N.Y. Road Runners kicked off the TCS N.Y. Marathon's week of festivities yesterday by opening a massive new pavilion near the finish line in Central Park to house sponsor activations, the general public, the media and race fans. The 25,000 foot, two-story temporary fixture includes a visitor center that will host musical entertainment such as DJs from sponsor iHeartMedia, appearances by running legend Katherine Switzer and others, and screenings of short films like "The Coach Bob Larsen Story." The space also includes a snack bar operated by Tavern on the Green and product partners Poland Spring, PowerBar, Gatorade and Snyder’s, and apparel shops. Title sponsor Tata Consultancy Services is displaying various digital enhancements to the race as well. The second floor will serve as a media work room. In the past, sponsor activations were largely limited to the pre-race expo at the Javits Center, nearly two miles from the finish line, and media worked from a hotel 13 blocks away. “It serves us well, too, because the media will now get to see what we do all week long, and some of the events that are built around the week ... that's all right there for the media to kind of take in and be able to talk about,” said NYRR President of Events and Race Dir Peter Ciaccia. “It’s an unbelievable, unbelievable structure. It’s not a tent like it was in the past. It took a good part of a week to put it up.”
SPIKE IN INTEREST: Also new this year for the race, film director Spike Lee will become the first non-elite runner to hold the title of race “Grand Marshall,” a role he has poured himself into, organizers said. Lee directed, produced and starred in the opening sequence for the race broadcast on WABC-TV locally and ESPN2 nationally, and will go ahead of runners in a car to greet fans. Organizers are considering making the grand marshall position a permanent feature of the race. Also, Ciaccia said, the NYPD has agreed to take a more fan-friendly approach to security checkpoints at 67th Street, the entrance to Central Park closest to the finish line. After organizers ramped up security in '13 in the wake of the Boston marathon bombings, NYRR thought the scene was a little too much like a “prison yard,” Ciaccia said, and police have agreed to make changes. More than 50,000 runners and 1 million spectators are expected at the race on Sunday.
RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM: Are you or someone you know in the sports business industry running in Sunday's TCS New York City Marathon? If so, contact Josh Carpenter at jcarpenter@sportsbusinessdaily.com and let him know. Then on Monday, send him your time, a photo and a quick note about the experience to share with our readers.
