fame in the 1990s on the strength of hits 'Happy Song,' 'Wire' and the smash 'Sister' and reunited in 2017 - Maloy is a songwriter who co-wrote country music superstar and fellow Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood's chart-topper 'Temporary Home,' Christian rock band Skillet's No. 1 hit 'American Noise' and rock outfit Shinedown's latest chart-topper 'Atlas Falls.'
Normally a spring event, Oklahoma Songwriters Festival, initially planned for April before it was postponed due to the pandemic, annually brings acclaimed Nashville songsmiths together with local songwriters. 1980s slot machines.
'Getting Nashville writers in the room with Okies over that last few years has been really cool. And a lot of those relationships have stuck,' Maloy said.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has made the collaborative songwriting sessions typically offered at the festival impossible this year, the virtual event will still include a chance to gain insight from award-winning Nashville scribes.
This year's virtual festival will open at 11 a.m. Saturday with the free Songwriting Zoom panel featuring Maloy and two other Nashville songwriters: Lee Thomas Miller, who served as president of the Nashville Songwriter's Association International for five years and has charted 15 years' worth of singles - including seven chart-toppers - for country music superstars Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw and more, and Blair Daly, who has written songs recorded by Underwood, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Il Divo and more, including No. 1 hits for Kelly Clarkson and Rascal Flatts.
The Zoom panel will be moderated by Curbside Chronicle Editor (and former The Oklahoman staffer) Nathan Poppe and sponsored by the Oklahoma Film + Music Office.
'As it remains a core focus for our office to build a more sustainable music industry in Oklahoma, we encourage anyone inspiring to elevate their songwriting craft, pivoting in to the music business or if you're just a music fan, to join us at our sponsored virtual event Songwriting Zoom,' said Oklahoma Film + Music Director Tava Sofsky, Maloy's sister, in a statement. 'We look forward to celebrating year five in this new innovative platform.'
Putting on a show
The festival will conclude with a ticketed virtual Songwriter Showcase at 7 p.m. Saturday. The showcase will be live-streamed via the platform veeps.com from the Grand Casino main stage with no audience. The stream will be available for a week after it debuts.
At Grand Casino, Maloy and fellow Nashville songwriter Marcus Hummon will share the stage at a safe distance to host the live-stream and perform songs they've written. A Grammy Award winner, Hummon's credits include Rascal Flatts' 'Bless the Broken Road,' Sara Evans' 'Born to Fly,' Wynonna Judd's 'Only Love' and more.
The showcase also will cut to live at-home performances by several other singer-songwriters, including Oklahomans Graham Colton and Abbey Philbrick.
Other songwriters who will be participating remotely include Oklahoma native and new Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Brett James, who co-wrote Underwood's 'Jesus, Take the Wheel,' Clarkson's 'Mr. Know It All' and more; Tulsa-born David Hodges, a former member of Evanescence whose writing credits include Clarkson's 'Because of You,' Underwood's 'See You Again' and Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years'; Songwriters Hall of Famer Desmond Child, whose hits include Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer,' Ricky Martin's 'Livin' La Vida Loca' and Aerosmith's 'Angel'; nine-time No. 1 songwriter Jim Beavers, whose credits include Oklahoman Toby Keith's 'Red Solo Cup' and Luke Bryan's 'Drink a Beer'; and Bowling For Soup frontman Jaret Reddick, who co-wrote the band's gold singles 'High School Never Ends' and 'Girl All the Bad Guys Want.'
'I was introduced to the platform veeps a few months ago to do a Nixons show. We spoke with them, and they felt they could help us weave a cool show together,' Maloy said.
The festival will cap a 2020 of ups and downs for Maloy, who signed this year a new publishing deal with Round Hill Publishing. In summer, the previously unreleased song Atlas Falls, which he penned with Shinedown a few years ago, topped the rock charts after the band opted to release it in partnership with the nonprofit Direct Relief to help raise funds to provide essential equipment to frontline medical workers both in the United States and overseas. He said the song has raised more than half a million dollars to help during the coronavirus pandemic.
Three years after The Nixons first reassembled for an Oklahoma City show, the rock band dropped in May 'Sonic Boom,' a five-song EP that represented its first new release in 20 years. But Maloy and his bandmates - guitarist Jesse Davis, bassist Ricky Brooks and drummer John Humphrey, who is also the drummer for Seether - had to cancel the massive nationwide tour they had planned this year.
So, Maloy said he is excited to put on a show - even in live-stream form - at the Oklahoma Songwriter Festival.
'I hope people buy a ticket and log on virtually and are entertained. That's the point. It's a show and a unique show. Fans of country, rock, pop and even fans of comedy are going to love it,' he said.
GOING ON
Virtual Oklahoma Songwriters Festival
Sara Evans Osage Casino Tulsa City
When: Songwriter Zoom at 11 a.m. Saturday and Songwriter Showcase at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets, streaming and information: www.oklahomasongwritersfestival.com.
-BAM
'At first we'd held out hope it could be a regular show with full audience. Then, came the realization that's just not happening in 2020. So, this new format is the path we're taking.'
Presented by the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, this year's Oklahoma Songwriters Festival is set for Saturday and will include a free morning songwriting Zoom panel and a ticketed evening Songwriter Showcase that will be live-streamed via the platform veeps.com.
'The festival has developed dramatically. It's now an event I get people here in Nashville hearing about and talking about. This year I feel we would've had our biggest audience. And I guess, weirdly, because of the online format, we might actually hit our biggest viewership yet. Again, not where we wanted to be, but I'm just happy we're able to bring some kind of show .. seven months after the original date, but here we go,' Maloy said.
