Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and National Football League Commissioner Roger
Goodell today announced that New York City will host NFL Opening Kickoff 2008
Presented by EA Sports, a free concert and special pregame event at Columbus
Circle to celebrate the New York Giants Super Bowl Championship and kick off the
NFL’s 89th season. The event will feature performances by Usher and
Keith Urban, and portions of the concert will air live on the NFL Network on
Thursday, September 4 starting at 3:30 p.m. ET, prior to the first game of the
season between the Giants and the Washington Redskins.
“In less than a month, the Giants will begin their 2008 season as defending
champions, and what better way to kick things off then with a free concert in
our recently rebuilt Columbus Circle,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The NFL Kickoff
concert at Times Square in 2002 served as a great showcase of the City’s
vibrancy, and the concert at Columbus Circle promises to be just as great a
success.”
“We are pleased to return to New York City to salute the Super Bowl champion
New York Giants and celebrate the start of the 2008 NFL season,” said
Commissioner Goodell. “We had a tremendous experience in 2002 in Times Square
prior to the first season opener on a Thursday night and look forward to working
with Mayor Bloomberg and the City on another pregame music and football
event.”
The concert will be free and open to the public and will not require tickets.
Fans will be able to enter the concert on 58th Street and
7th Avenue and will line up along Central Park South. Further details
on the concert will be made available in the coming weeks on NYC.gov and NFL.com and through
311.
In addition to airing live on NFL Network, portions of the pregame broadcast
also will be streamed on NFL.com and will be available via NFL Mobile Live only
from Sprint. NBC will air concert highlights as part of its one-hour NFL/NBC
Fall Preview on Friday, September 5 at 9:00 p.m.
The event, an NFL Network Production, will be produced and directed by White
Cherry Entertainment, one of the producers of the Super Bowl pregame and
halftime shows. In addition to presenting sponsor EA Sports, top tier sponsors
for the NFL’s Kickoff platform include Coors Light, GMC, Pepsi and Sprint and
associate sponsors include Gatorade, Nike and Visa.
This is the fifth consecutive year the NFL has saluted the Super Bowl
champions with the opening game in their stadium on a Thursday in primetime.
Since 2002, the NFL has kicked off its season with a concert in the city hosting
the first game of the year:
2002 - Times Square in New York City - Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Alicia
Keys, Eve and the cast of the Broadway musical Rent with Joey Fatone of
*NSYNC
2003 - The National Mall in Washington, DC - Aerosmith, Mary J. Blige, Aretha
Franklin, Britney Spears and Good Charlotte
2004 - Gillette Stadium in New England and Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville
– The Boston Pops, Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, Elton John, Toby Keith and
Lenny Kravitz in New England, and Jessica Simpson in Jacksonville
2005 - Gillette Stadium in New England and the Los Angeles Coliseum - Green
Day, Santana, Michelle Branch, Ozzy Osbourne and Trisha Yearwood in New England,
Kanye West, Maroon 5, Good Charlotte and Rihanna in Los Angeles and the Rolling
Stones by video
2006 - Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and Miami - Rascal Flatts and Martina
McBride in Pittsburgh, Diddy, Cassie, Yung Joc and Tego Calderon in Miami
2007 - RCA Dome in Indianapolis - John Mellencamp, Faith Hill, Kelly
Clarkson, Hinder, Keyshia Cole and Voices of Unity Youth Choir
2008 - Columbus Circle in New York City - Keith Urban and Usher
Like in 2002, this year the NFL will make significant contributions to the
City, including sponsorship of athletic clinics in parks, restoration of fields
like Brooklyn’s Midwood Field, and support for other City programs through the
Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.
