NFFC Plans For Live Events In 2020: New York & Las Vegas

[Greg Ambrosius]

It has been a wild last three months for all of us in the sports world. Exactly three months ago tonight, Utah Jazz Center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus and the NBA shut down its season. The next day the NCAA cancelled the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the world as we know it changed. New York City shut down that same day and the country went into quarantine shortly after.

Three months later, more than 112,000 Americans have died from coronavirus and yet the country is slowly opening up despite hundreds of Americans still dying every day. Vaccines are being worked on, but likely won't be available until next year. People have attempted to live with the virus as life tries to move on. It certainly isn't "normal times" again, but we all have tried to carry on.

Here at SportsHub Games Network, we are waiting for baseball to resume so that hopefully the NFBC can resume. And football drafts continue to run here as the NFL is adamant that they will start on time and complete a 16-game season despite coronavirus. New York City and Las Vegas have both opened up again and so we have resumed our plans to host live NFFC events this year along with online drafts. So let's get to the plans:

NFFC Contests:
We are going forward with all of our scheduled contests and guaranteeing the grand prizes in all of the national contests. All of our online contests are on record paces and we expect that to continue through the summer. We are adding a provision into the rules now that states exactly what constitutes a full NFFC season and how we will pay out prizes should the NFL season end prematurely. We are at the mercy of the pro sports to complete their schedules, but if they don't we must have a legal plan in place.

Here's what we are adding:

GUARANTEE: The NFFC guarantees prize payouts if the NFL plays all of its scheduled games through Week 8 (all games that week). Should the NFL regular season be shut down for any reason before the completion of Week 8 and not resume after that, the NFFC will refund all entry fees and no prizes will be awarded. Should the NFL season shut down after Week 8 and before the end of Week 16 without resuming, the NFFC will pay out prizes in full based on standings at that time in each league and within the overall standings. Owners would be paid in full based on the overall standings at that time and league standings would determine payouts in each league at that time. Total Points would determine the league champion in leagues that require playoffs between points leaders and head-to-head leaders. Final standings determine the prize winners at the time of the NFL's shutdown if beyond Week 8 and play doesn't resume.

NFFC New York City:
We are back at the Stewart Hotel in New York City on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 4-5. Tom and Darik have agreed to host the live events and the schedule is similar to years past. We should be good as far as having enough space to give additional room per drafter and to host 2-3 drafts in one room on Saturday. Unless something changes in New York with those guidelines, the live drafts are going forward and we look forward to hosting them in the Big Apple and seeing our NFFC customers again.

NFFC Las Vegas:
We still have plans for two weekends of live events at the Bellagio Las Vegas and I'm finalizing plans with the hotel today. The Bellagio closed on March 16th and just reopened on Friday, but our space is still open. I am trying to finalize even more space so that we can have plenty of space for the draft U's and for the open drafts on each Saturday. Last year we had the Bellagio Ballroom and that was plenty of space for 6+ leagues. We'll try for something similar to that this year and we'll double-check to see if Nevada guidelines will allow 50+ people in one setting or if we'll need private rooms at that time. We'll do whatever Nevada and the Bellagio demand, but as of now we are going forward with the same type of schedule we've had in years past and planning for larger space between drafters (adding a table to each side and end for more space between drafters). We do have a suite for the Thursday Night Viewing Party, but again we'll ask about the guidelines and how many people can be together in one room.

We do not have a room block at the Bellagio at this time, but it looks like room rates are very cheap on The Strip and flights are also greatly reduced. Check all of that out now if you do plan on joining us in Las Vegas.

NFFC staff will be careful at the live events, so don't be upset if we don't give you man hugs this year and don't be upset if you see us wearing Packer masks!! We'll maintain social distancing within the draft room, space teams out as best as we can and try to return that friendly live drafting experience that you all remember back in the day!! With some caution, I know we can do this.

So it's full steam ahead for the NFFC at this point as we work with state officials to do everything correctly to make sure all of you are safe. We have to trust that the NFL can pull this off by keeping the players safe and we'll do all we can to keep our customers safe with more space between drafters. And of course every product will have online drafting options, so you can still compete for all of our great prizes without attending the live events. Enjoy them as well.

With that in mind, we've seen that our FantasyPoints.com partner has been hosting the livestream drafts every Tuesday and Thursday with ease and showing the draft board along with as many owners as needed. We have also looked into that technology and feel that we can also use that technology for some upcoming online drafts, while implementing that into some of our higher dollar live drafts. Every year we have some owners in the Platinum, Diamond and Ultimate Leagues who can't make it to the live events and this year that number could be higher because of coronavirus.

So it's possible that we could add a Zoom option to give those drafters a shot at being live with us on the screen. We could also show them the live setup and give them a chance to see/hear the live draft while they are still making their picks online. It's something we are testing out now, but we feel confident that we can implement it into some live drafts. And to test it out, we may offer it on some NFFC Online Championship drafts to connect all of you online with a visual communication tool as well. Stay tuned on the progress of this.

