WELCOME TO MAJOR LEAGUE POLO - MLP-USA
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Additional Information
PRESS RELEASE
June 7, 2021 - PRINCETON, NJ
SportVEST Holdings Acquires Major League Polo’s SuperDraft NFT Rights for $105 Million
Atlanta, GA; Palm Beach, FL and Princeton, NJ:
SportVEST Holdings, Inc., the Venture Arm of the NFL Alumni Association, has acquired the licensing rights to Major League Polo's SuperDraft to be hosted on August 31, 2021, for its 16 Pro Polo teams in the licensing rights of $105 million worth of MLP Unique Digital Assets, designed to pay $35 million a year from the sale of Unique Digital Items such as NFTs over the next three MLP SuperDraft seasons in cash and stock.
Kimberly Casey Carr, Major League Polo's President & CEO, will receive a SportVEST Holdings Board seat appointment to provide leadership to SportVEST on sports industry strategies, prospective investors for growth, and MLP advertising rights for NFT and other unique digital property sales. These MLP licensing rights for Digital Assets, including for the creation and sale of NFTs, fit perfectly into SportVEST market assets that include the first of its kind in the US, Virtual Sports with the NFLA Legends of Football, developed by Inspired Entertainment and accessed via a variety of platforms such as DraftKings, BET365 and other gaming sites. SportVEST also partners with esports, gaming and fan engagement companies such as ESTV, World Pro Racing, and Heritage International as well as licensing rights holders of a portfolio of future NFTs from The Decade of Champions Professional Sports Films assets and proprietary one of a kind artwork of NFL, MLB, and Boxing Legends.
The MLP and SportVEST teams applied their deep industry experience to create a time to market advantage for working with NFT and other digital technology and service leaders such as Dapper Labs, where their NFT platform NBA Top Shot, recently collected over $700 million in total sales in less than a year, according to its CEO Roham Gharegozlou. Nearly half of Top Shot’s users have paid for packs or in-trades, occurring from up to 250,000 daily logins out of its 1 million users. "Leveraging the prestige and aura of luxury inherent in the Major League Polo Brand, we see the potential of our Unique MLP Digital Assets to sell for $1+ million each," said Vic Bakunoff, President & CEO of SportVEST Holdings. “MLP, like other SportVEST assets such as NFLA Legends, vintage NFL and MLB Films, and sports legends artwork, match up perfectly for NFTs and other Unique Digital collectibles when it comes to prestige, image, value and brand awareness."
In addressing a key advertising trend, major blue-chip sports sponsors and sports leagues are beginning to warm to cryptocurrency. Some major cryptocurrency exchanges have started investing in esports and stadium naming-rights, such as FTX's recent sponsorship of the Miami Heat for $135 million. Similarly, MLP plans to feature esports in its 16 pro stadium venues and to capitalize on this new cryptocurrency sponsorship trend. "It's a great opportunity for us to activate our fan engagement with our pro athletes, sponsors and our esports game," said Kimberly Casey Carr. MLP expects to continue its grass roots esports involvement at local polo club venues and leverage them into its televised World Series of Polo playoffs during its 96 upcoming matches (16 matches of which will be livestreamed with tournament play in the World Series of Polo finals). "We believe our unique offering of esports tournament play alongside our live polo sport match play will provide an incredible experience, as well as provide amazing NFT asset possibilities that capture moments on and off the field," stated Kimberly Casey Carr. "This a first for any major league sport. We're excited to launch this program in 8 of our venues, especially here at our home base in Atlanta."
The excitement Major League Polo and SportVEST Holdings leadership created in this unique NFT licensing rights deal, is designed like the investment company the NBA Top Shot’s announced $305 million funding round, that featured several high-profile investors led by NBA stars Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant. Major League Polo and SportVEST CEO’s, Kimberly Casey Carr, and Vic Bakunoff, believe that the resulting $700 million NBA NFT revenue stream generated by Dapper Labs will bring similar benefits to both companies. With a prospective SportVEST Holdings funding round imminent, its purpose would be to fuel additional SportVEST NFT growth with Major League Polo, its other professional and collegiate leagues, team, and player brand monetization initiatives as more Digital Asset / NFT sales will ultimately benefit more of the actual journeyman players as well as the legends of all professional sports and the children charity programs supported. These amazing athletes are helping to bring creativity and innovation to more sports, esports, gaming, and entertainment experiences with NFTs and emerging virtual markets.