Zooming in on songwriters
Sara Evans Osage Casino Tulsa Casino
An Ada native who has been based in Nashville, Tennessee, for the past decade, Maloy created the Oklahoma Songwriters Festival in 2016 to highlight songwriters and the art of songwriting. Along with fronting the Oklahoma-based alt-rock band The Nixons - who rose to fame in the 1990s on the strength of hits 'Happy Song,' 'Wire' and the smash 'Sister' and reunited in 2017 - Maloy is a songwriter who co-wrote country music superstar and fellow Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood's chart-topper 'Temporary Home,' Christian rock band Skillet's No. 1 hit 'American Noise' and rock outfit Shinedown's latest chart-topper 'Atlas Falls.'
Normally a spring event, Oklahoma Songwriters Festival, initially planned for April before it was postponed due to the pandemic, annually brings acclaimed Nashville songsmiths together with local songwriters. 1980s slot machines.
'Getting Nashville writers in the room with Okies over that last few years has been really cool. And a lot of those relationships have stuck,' Maloy said.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has made the collaborative songwriting sessions typically offered at the festival impossible this year, the virtual event will still include a chance to gain insight from award-winning Nashville scribes.
This year's virtual festival will open at 11 a.m. Saturday with the free Songwriting Zoom panel featuring Maloy and two other Nashville songwriters: Lee Thomas Miller, who served as president of the Nashville Songwriter's Association International for five years and has charted 15 years' worth of singles - including seven chart-toppers - for country music superstars Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw and more, and Blair Daly, who has written songs recorded by Underwood, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Il Divo and more, including No. 1 hits for Kelly Clarkson and Rascal Flatts.
The Zoom panel will be moderated by Curbside Chronicle Editor (and former The Oklahoman staffer) Nathan Poppe and sponsored by the Oklahoma Film + Music Office.
'As it remains a core focus for our office to build a more sustainable music industry in Oklahoma, we encourage anyone inspiring to elevate their songwriting craft, pivoting in to the music business or if you're just a music fan, to join us at our sponsored virtual event Songwriting Zoom,' said Oklahoma Film + Music Director Tava Sofsky, Maloy's sister, in a statement. 'We look forward to celebrating year five in this new innovative platform.'
Putting on a show
The festival will conclude with a ticketed virtual Songwriter Showcase at 7 p.m. Saturday. The showcase will be live-streamed via the platform veeps.com from the Grand Casino main stage with no audience. The stream will be available for a week after it debuts.
At Grand Casino, Maloy and fellow Nashville songwriter Marcus Hummon will share the stage at a safe distance to host the live-stream and perform songs they've written. A Grammy Award winner, Hummon's credits include Rascal Flatts' 'Bless the Broken Road,' Sara Evans' 'Born to Fly,' Wynonna Judd's 'Only Love' and more.
The showcase also will cut to live at-home performances by several other singer-songwriters, including Oklahomans Graham Colton and Abbey Philbrick.
Other songwriters who will be participating remotely include Oklahoma native and new Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Brett James, who co-wrote Underwood's 'Jesus, Take the Wheel,' Clarkson's 'Mr. Know It All' and more; Tulsa-born David Hodges, a former member of Evanescence whose writing credits include Clarkson's 'Because of You,' Underwood's 'See You Again' and Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years'; Songwriters Hall of Famer Desmond Child, whose hits include Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer,' Ricky Martin's 'Livin' La Vida Loca' and Aerosmith's 'Angel'; nine-time No. 1 songwriter Jim Beavers, whose credits include Oklahoman Toby Keith's 'Red Solo Cup' and Luke Bryan's 'Drink a Beer'; and Bowling For Soup frontman Jaret Reddick, who co-wrote the band's gold singles 'High School Never Ends' and 'Girl All the Bad Guys Want.'
'I was introduced to the platform veeps a few months ago to do a Nixons show. We spoke with them, and they felt they could help us weave a cool show together,' Maloy said.
The festival will cap a 2020 of ups and downs for Maloy, who signed this year a new publishing deal with Round Hill Publishing. In summer, the previously unreleased song Atlas Falls, which he penned with Shinedown a few years ago, topped the rock charts after the band opted to release it in partnership with the nonprofit Direct Relief to help raise funds to provide essential equipment to frontline medical workers both in the United States and overseas. He said the song has raised more than half a million dollars to help during the coronavirus pandemic.
Three years after The Nixons first reassembled for an Oklahoma City show, the rock band dropped in May 'Sonic Boom,' a five-song EP that represented its first new release in 20 years. But Maloy and his bandmates - guitarist Jesse Davis, bassist Ricky Brooks and drummer John Humphrey, who is also the drummer for Seether - had to cancel the massive nationwide tour they had planned this year.
So, Maloy said he is excited to put on a show - even in live-stream form - at the Oklahoma Songwriter Festival.
'I hope people buy a ticket and log on virtually and are entertained. That's the point. It's a show and a unique show. Fans of country, rock, pop and even fans of comedy are going to love it,' he said.
GOING ON
Virtual Oklahoma Songwriters Festival
Sara Evans Osage Casino Tulsa City
When: Songwriter Zoom at 11 a.m. Saturday and Songwriter Showcase at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets, streaming and information: www.oklahomasongwritersfestival.com.
-BAM
From left, Brett James, Zac Maloy, Graham Colton and Tyson Meade share the stage during the 2019 Oklahoma Songwriters Festival. [Photo provided]
Sara Evans Osage Casino Tulsa Oklahoma
Brandy McDonnell, also known by her initials BAM, writes stories and reviews on movies, music, the arts and other aspects of entertainment. She is NewsOK's top blogger: Her 4-year-old entertainment news blog, BAM's Blog, has notched more than 1.. Read more ›
