An Inside The Park Home Run: Continental Sponsors Yanks Party

By Terry Lefton, Editor-at-Large, SportsBusiness Daily

Continental Airlines is taking its Yankees sponsorship out of the Bronx and into midtown Manhattan next week with a Yankee viewing party in Bryant Park September 27. Continental, a Yankees sponsor since ‘98, is behind “Pinstripes In the Park,” an event that will have Yankees fans watching that evening’s game against the Orioles on a 14’ x 18’ screen in the park. Continental will leverage with beer gardens to underscore its international flights, along with baseball-themed promos, ballpark food and autograph booths with Yankees legends Goose Gossage, Jim Leyritz, Joe Pepitone and Graig Nettles. A crowd of at least 5,000 and perhaps as many as two-to-three times that is expected. “With the Yankees, we do a lot on TV and at the stadium, but this is a way to reach New Yorkers where they live, work and play, so we’re doing this in Manhattan” said Wes Reese, manager of sponsorship marketing for Continental. The event is being handled by Paragon Marketing Group, Continental’s longtime sponsorship agency of record.