PointsBet Canada is kicking off tonight’s Ottawa Redblacks home opener in style at the PointsBet Sideline Club.
Ottawa-area resident and MTV-famous, comedian Tom Green will be on hand to celebrate the occasion. Ottawa’s Redblacks host the defending Grey Cup champion, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, at 7:30 EST tonight at TD Place.
Fans can expect free thunder sticks, a pregame military flyover and $5 beers. As of yesterday, fewer than 2,500 tickets remain for the game.
PointsBet-Redblacks partnership
The Canada sports betting app announced its official sportsbook of the Ottawa Redblacks and their home stadium at the start of the 2022 season.
Scott Vanderwel, CEO of PointsBet Sportsbook, said:
“It is hard to imagine anything more Canadian than the Canadian Football League in Ottawa. We are excited to be working with one of the premier franchises in the CFL and can’t wait to bring a new, unrivalled form of entertainment to Redblacks fans.”
The partnership includes the PointsBet Canada logo featured on Redblacks jerseys and prominent branding throughout TD Place. The sportsbook also takes over sponsorship of the PointsBet Sideline Club, where fans can watch the RedBlacks at field level.
Ottawa Sport and Entertainment Group president and CEO Mark Goudie said of the deal last spring:
“We proudly welcome PointsBet Canada to RNation and look forward to an exciting, innovative relationship and an exceptional game experience in the PointsBet Sideline Club.”
Special guests tonight: MTV comic, Ottawa senators
Besides Green, former Ottawa senators Chris Phillips and Marc Methot will also be on hand for tonight’s event.
Phillips, a “stay-at-home” defender, played with the Ottawa franchise his entire career. Methot, also a defenseman, was with the team from 2012-17.
In addition to PointsBet esteemed guests, the sportsbook is celebrating by activating its Redblack sponsorship with its unique “name a bet” market ahead of the game. There will also be a name-a-bet special during halftime that Green, of Pembroke Ontario, will announce from the Sideline Club.
Green is famed for the shock-comedy schtick that earned him a slot on MTV with The Tom Green Show from 1994 to 2000. Previously, he was part of the Canadian rap group Organized Rhyme, which won a MuchMusic Video Award for best rap video in 1992.
He later made it to the big screen in comedies like Freddie Got Fingered and Road Trip. Notably, he also had a cameo in Charlie’s Angels, playing Drew Barrymore’s love interest. The duo then married (and divorced a year later).
In addition to PointsBet’s celebrity guests, the sportsbook will be taking up space throughout the stadium with signage and QR codes on the back of every seat.
Nic Sulsky, of PointsBet, said in a statement:
“PointsBet Canada is committed to building an identity that acknowledges the little intricacies that make us all proud to be Canadian. Nothing says Canadian like three downs, a 55-yard line and the rouge.”
Redblacks odds look good
Last week, the Bombers beat the Redblacks 19-17 at the season opener in Winnipeg. The Redblacks have been struggling at home the last few years; the team will be looking to change that today.
Head coach Paul LaPolice had this to say on today’s match-up in the Ottawa Sun:
“You go from the place in Winnipeg where you’re on a silent count system, and the crowd can affect you; now they have to come to our place. We talk about trying to make this the loudest place in the East. If you want to win your division, you have to win at home.”
However, there is good news for the home team: The Bombers have lost four out of five recent road games in the East.
