Former NFL Great Randall Cunningham in attendance at Gladiator game for "Faith and Family" event
April 12, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Las Vegas Gladiators News Release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - One year after Third Coast Sports introduced the nation to "Faith Nights" at minor-league baseball stadiums from coast-to-coast, the young company travels to Las Vegas to launch its first-ever Arena Football League "Faith Night" with the Gladiators.
Following the "Palm Sunday" game against the Nashville Kats at Noon on April 9, national recording artist Matthew West will perform a live concert in the plaza outside of the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. In addition to the concert, Gladiators WR/DB Coco Blalock will take the stage to give his personal testimony of faith. Third Coast Sports has also teamed with Big Idea, Inc. to bring in Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber from the hit animation series VeggieTales.
Last year, Third Coast Sports went on the road with their "Faith Nights" and grabbed the front page of the USA Today, a feature on ABC World News Tonight and countless features in local papers. Prior to last season, Third Coast gained national attention with the Nashville Sounds' "Faith Night" series.
Teams that partnered with Third Coast in 2005 saw an average increase in attendance of 22% on Faith Nights as opposed to their season average. In 2004 and 2005, five of the top 10 attended Nashville Sounds games of the entire season were Faith Nights. The Sounds gave away bobble head dolls of Biblical figures Moses, Samson and Noah at three events and gave away 4,000 copies of the New Testament during the 2004 season. In 2005, Third Coast teamed with Big Idea, Inc. to provide the first 2,000 fans at each event with a baseball honoring Bob the Tomato from VeggieTales.
Before Third Coast went national, Faith Nights were featured by ESPN's Outside the Lines, The 700 Club, ESPN2's Cold Pizza, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Dallas Morning News, Baseball America and dozens of other media outlets.
Third Coast Sports is the athletic division of Third Coast Artists, a booking agency that represents big name Christian recording artists such as MercyMe, Audio Adrenaline, and Jeremy Camp. The sports division will stop at many sports cities across the nation from Buffalo, New York to Fresno, California in 2006.
Third Coast is excited for the Las Vegas community to hear the music of singer/song writer Matthew West, who was nominated in 2005 for New Artist of the Year at the annual GMA Music Awards. Since his 2003 release, Happy, West has been on a fast track to making music history. The project's first single, "More," held the #1 spot on the Christian chart for a record-breaking nine weeks and went on to be named Christian Song of the Year by ASCAP. The singer/songwriter has recently released his follow-up album, History, that features hit songs such as "The Next Thing You Know" and "The Day Before You," which country group Rascal Flatts also made famous thanks to West's song writing.
"We continue to be amazed and humbled at how this little company continues to grow," said Brent High, President of Third Coast Sports. "God's hand is definitely on this venture as evidenced by our expansion to 50 events and the doors that have been opened in the Arena Football League. Church leaders continue to see Faith Nights as a way to bring their congregations together for fellowship while at the same time reaching out to their friends, neighbors and co-workers who don't have a church home".
Third Coast Sports has partnered with Big Idea, Inc. and World Vision International, a Christian world-relief agency. For the Las Vegas event, the SOS Radio Network along with Bethany has teamed up with Third Coast to provide the "Faith Night" for the Las Vegas community.
Tickets for any Faith Night event can be purchased from Third Coast Sports by calling 1-888-456-0451. For more information, check out www.thirdcoastsports.com.
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