The Knicks Specialize in Showcasing Their Celebrity Fans...

Are you looking for new ways to drive fan excitement for coming to the game? Are you capitalizing on ALL of the personalities in your building?

Sports organizations looking to showcase their most recognized fans (celebrities) should consider benchmarking the practices of the New York Knicks organization. The Knicks and MSG have created a "Celebrity Crowd Cam" feature that interviews recognizable celebrities sitting courtside and asks them to share their love for the Knicks, what theyenjoy about their experiences at Madison Square Garden, and what their favorite moments are in team history.

The "Celebrity Crowd Cam" feature blends a series of celebrity interview questions in with a random collection of celeb spottings at Madison Square Garden. The vignettes are humorous and provide fans with yet another reason to want to come to the game (to be seen where they favorite icons are seen).

Events in New York City (along with Los Angeles and Miami) are magnets for attracting celebrities. What if you don't have any willing to come to your events? Consider aligning with a local costume shop to create a booth in the concourse level that lets fans dress up their favorite celebrities and create vignettes of their own (the best of which would be featured on the video board). Teams can also consider making more of concerted effort to drive celebrities to their games by offering exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences and other amenities.

Celebrities feel so comfortable attending games at Madison Square Garden that some even put on a show of their own for the fans (as seen below with Anthony Anderson of Law & Order's recent old school dance performance):

Here are some of the Knicks "Celebrity Crowd Cam" features: