We have a limited room block of 50 rooms Thursday through Saturday and a smaller block on Sunday. This will be a first-come, first-serve setup once we have everything finalized. You can certainly sign up for a room before you sign up for the NFBC and we'll do all we can to help you secure a room there even after our initial room block is filled. You certainly don't have to stay with us as a guest, but don't delay if you want to stay at The Bellagio.
Ryan has taken this task up personally and is fully responsible for us moving the NFBC to The Bellagio during the final weekend of March. He had the right contacts there, he pushed it hard during meetings we had out there in September and he never stopped pushing with this contract. We have a weekend of fun planned like you've never imagined from the NFBC. Trust me, this was never getting done under the old watch. This is now the finest DRAFT in the industry and it deserves to be considered the finest EVENT in the industry.
We have private rooms for the Friday Auction Championship and the Live Double Play 12-team drafts. We can accommodate plenty of those events, but again it will be a first-come, first-served basis for those. We have an incredible 22,000 square foot room for the Saturday main event and the setup they discussed with us will be so very cool. You're going to love this. And the Sunday Ultimate League, Super League and Diamond League will be held in private suites at The Bellagio, giving these high-stakes fantasy leagues the prestige they deserve for our owners. More details to come on all of that, but we're done with the boardroom for Sunday's special drafts and auctions and we're moving to the penthouse. Tell me you're ready for this!!
Okay, we're still working on the menus for Saturday but I've listened to the gripes about my chips and dips for years now and I'll admit that it hit a nerve after the NFFC season. Ryan knows why we had a limited budget in past years for this and the fact that we were the only event never to charge an Events Fee limited our potential to serve you like some of the other events. In football, other events charge between $125 and $150 per team Events Fees plus co-manager fees. I stayed away from the Events Fees for six years and I think it was the right move. But now we need to address that.
We will NOT charge an Events Fee at the Flamingo on March 19-21 or in St. Louis, although we'll still have $50 co-manager fees. We promise to upgrade food and drinks in Chicago and New York on March 26-28 and they will be subject to the same Events Fee we'll be charging at The Bellagio.
The Events Fee will be $50 per principle owner and the $50 co-manager fee remains. I know for a fact that our bill per person is much, much more than $50 per person on Saturday because we are going to take care of you in a big way at The Bellagio, but this Events Fee offsets some of our food & beverage cost. I think most folks will understand why we have to do this and we will return value for that added fee. And the co-manager fee has to be charged in all cases because we are going to be charged per person, not a group total. We're cool with feeding everyone, but I think when everyone sees the festivities they will understand why even wives and girlfriends who aren't drafting need to be subject to the co-manager fee.
Damn, The Bellagio and the NFBC. How cool is THAT? We are going to shoot video out there and put it on our web site, we are going to promote the hell out of this and you are going to see a very nice Bellagio hotel shot on the front of our new NFBC home page soon. Unreal. I'm VERY EXCITED for the NFBC and everyone who helped us get to this point. Are you excited with me?? Did you ever think in 2004 when I had to give autographed Pete Rose baseballs away to you guys to sign up for the NFBC that we'd get to do this at THE BELLAGIO?!! Wow.
Bring your wives to Las Vegas now. You're staying at The Bellagio and she can shop 'til she drops while you compete in The NFBC Auction Championship, the Double Play, the Main Event and heck maybe even the Super or the Ultimate League. And she won't even mind because "honey is taking me to The Bellagio for three days."
Okay, stay tuned for more details. We are working on something special in New York and working hard in Chicago, but we don't have final details yet for those spots. Look at flights soon, plan ahead early and then plan on joining us at The Bellagio!!! We are going to have an AWESOME time this year. Sound good?
Thanks all. Thanks Ryan. Thanks Fanball.