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Additional Information
PRESS RELEASE
May 11, 2020 – ATLANTA, GA
Vying to be the new front-runner in all sports tech integration and innovation, Major League Polo (“MLP”) is the first sports league in the U.S. to announce the incorporation of eSports into its 16 new polo stadium eSports initiative. MLP is working diligently with several tech companies to bring to its fans an incredible interactive experience where they can not only view Major League Polo live at stadium match events but also participate virtually while present at the stadium and from their home computers via avatar, as well as simultaneously play along while making posts from their mobile social apps from the stadium or at home.
MLP's Digital division will highlight and feature its star polo players on the field and in their new PoloWarz gaming title via live stream from its upcoming MLP SuperDraft for the 2021/2022 Season. PoloWarz is under development in Atlanta currently and is expected to be a near billion dollar property owned by the league based on analytics from comparable gaming title sales.
MLP Digital is reshaping fan access to the sport of polo and, along with it, the mobile gaming strategies of its national sports league. In partnering with game development and interactive companies, digital activation platforms, and their eSports gaming competitions, Major League Polo is slated to publish three (3) officially licensed titles for for its fans. Through Polo Warz these interactive gaming titles, if VIP Fans with admin access score enough points for their favorite teams they will be able to for the first time ever, offer a benefit, advantage or disadvantage to the players and teams on the field in their patented format.
This kind of live interactive sports influence has never been done and is the first in history of fan influence in sports. More details about interactive sports team bonuses, benefits, advantages and disadvantages based on fan interactions will be released next week due to the proprietary nature of its development. "This is cutting edge, true sports integration, the first ever of its kind to directly influence major league sports play from its interactive fan base," said Kimberly Casey Carr, President & CEO of Major League Polo, publisher of PoloWarz and creator of MLP's interactive fan initiative.
ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE POLO: Major League Polo is the first governing authority in polo to draft pro and collegiate players into its National and American Polo Conferences for U.S. City-based pro Polo Club team competitions. MLP has 16 U.S. City teams across the nation in its MLP World Series of Polo Championship Series that features the best of national and international polo athletes. Its MLP Digital division, through innovative sports gaming content, is focused on delivering classic game style competition on gaming systems and other live platforms, including social apps for mobile devices. Major League Polo is represented by Octagon Sports, the world's largest sports and entertainment agency.
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
ADDITIONAL INFO
PRESS RELEASE
May 7, 2020 – ATLANTA, GA
Major League Polo Announces Polo Warz Title
Major League Polo (“MLP”) is out of the gate breaking all polo sports records with a new eSports gaming title, Polo Warz, being published from its MLP Digital division that will feature its star polo players from its upcoming MLP SuperDraft.
MLP Digital is reshaping fan access to the sport of polo and along with it the mobile gaming strategies of its national sports league. By partnering with game development companies and eSports gaming competitions, Major League Polo is planning to publish three (3) officially licensed titles that integrate their extensive MLP audience with gaming platforms as well as mobile gaming social trends.
The MLP Digital department is working with Major League Polo and a local Atlanta, GA game development partner to publish a head-to-head polo gaming title called Polo Warz that is set to debut later this year. According to Bloodhorse, Churchill Downs recently sold its mobile gaming subsidiary to Aristocrat Leisure Limited for $990 million. Gaming analysts are predicting similar early success for MLP's international venture partners by channeling fan interests and partnerships into titles that can offer polo fans interactive experiences on their computers, gaming consoles and mobile phones.
Polo Warz publisher, Kimberly Casey Carr, President & CEO of Major League Polo, has been heavily involved in the sports, racing, polo and entertainment industry, since 2000. As an avid international traveler, living abroad in Asia and Europe sparked her historical interest in the Asian culture in polo military training and warfare as well as several unique European medieval warring techniques that will be uniquely highlighted in Polo Warz for fans.
The MLP SuperDraft event will be live streamed from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and can be viewed by its subscribed fans on the official MLP website. Fans will have their first opportunity to meet Major League Polo all-stars that will have virtual skins that can be purchased later this year in Polo Warz with their “PWbuck$”.This is an incredible additional perk and revenue stream for MLP players in the SuperDraft that are playing in the 2021 Season. Fans will be able to interact with their favorite MLP players during the MLP SuperDraft Live Stream Event on September 30, 2020. Fans will be able to pre-order the Polo Warz game in addition to competing for fan merchandise giveaways.
ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE POLO: Major League Polo is the first governing authority in polo to draft pro and collegiate players into its National and American Polo Conferences for U.S. City-based pro Polo Club team competitions. MLP has 16 U.S. City teams across the nation in its MLP World Series of Polo Championship Series that features the best of national and international polo athletes. Its MLP Digital division, through innovative sports gaming content, is focused on delivering classic game style competition on gaming systems and other live platforms, including social apps for mobile devices. Major League Polo is represented by Octagon Sports, the world's largest sports and entertainment agency.
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Additional Information
PRESS RELEASE
ATLANTA, GA - May 5, 2020
MAJOR LEAGUE POLO ANNOUNCES MLP SUPERDRAFT EVENT
Major League Polo (“MLP”) announces a watershed moment in the sport with its MLP SuperDraft Live Stream Event on July 4, 2020. Polo players from around the world will participate in a 3-day live streaming event hosted from Atlanta, GA. Of the top 400 players deemed eligible, 128 will be advancing from the U.S., U.K. and Argentina minor leagues into Major League Polo to play professionally on 16 U.S. City-based teams. The MLP SuperDraft Live Stream Event is the first ever chronicled draft event for polo athletes in the pro sport of Major League Polo. On its final broadcast day of the 3-day event, MLP will live stream the sport’s inaugural Collegiate Polo Draft as its grand draft finale, a first-time event for 39 U.S. colleges and universities currently fielding collegiate polo teams.
The salary brackets for each Draft Round are as follows: Round 1 - All-Stars/Team Captains - $1,000,000; Round 2 - $500,000, Round 3 - $200,000, Round 4 - $150,000, Round 5 - $100,000, Round 6 - $80,000 guaranteed salary minimums. Salary Brackets for the MLP SuperDraft are part of a Polo Player Equality Initiative started by Kimberly Casey Carr, President & CEO, who founded the original World Series of Polo in 2000 before it later evolved into Major League Polo. “The MLP SuperDraft allows male, female and non-binary players to be drafted into Major League Polo with the same pay opportunities as male players based on skill level and the strategies of the team coaches in their Draft Round picks regardless of gender.” Ms. Carr pointed out that, “Polo is one of the few sports wherein the athlete’s abilities are measured with a handicap (goal) performance rating which allows them to compete fairly amongst other athletes on the field based entirely on their proficiency skill level.” “This also means,” she added, “that if a female or non-binary athlete is drafted in Round 1 as a Team Captain in the MLP SuperDraft, they have the capability to out earn every pro footballer or WNBA athlete in the world, a significant milestone in pro sports for non-male team athletes.”
Ninety-six (96) matches among its NPC and APC play-off brackets are slated to begin January, 2021 and run over a 12-week period, with 16 Live Broadcasts, 2 Semi-Finals and 1 MLP-World Series of Polo (MLP World Cup). Depending on the state of COVID-19 in the U.S. at the beginning of their season, like Wimbledon, Major League Polo will be using foresight in planning its broadcast events by investing heavily in vital pandemic event insurances to ensure player salaries and winnings as well as investing in expert sports data analysis and new technologies to broadcast their 96 bracket matches virtually to their fans.
The MLP SuperDraft can be viewed by subscriber fans on the official MLP website where they will be able to interact with their favorite polo players. The broadcast format will allow celebrity polo fans to pop in throughout the draft process as guest hosts and live commentators. According to both Alltech’s Steve Elliot and the U.S. Horse Council’s data, the annual economic impact of the equine and polo industry is significant: approximately $300 Billion dollars and 16 million full-time jobs - $102 Billion dollars of which is generated in the U.S. alone. With over 9.2 million horses among its 328 million U.S. citizens, the MLP is expecting to continue growing its interactivity with horse owners steadily since approximately 1 out of 35 people either own or ride a horse yearly in the U.S. The July 4th MLP SuperDraft Live Stream Event will not only enable fan subscribers to connect with their favorite polo players in virtual chats but will feature special interactive merchandise giveaways and rewards for polo fans with and without horses. A side stream polo pony auction will be hosted simultaneously.
MLP’s top 400 eligible players for the MLP SuperDraft are available for viewing on the MLP
World Series of Polo website. All players must register officially online to participate in the SuperDraft by or before June 22, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. ET. For event or team sponsorship, licensing, or ownership opportunities, please contact info@worldseriesofpolo.com. For MLP SuperDraft Rules and MLP SuperDraft player registration, please visit: www.worldseriesofpolo.com/mlp-superdraft and www.worldseriesofpolo.com/mlp-schedule for a list of the 16 MLP teams.
