STAMFORD, Conn. & BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WWE®, Barclays Center and iHeartMedia today announced that the first-ever WWE SummerSlam Concert will take place Thursday, August 18 at 7 pm ET at Barclays Center, with proceeds benefiting Connor’s Cure, a fund to help further pediatric cancer research.
Tickets for the concert, headlined by hip hop recording artist Flo Rida and international pop superstar Jason Derulo, will go on sale this Friday, July 29 at 12 pm ET at Ticketmaster.com. The concert is part of WWE’s week-long lineup of events, including interactive fan experiences and community outreach programs, culminating with SummerSlam on Sunday, August 21 at 7 pm ET from a sold-out Barclays Center and live on WWE Network around the world.
The WWE SummerSlam Concert will also include performances by recording artist Daya and emerging hip hop recording artist Jordan Hollywood, as well as appearances by WWE Superstars Stephanie McMahon, Paul “Triple H” Levesque and more.
A portion of proceeds from the concert will benefit Connor’s Cure and be distributed to leading research centers and hospitals nationwide. In 2014, Connor’s Cure was created by McMahon and Levesque as a fund within Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation to support pediatric brain and spinal cord cancer research. Earlier this year, WWE and The V Foundation announced a partnership to expand Connor’s Cure outside of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation and support cancer research nationally.
"I’m definitely honored to be a part of this spectacular event with my WWE family,” said Flo Rida. “They have been there from day one and I truly appreciate the opportunity to perform for all my WWE fans."
“We are proud to bring together some of the biggest names in music and entertainment for one night to support Connor’s Cure,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. “The first-ever WWE SummerSlam Concert will offer fans another opportunity to participate in SummerSlam Week while raising much-needed awareness and funds to support pediatric cancer research.”
“Partnering with WWE is a very heartfelt experience,” said Susan Braun, CEO, The V Foundation. “The V Foundation is honored to work side by side with Stephanie McMahon, Paul Levesque, and the entire WWE team to increase the amount of research devoted to children’s cancers. Our world-class scientific advisory committee, who oversees the highly competitive V Foundation Grant process, ensures that the most important work is being funded – research that will lead to saving children’s lives.”
“We’re excited to bring the first-ever WWE SummerSlam Concert to Barclays Center through our Brooklyn Direct programming division,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. “We’re in our second year of a sold-out SummerSlam Weekend and are proud to bring a new element of entertainment to this great series of events.”
Connor’s Cure was established in honor of 8-year-old WWE fan Connor Michalek, a patient at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC who battled medulloblastoma, a rare tumor that affects the brain and spinal cord. To date, Connor’s Cure has raised more than $1 million and assisted more than 100 families around the world.
Grammy nominated Flo Rida is one of the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 80 million records worldwide. Part of the WWE family, Flo Rida has performed at WrestleMania®, hosted Monday Night Raw® and participated in WWE’s Tribute to the Troops®. Originally from Carol City, Florida, his 2008 breakout single "Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release. His 2014 single, “My House”, became his tenth top 10 hit in the United States. His catalog also includes the international hit singles "Right Round", "Club Can't Handle Me", "Good Feeling", "Wild Ones", "Whistle", "I Cry" and "G.D.F.R.".
International pop superstar Jason Derulo is one of the most successful and sought-after artists in the industry today. In the six years since ascending to superstardom, Derulo has sold more than 55 million singles worldwide, all of which have been co-written by the artist himself. His music has been streamed more than six billion times on Spotify, and his singles have aired on radio to an audience of over 17 billion since his debut single “Whatcha Say.” His four acclaimed studio albums have accumulated 11 Top 10 singles.
Platinum recording artist, Daya, drives pop music down a different path as an independent artist scaling the pop charts. Her single "Hide Away" went platinum in January, 2016, just one month after being certified gold. With more than 50 million streams on Spotify, a Top 10 iTunes Pop sales chart placement and #7 on Shazam's Top 100, "Hide Away" reached a new BillBoard Hot 100 high at #24 earlier this year. Daya follows "Hide Away" with her second single, "Sit Still, Look Pretty", and a full album to be released later this year.
South Florida rapper and songwriter Jordan Hollywood is blowing up the charts. His critically acclaimed mixtape, "Sorry For This", received the highest praise from all of the major blogs and has more than 4 million streams across his social platforms. Hollywood's "Trill" has been chosen as the song of the month for the iHeartRadio Digital Artist Integration Program. His single "The Truth" is quickly becoming the hottest song in Miami winning the 99 Jamz Battle Jamz nine times consecutively, and counting. Hollywood is also a noted writer and has co-written songs for Jason Derulo and French Montana.
About WWE:
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE:WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 25 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE:WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
About Barclays Center:
Barclays Center opened on September 28, 2012, and is a major sports and entertainment venue in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. One of the most intimate seating configurations ever designed into a modern multi-purpose arena, Barclays Center offers 17,732 seats for basketball, 15,795 for hockey, and up to 19,000 seats for concerts, and has 101 luxury suites, four bars/lounges, four clubs, and 40/40 CLUB & Restaurant by American Express.
Barclays Center hosts an extensive variety of events, including Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders games, premier concerts, major professional boxing cards, top college basketball, and family shows.
Barclays Center has redefined the arena customer service and culinary experience. Its more than 2,000 employees are trained by Disney Institute, the business advisory arm of The Walt Disney Company, and its BrooklynTaste™ food program features selections from 55 well-known restaurants and vendors in the borough.
Barclays Center engages the customer with state-of-the-art technology to enhance the fan experience. As the first arena in the world to utilize Cisco StadiumVision mobile multicast streaming technology, Barclays Center allows fans to watch live video and instant replays from their mobile phones while connected to the arena’s free Wi-Fi.
Located atop one of the largest transportation hubs in New York City, Barclays Center is accessible by 11 subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road, and 11 bus lines.
For more information on Barclays Center, please visit www.barclayscenter.com. For instant updates and behind-the-scenes content, follow @BarclaysCenter on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About iHeartMedia New York:
iHeartMedia New York owns and operates WAXQ-FM; WHTZ-FM; WKTU-FM; WLTW-FM; WWPR-FM; WOR-AM; and is part of iHeartMedia. With over a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S. and over 85 million social followers, iHeartMedia has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America. It serves over 150 markets through 858 owned radio stations, and the company’s radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM, HD digital radio, satellite radio, on the Internet at iHeartRadio.com and on the company’s radio station websites, on the iHeartRadio mobile app, in enhanced auto dashes, on tablets and smartphones, and on gaming consoles.
iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s digital radio platform, is the No. 1 all-in-one digital audio service with over a billion downloads; it reached its first 20 million registered users faster than any digital service in Internet history and reached 85 million registered users faster than any other radio or digital music service and even faster than Facebook. The company’s operations include radio broadcasting, online, mobile, digital and social media, live concerts and events, syndication, music research services and independent media representation. iHeartMedia is a division of iHeartMedia, Inc. (OTCBB:IHRT). Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: WWE Network; major distribution agreements; our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; the possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including, without limitation, claims relating to CTE; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our revolving credit facility; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercises control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the relatively small public “float” of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made and are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
