Portland Trail Blazers Partner with Affinity Circles to Deliver First Official Social Network for Basketball Fans
Trail Blazers Social Network will Connect Fans to the Team, its Players and the Portland Community
Mountain View, Calif. and Portland, Ore. – October 12, 2006 – Affinity Circles, the leading provider of trusted social networks for membership organizations, and the Portland Trail Blazers, today announced plans to launch the first official social network for a professional basketball team. Utilizing Affinity Circles proven social networking platform, the Trail Blazers will create an online community in which fans can share their passion for the team, its players and the game.
To pre-register for the network, fans can sign up for The Fast Break Club at www.trailblazers.com. The team plans to begin testing the site in time for its home opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 4.
"Portland fans are passionate about the Trail Blazers, and about technology, so merging the two to create an official online community to support our team makes perfect sense," said team president and general manager, Steve Patterson. "Our network will connect fans throughout the city, across the state and beyond, providing them with a forum to share their renowned passion for the game. Partnering with Affinity Circles allows us to deliver an authentic experience for our fans in time for the new season with a proven trusted social networking platform."
Affinity Circles software platform will enable basketball fans to connect with one another, create profiles, join groups, share photos, post blogs and much more, all with the comfort of knowing that their personal communications are taking place within an official setting that is sanctioned by the Trail Blazers organization. As a hosted solution, it is designed for easy and fast deployment, and can grow as fast as the team and fan base requires.
"Our partnership with the Trail Blazers allows us to extend our track record of creating trusted social network communities for well known affinity-based organizations, while demonstrating the application of this technology to professional sports organizations," said Steve Loughlin, chief executive officer. "The market response to our products in recent months has been tremendous, and we believe our growth opportunities are significant. We are excited about working closely with the Trail Blazers to launch the first fan-based network for an NBA team, and to create an online experience that will serve the team, its fans and the city of Portland."
About the Portland Trail Blazers
Winners of the 1977 NBA Championship, the Portland Trail Blazers are Portland’s only major professional sports franchise. With a corporate culture that promotes volunteerism, the Blazers Community Builders employee volunteer program was a key centerpiece in the Trail Blazers receiving the prestigious National Points of Light Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Service. The Trail Blazers were the first, and continue to be, the only professional sports team to achieve this honor. To learn more about the Trail Blazers, please visit www.trailblazers.com.
About Affinity Circles
Affinity Circles, previously known as Affinity Engines, provides trusted social networks for membership organizations. Today more than 60 organizations nationwide use the company’s hosted social network platform to enable members to build and maintain personal and professional connections in dynamic, trusted online communities. For more information, visit www.affinitycircles.com.
Carleen LeVasseur
Affinity Circles Public Relations
(408) 264-6767
carleen@affinitycircles.com