Major League Pickleball (MLP) and Margaritaville have announced the sponsorship of the fast-growing professional pickleball league, branding the league "MLP by Margaritaville."
MLP will collaborate with the global lifestyle brand to elevate the live experience for fans, players and MLP events nationwide. The 2023 campaign kicks off on Friday, December 16 at 9 p.m. ET on the Tennis Channel with the airing of the MLP Premier Draft.
"I am happy to be in the same boat with MLP," said Jimmy Buffett. "The first time I played pickleball, I was hooked. Fun has always been a part of life to me and I think of pickleball as the perfect ratio of work to play. We can't wait to bring this partnership to life for MLP players and fans. See you on the court. Fins Up, Paddles Up!"
Margaritaville has been connected to pickleball and a driving force behind the growth of the sport in the travel and hospitality space for over five years. The brand has more than 30 dedicated courts across their lodging locations of Latitude Margaritaville active-living communities in Daytona Beach, Florida, Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Watersound, Florida.
"We take pride in our longstanding support of the sport through multi-faceted event sponsorships and the growing number of courts at our lodging destinations," said John Cohlan, CEO of Margaritaville. "It's exciting to be part of pickleball's continued success and evolution, so we look forward to keeping the momentum going with Major League Pickleball and the league's one-of-a-kind events and impressive collection of team owners, players, and executives."
MLP Founder and Chairman, Steve Kuhn said in a statement "Since the inception of MLP, the league has been deliberate about bringing on partners who unlock new strategies and opportunities for us as a league. As we continue to innovate the live experience for partners, fans, and players, there is no better partner than Margaritaville. Their brand is certainly a lifestyle and we can't wait to bring the Margaritaville experience to MLP events in 2023 and beyond."
This week, MLP unveiled their 2023 league format including 24 teams featuring high profile ownership groups, two seasons with major events across the U.S., a promotion and relegation system, and expanded prize money up to $5 million. This made MLP the first major American professional sports league to implement a promotion and relegation system by introducing top-tier MLP Premier Level and upstart MLP Challenger Level with teams competing in two three-event seasons to solidify their spot in the top Level.
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