###
Major League Polo
MLP - World Series of Polo
5 Concourse Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30328
Tel. 561-266-4336
Contact: Kimberly Casey Carr
with media inquiries via email at:
###
About Major League Polo:
Major League Polo is the first sports league in polo to draft pro and collegiate players into its National and American Polo Conferences for U.S. City-based bracketed Championship Play-offs. Currently there are 16 U.S. City-based licensable teams in the MLP SuperDraft. Kimberly Casey Carr, Founder, President & CEO of Major League Polo, owns and manages licenses, merchandising and television rights for the 2021 MLP World Series of Polo. She also serves as Creative Director for the organization’s Global Apparel Licensing Division. The polo league, originally founded as the World Series of Polo, has a contractual agreement with Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. that allows Major League Polo significant multi-million dollar licensing opportunities by authorizing the word "polo" in usage with their team logos on all their pro polo sports kits. Major League Polo is also represented formally by Octagon Sports, the world’s largest sports and entertainment agency.
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Additional Information
PRESS RELEASE
ATLANTA, GA - March 10, 2020
WOMEN POLO PLAYERS TO CASH IN ON TEAM LICENSING
In 1999, Brandi Chastain forever changed women's sports at the Women's World Cup by ripping off her team jersey, hands in the air, celebrating their win. The entire stadium catapulted to its feet alive and screaming with joy alongside her in the stunning moment of their amazing feat and win. This powerful moment in history is forever ingrained in our minds with women's sports.
In 2000, the following year, Kimberly Casey Carr, founder of the World Series of Polo, who had been sitting in the Owner's Suite at the match with Sepp Blatter and other execs of FIFA/CONCACAF, took that special moment in history and transferred it out from the soccer stadium's Owner's Suite onto the polo fields of Atlanta for another U.S. victory in women's sports when she featured the first U.S. city pro polo matches between iconic women's polo players on league teams.
Fast forward to today and she's now at the helm of 16 U.S. pro polo co-ed sports teams, cutting deal with blue chip sponsors and establishing the first guaranteed women's pro polo player salaries at $80k each. The women will play alongside the men in the 2020/2021 World Series of Polo Season as they are considered equal athletes on the back of their polo ponies, the horses giving them equal footing in the exhibition of their extreme sports skills. Polo is one of the few sports wherein the athlete is given a performance rating which allows them to play evenly against other athletes, whether male or female, on the field based on their proficiency skill level. Women pros are guaranteed the same $80K starting salary as all their male team counterparts, a first in U.S. sports history.
A deal was struck between Kimberly Casey Carr and Ralph Lauren which allows significant multi-million dollar licensing opportunities for the 16 pro polo teams by allowing the World Series of Polo to utilize the word "polo" on our all their pro polo sports kits. It also allows for merchandising of items, co-branding opportunities and the ability to turn the sport from an adventurous club sponsored weekend event into a full-time competitive sports event featuring the best young player athletes in the world.
The 16 Pro Polo U.S. City teams are available for licensing for 3 year initial periods. City teams are as follows: Aiken Clubtails, Atlanta Firetails, Boston Emeralds, Chicago Red Skimmers, Charlottesville Cruisers, D.C. Darners, Dallas Dashers, L.A. Spreadwings, Lexington Blue Skimmers, Miami Gliders, Nashville Spiketails, New York Meadowhawks, Palm Beach Rubyspots, San Diego Sanddragons and the Seattle Pondhawks. Please visit https://www.worldseriesofpolo.com for more team information and licensing inquiries.
###
Major League Polo
MLP - World Series of Polo
5 Concourse Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30328
Tel. 561-266-4336
Contact: Kimberly Casey Carr
with media inquiries via email at:
kcc@worldseriesofpolo.com
###
About Major League Polo:
Major League Polo is the first sports league in polo to draft pro and collegiate players into its National and American Polo Conferences for U.S. City-based pro polo sports. Currently there are 16 U.S. City-based licensed teams at draft in the MLP SuperDraft. Kimberly Casey Carr, Founder, President & CEO of Major League Polo, owns and manages licenses, merchandising, teams and television rights for 16 U.S. City Pro Polo teams participating in 2020/2021 MLP World Series of Polo. She also serves as Creative Director for the organization’s Global Apparel Licensing Division. The polo league, originally founded as the World Series of Polo, has a contractual agreement with Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. that authorizes and supports the usage of “World Series of Polo” for all its Major League Polo events and licensed products. Major League Polo is also represented formally by Octagon Sports, the world’s largest sports and entertainment agency.
