Hootie & the Blowfish are headlining Augusta at Night ahead of their Group Therapy Tour later this yearGETTY IMAGES
Turner Sports and Endeavor have partnered to create a new event, “Augusta at Night,” that will be held on April 12 at SRP Park in North Augusta, S.C., in celebration of The Masters. The first-year event brought on Capital One as its presenting sponsor and will be located just a few miles from Augusta National. It will feature custom golf experiences from sponsor partners Golfweek and Topgolf, as well as concerts by Hootie & the Blowfish and Sheryl Crow. Turner Sports Senior VP/Event Marketing Shea Guinn said the idea for “Augusta at Night” was borne from the success the company had with similar events around March Madness and other properties. “We had some people talk to us about other opportunities for these types of events,” said Guinn. “Our partners, sponsors and advertisers we work with really identified Augusta and Masters Week as one of those opportunities that would really make sense.” Guinn said Endeavor came on board because its expertise in promoting hospitality and ticket sales created a “natural partnership” with Turner, which has had success creating and producing events around sports and entertainment properties in the past.
HOOTIE & THE GROWFISH: While they would love to sell out “Augusta at Night” in its inaugural year, Guinn conceded Turner and Endeavor realize they need to spend some time building equity in the event and the “Augusta at Night” brand. “Obviously sold out is our goal, but we realize that year one with these types of events takes a little time to get off the ground,” Guinn said. The event is expected to become an annual highlight of Masters weekend, and Guinn said they would love to continue to grow it in future years. He noted apart from some individual corporate events that happen around The Masters, there really has not been a large scale, high-profile event that provides an opportunity for multiple people and companies to be a part of after the golf is over each night. With the development of a new ballpark village at SRP Park, Guinn feels this event can fill that hole. “The new hotel development and retail restaurant development around that area is just a fantastic opportunity to create a central hub for the whole week and weekend, so ultimately we’d love to build on it and extend it in future years,” Guinn said.