With less than 100 days until the NFL Opener, we hope the country makes more progress with coronavirus that makes travelling to destination spots safer and staying at those destination spots safer. We believe we will progress enough to hook up in 2020, but if you feel safer drafting from home online we understand that as well. We just want everyone to know that we are doing everything we can to still have live events and still make it as safe as possible for our customers if they do join us live. And we're working with new technology to combine live and online drafters if needed. And we believe our online draft room is the best its ever been to do everything online if you prefer.

Join us for this football season and best of luck in all your leagues. We need sports to return to our lives and no sport is more important to the country than football. Here's to the upcoming NFL season and to better health in our country. Stay safe and stay healthy everyone.

[King of Queens]

Best news of the day! Looking forward to seeing everyone in New York AND Las Vegas this September.

[Greg Ambrosius]

So I had a great call with the Bellagio today. My host said that the hotel is starting at 50% capacity for this month and already this weekend is sold out and each weekend through June is almost sold out. She said it's vibrant again at the Bellagio!!

Anyway, few conventions are coming back, so we'll have the DaVinci ballrooms for the First Weekend of live events (Spa Tower is ideal to stay at then) and we'll have the Bellagio Ballrooms again for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We'll have that big open space again on Saturday and the Champions Stage, just like last year. We'll have enough space for larger U's and more leagues, so come join us!!

We are trying to secure the Penthouse Parlor Suite for the Wednesday Night Primetime and the Thursday Kickoff Gridiron Leagues. She's pretty sure those are available for us. That would allow us to also have that room available for the Thursday Night Viewing Party and we'll add the pool table suite as well, so that more people can spread out between the two rooms.

She doesn't have a room rate yet because the capacity will determine that. She's pretty confident that it will be more than 50% in another month and possibly much larger by the time the NFFC arrives. I'll stay on top of the room rates for you as well. I think Aria and Park MGM are still closed right now as those will be among the last MGM properties to open in Las Vegas.

We're definitely set for Las Vegas. Let's hope things continue to improve going forward and that we're in an even better place come Sept. 4-12. Stay safe and stay healthy everyone.

[BONGIZMO]

Can’t wait for the NFFC in Vegas again! I am actually heading out in two weeks and can confirm there is indeed demand. It certainly won’t be a ghost town . Aria opens July 1 and from what I have seen, the MGM is opening properties pretty consistently as they see demand roll in. MGM, Bellagio, Signature and NYNY started it this month, Excalibur was this week and Luxor is next I believe. By Fall I anticipate most of one’s choices will be open. Stay well everyone and let’s hope the NFL starts on time!

Scott

[Greg Ambrosius]

Just an update on the Bellagio in Las Vegas: There are very few conventions that are moving forward with the Bellagio through October, so we basically have our choice of meeting room space for both weekends. My contact there said the casino is very busy and they are still selling out their allotted number of rooms on the weekends (still 50% for now), but conventions are not returning yet.

So if you were with us last year, you know the great space we have waiting for us.

The First Weekend will likely be a small event, so we are taking the DaVinci Ballrooms 1-3 for Friday and Saturday. That is near the Spa Tower, so if you are staying at the Bellagio please request to stay in the Spa Tower. You will avoid crowds and our ballrooms are less than 100 yards from the elevator.

The Second Weekend we have the Bellagio Ballroom for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Now that is among the biggest ballrooms the Bellagio has -- as you remember last year on Saturday -- so we'll have plenty of space to widen each U and keep everyone safe. We'll still have the walls up for the auction leagues, but we'll have plenty of space for multiple live drafts throughout all three days. And even for the auction leagues, we'll do our best to lengthen and widen the U's.

So the space is ideal and we're still working on the private suites for Wednesday and Thursday. I should know if they are available this week, but last I talked with her they were available. I'm planning on having a Thursday Night Viewing Party in two suites, but we may have to limit attendance for those two rooms out of safety. We'll finalize those plans in the coming weeks and will be smart about that.

Thanks all and hopefully things improve in our country on the coronavirus front before September. Stay safe and stay healthy.

[Coltsfan]

Do you know if masks will be required at the live events? You may have already said but I've been out for a week or so and didn't notice if you had mentioned it or not.

I have booked flights 3 different times and Southwest keeps cancelling my flights. I just got another notice yesterday. I may need to try a different airline.


Wayne

[Greg Ambrosius]

Do you know if masks will be required at the live events? You may have already said but I've been out for a week or so and didn't notice if you had mentioned it or not.

I have booked flights 3 different times and Southwest keeps cancelling my flights. I just got another notice yesterday. I may need to try a different airline.


Wayne

So the Nevada Governor is going to update the state's guidelines by the end of this week and then they will update again at the end of August. In talking with my Bellagio sales rep, I believe the Bellagio is mandating masks for the casino, but the problem there is that many visitors come to the Bellagio from the Caesar's side and from the front entrance not knowing the mandate and there's been some issues there.

