Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta and New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba today announced that New York City's Sports Commission has joined with NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York. The anticipated integration brings all of the City's sports and event marketing functions under one roof to streamline and maximize tourism, marketing and partnership opportunities throughout the five boroughs.

"Combining Sports Commission services with NYC & Company streamlines the City's marketing efforts and provides greater opportunities to create meaningful public-private partnerships," said Mayor Bloomberg. "In addition to attracting and promoting sporting events in the City, the Sports Commission has championed community-based projects that benefit all New Yorkers, including children and athletes with disabilities. Joining its resources with NYC & Company - which merged with NYC Big Events and NYC Marketing in June 2006 to create the world's leading municipal tourism, marketing and partnership organization - will enable the City to more effectively position itself as a global leader in the sports industry, and more efficiently serve the public."

"The consolidation of the services provided by the New York City Sports Commission and NYC & Company will bring even greater benefits to the City by merging resources that allow us to be even more effective in developing the campaigns and projects that benefit the City," said NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta. "We look forward to working even more closely with Ken Podziba and his dedicated staff and welcome them to the staff to the NYC & Company team."

"Coming together with NYC & Company presents the Sports Commission with an exciting opportunity to provide enhanced services to our current constituencies and project partners", said NYC Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba. "Having access to NYC & Company's extensive resources will allow us to more effectively focus on our core mission of attracting and creating sporting events that will generate new revenue streams, drive economic development, and enhance the vitality and global image of New York City."

NYC & Company will continue to operate under the leadership of CEO George Fertitta, with Ken Podziba maintaining his title and responsibilities as Sports Commissioner. Podziba has served as Commissioner of the Sports Commission since February 1998. The Sports Commission was created in 1986 to attract athletic events to New York City for the purpose of enhancing the City's economy and providing residents and visitors with a variety of participatory and spectator sporting events to enjoy year-round. The Sports Commission works with a wide range of corporate, City and non-profit partners to support the production of new, and enhancement of existing, athletic events and programs. The Sports Commission is comprised of the Commission and the Sports Development Corporation, its marketing arm.

The placement of the Commission's services under NYC & Company's umbrella will allow it to enhance the level of support and services in the sports community that it has been historically known for, including venue coordination; communications, strategy and media relations; and working with the Office of Citywide Event Coordination and management to facilitate permitting and coordination of interagency safety and security plans. The Sports Commission has played an integral role in creating many events including the NFL Kickoff, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ Champions Week, the BMC Software NYC Cycling Championship, and the NYC Half-Marathon. Mayor Bloomberg initiated an expansion of NYC & Company in 2006 with additional creative and financial resources, creating the world's leading municipal tourism, marketing and partnership organization.

NYC & Company is charged with fulfilling the Mayor's goal to achieve 50 million visitors annually by 2012. The organization has increased awareness of New York City through its global expansion plan and strategic marketing campaigns. These include the City's first-ever global communications campaign, "This is New York City," and the tourist appreciation campaign, "Just Ask the Locals."