NFL and Cirque du Soleil to team up for NYC Times Square attraction
We say “football” and the first thing you think of is those dudes in the pastel unitards and white powder wigs, doing somersaults on a teeterboard, right?
Which certainly explains the partnership of the National Football League and Cirque du Soleil in announcing a new attraction in New York City’s Times Square called “The NFL Times Square Experience.”
The attraction will debut in the fall of 2017, occupying 40,000 square feet of a four-story building at the corner of West 47th Street and Seventh Avenue.
However, fans who would expect to see this cloned on the Strip — in the way that Disney and Universal Studios duplicate their rides — should probably start planning a Big Apple visit instead.
“We are entirely committed to making the NFL Times Square Experience in New York a resounding success and have no plans to duplicate the project at this time,” Cirque spokeswoman Marie-Noelle Caron said Thursday by email.
A news release describes the planned attraction as having “high-tech displays, as well as immersive and interactive exhibits. Fans will have the opportunity to test their skills to see how they measure up to professional football players, (and) learn game strategy.”
A 350-seat theater will surround fans with a 20-minute “multimedia experience” that will simulate “what it feels like to be in the game, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.”
The venture involves both Cirque’s Montreal headquarters and a new theatrical division, which recently opened Cirque’s first Broadway show, “Paramour.”
There is a Vegas connection that could keep the Strip in the game (beyond the obvious of Cirque’s seven titles here): Cirque’s theatrical division is headed by Scott Zeiger, who previously opened Las Vegas productions including “Peepshow” and “Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular” when he was with Base Entertainment.
Read more from Mike Weatherford at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com and follow @Mikeweatherford on Twitter.