Again, we should know more about the state's mandates and guidelines by Friday and I have a call with the Bellagio on Monday to talk through everything. Hopefully things improve through August, but as we're seeing with MLB things can change quickly.

Southwest keeps changing the times of my flights, but I haven't had any cancelled yet. I think all of the airlines are doing that as they are streamlining the number of flights they are providing. Continued good luck there.

We're hoping for the best everyone, but let's watch this situation closely as training camps are scheduled to open in the next week.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here's the latest update on our live event at the Bellagio on Sept. 9-12:

We are all set for the Bellagio for space and the design of the rooms. We are doing everything in guidance with Nevada state laws and will make sure everyone is safe when they get to our draft rooms. I'll be emailing everyone individually next week about the protocals and where they are drafting. But here's the stuff we know now:

** All NFFC drafts will be held in the beautiful Monet ballrooms AND Grand Ballroom 1 and 2. Wednesday and Thursday will mainly be in the Monet Ballrooms, which not only have great ballroom space but they have walkout patios that overlook the pool. We can definitely walk outside at breaks and before/after the drafts and get some fresh air (109 degrees of fresh air!!). Grand 1 & 2 will mostly be used in conjunction with the Monet ballrooms on Friday and Saturday.

** We are mandated by Nevada state law not to have more than 50 people per combined ballroom, so each draft will have to be held separate from the others. That means two separate drafts will be held in Monet 1 & 2/Monet 3 & 4 with the wall up, while separate drafts will also be held in Grand 1 and Grand 2 with the wall between them. Last year we had multiple drafts at once in the same open ballrooms (4 in Monet on Friday and 6 on Saturday in the Bellagio Ballroom), but that's not allowed during Covid-19. Each draft will have to be separate and alone with a max of 25 people inside. We are just doing what the state mandate tells us, but hopefully we can intermingle in the hallways between drafts or on the patios. The Grand ballrooms are adjacent to the Grand Patio as well, which is available to us as well.

** Each draft will have twice the space as before to make sure everyone is safe. Basically the draft U will have 12 six-foot tables (4 on each of three sides), giving each owner/team their own 6-foot space. It's going to be a HUGE U, but we'll also have a gigantic electronic screen for the draft board at the front. I would recommend bringing your own laptop or iPad so that you can call up the league draft board while you're there because some teams will be 24 feet away from the board. But again, the board is big enough and our HD projectors are strong enough that it should be visible and clear from any spot in the room. But having the board right in front of you isn't a bad idea, too.

** The Bellagio wants us to avoid as much walking in the ballrooms as possible, so we likely will have someone providing drinks to our drafters at the table, rather than have drinks available within the ballroom. Likely a server for those who may need something to drink. We're still working on the food as we can have buffets like in the past, but again that will require a server rather than just each person taking the food they want. I'm working on the food portion now, but we'll get it figured out for everyone so that all you have to worry about is drafting.

** The Spa Tower is unfortunately closed yet at the Bellagio, so we can't host the Wednesday Primetime League or the two Kickoff Gridiron Leagues up in our Penthouse Parlor Suite. We also can't host an NFL Viewing Party there since no suites are available with that tower closed. We are all going to miss that gathering and the private leagues up there, but plan on drafting in the Monet ballrooms on Wednesday and Thursday and still having a good time. Next year we'll get those suites again.

** I believe we are the only convention in the Convention Center, so access from both sides might not be available. I'm not positive about that, but if you come from the Tram it's possible you might not be able to walk through the Convention Center. If you can, walk all the way through, past the Wedding Chapel, past the Grand and Bellagio ballrooms and the Monet Ballrooms are on the right just before the Business Center. If you come into the Convention Center from the Guest Tower or from the Casino, walk past the pool (which is on the left), past the Business Center and the Monet Ballrooms are on the left. We will be using Monet 1-4.

** As I mentioned in the post above, the Bellagio is requiring masks throughout the casino and in elevators and such. They are treating the ballrooms like restaurants, where they ask you to wear them into the rooms and then you can take them off when eating and drinking. We want to be safe for everyone in the NFFC, so expect us to wear masks so that we keep you safe. We'll allow you to be smart while you're there, while still respecting everyone around you. Again, the idea is to be 6 feet apart from everyone in each ballroom with the U setup and the facilitators will be well away from you in each league. We have too much space for each draft, but this year that's a good thing!!

Tom and I will be there by Tuesday night, so if you need us while you are out there just email us or text us. Darik arrives on Thursday. If anything happens with your travel plans or if you need help finding the ballrooms, let us know. We know that everything will be fluid and we'll be ready to help where we can.

We should have four events going on at once throughout the weekend, so we'll be busy. Just not as busy as past years. But that's fine. We're just happy to be seeing everyone again and getting back to live events. Safe travels everyone and stay healthy.