Latest news with #TheCollective
USA Today
4 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
WNBA fashion, growth on display at The Collective's All-Star party with USA TODAY Studio IX
INDIANAPOLIS — WNBA All-Star weekend has been a vibe. Fans have converged on the hoops capital of the United States and immersed themselves in the W and it's growing popularity. "It's so cool," Fever guard Lexie Hull, who participated in the 3-point contest on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, told USA TODAY Studio IX. "I know our team, our front office, everyone with the Fever, has been working really hard to put together a really awesome weekend. "And to have a lot of the W players and the fans filling the stadium, every restaurant and every hotel, it's awesome." Many of those players, along with team owners, general managers and other sports business VIPs celebrated all things WNBA, fashion and the culture of women's sports Friday night at an All-Star party hosted by Wasserman's The Collective in partnership with Ally Financial and USA TODAY Studio IX. Hull walked the red carpet into The Bemberg, a members-only club where the event was held, along with the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart, Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings — dressed head to toe in Coach — and the Seattle Storm's Gabby Williams. Notre Dame phenom Hannah Hidalgo and Olympic volleyball medalist Jordan Thompson also attended. Thompson said it is "amazing" to watch the growth of women's sports. She hopes that volleyball can capitalize. "Especially in the WNBA, it's just starting to skyrocket," said Thompson, who will begin play in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball Championship this fall. "It's kind of exciting, because, as a volleyball player, it's a vision of where we could be one day, and hopefully sooner rather than later." The growth in women's sports has happened for many reasons including the talent, personality and style of the women playing. But they have experienced significant buy-in from companies who understand the power of collaboration with leagues like the WNBA and NWSL. Ally Bank was an early sponsor of women's sports, helping get the NWSL championship moved to primetime on CBS. "For us, it made a lot of sense to enter the women's (sports) space in a big way," Stephanie Marciano, Ally's head of sports and entertainment marketing, said. "We felt there was a lot of impact we could make, specifically on the media side. Because there's a number of data metrics that prove that there was a huge visibility and coverage gap in women's sports." Ally divides it's advertising dollars 50/50 between men's and women's sports media. Wasserman believes it's a blueprint many other companies will follow as the popularity of women's leagues continues to grow and sports like women's volleyball and soccer take off. Another one starting to make some noise? Girls flag football, which is being added as a sport in high schools across the county."When you see billionaires coming in, multiples of them, to invest in teams, not only in the W, but across other women's sports," Thayer Lavielle, The Collective's managing director said, "they have had proven success at making a lot of money. People are seeing the return in the value." Lavielle said the women's sports space is a community where people work collaboratively, which is unique. Her advice to brands that want to support "this rocket ship" is simple. "Come in, the water's warm. Do it. Invest now," Lavielle said "Everything will continue to go up."
Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
WNBA players arrive to The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP Party at The Bemberg
WNBA Christine Tannous/IndyStar Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (right) arrives with her wife Marta Xargay Casademont during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Christine Tannous/IndyStar Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (far right) and other patrons enjoy food and drinks at The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers arrives to The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar (From left) Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, New York Liberty guard Marine Johannes and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams speak during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Patrons enjoy food and drinks during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Volleyball player Harper Murray (left) speaks with Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull sits down for an interview during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (right) speaks with volleyball player Molly McCage during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo (center) speaks with Chantal Rotondo (left) and Jared Kaufer (right) during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams (left) hugs Ceren Ates during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo (right) speaks with New York Liberty guard Marine Johannes (left) during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart sits for an interview during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Volleyball player Jordan Thompson arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Volleyball player Molly McCage arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Stylist Sydney Bordonaro sits for an interview during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Volleyball player Harper Murray arrives during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Patrons enjoy food and drinks during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Shayla Ibanez (left) and Mariah Balderas, who both work for marketing agency The Basement, pose for a selfie during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Patrons enjoy food and drinks during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Patrons enjoy food and drinks during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull sits down for an interview during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar (From left) Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, New York Liberty guard Marine Johannes and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams laugh during The Collective's WNBA All-Star VIP party on Friday, July 18, 2025, at The Bemberg in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar
Sydney Morning Herald
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Have we hit peak luxury grill? It seems so, at the new restaurant by the Rockpool team
Part of The Collective – unceremoniously billed as 'Sydney's newest hospitality precinct' – The Dining Room has sister venues in The Garden, a courtyard offering breakfast (steak and eggs!) and a breezy lunch-dinner menu, and the Tailor Room, which stirs down some of The Rocks' cleanest, clearest cocktails. In The Dining Room, a sympathetic refit of The Argyle nightclub means comfortable booths and spotlit tables spaced among heritage pylons. If you can stop the sickly-sweet flashbacks to your early 20s and instead concentrate on the food and drink, there are wins from the get-go. A riff on a negroni subtly builds in layers of strawberry. Native citrus mayonnaise gives all kinds of edges to a one-bite abalone schnitzel. A fluted tartlet filled with parmesan cream, podded sugar snaps and a soft-set quail egg has lovely, lingering tang. But what The Dining Room somehow manages is to mask truly complex and assured cooking behind decisions that strip it of the magic. Why pick a name so generic that it says nothing at all, one that's shared by the restaurant at the Park Hyatt down the road? Why pipe disco-pop through the speakers, then follow it with a live act that leaps into a half-hearted Michael Jackson cover backed by a drum machine? Part of the thrill of eating at restaurants is that it happens in a room full of strangers, but the tables here are so generously spaced, the room so cavernous, that it struggles for energy. Sit near an exit, and a cool draught might blow in all night. Scan the menu, and 'Morton Bay' might raise an eyebrow, or the misspelling of 'Myer' lemon, or the absence of a vegetarian main other than a spin on mushroom risotto, which just feels lazy.
The Age
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Have we hit peak luxury grill? It seems so, at the new restaurant by the Rockpool team
Part of The Collective – unceremoniously billed as 'Sydney's newest hospitality precinct' – The Dining Room has sister venues in The Garden, a courtyard offering breakfast (steak and eggs!) and a breezy lunch-dinner menu, and the Tailor Room, which stirs down some of The Rocks' cleanest, clearest cocktails. In The Dining Room, a sympathetic refit of The Argyle nightclub means comfortable booths and spotlit tables spaced among heritage pylons. If you can stop the sickly-sweet flashbacks to your early 20s and instead concentrate on the food and drink, there are wins from the get-go. A riff on a negroni subtly builds in layers of strawberry. Native citrus mayonnaise gives all kinds of edges to a one-bite abalone schnitzel. A fluted tartlet filled with parmesan cream, podded sugar snaps and a soft-set quail egg has lovely, lingering tang. But what The Dining Room somehow manages is to mask truly complex and assured cooking behind decisions that strip it of the magic. Why pick a name so generic that it says nothing at all, one that's shared by the restaurant at the Park Hyatt down the road? Why pipe disco-pop through the speakers, then follow it with a live act that leaps into a half-hearted Michael Jackson cover backed by a drum machine? Part of the thrill of eating at restaurants is that it happens in a room full of strangers, but the tables here are so generously spaced, the room so cavernous, that it struggles for energy. Sit near an exit, and a cool draught might blow in all night. Scan the menu, and 'Morton Bay' might raise an eyebrow, or the misspelling of 'Myer' lemon, or the absence of a vegetarian main other than a spin on mushroom risotto, which just feels lazy.
HKFP
11-07-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Restaurant chain Xin Dau Ji closes last branch in Hong Kong
Chinese restaurant chain Xin Dau Ji has closed down its last branch in Hong Kong, according to local media. The branch, located in Kowloon Bay, was not open for business on Friday. There was a notice outside the restaurant saying, 'Internal construction ongoing,' local media outlet The Collective reported. Ming Pao reporte d on Friday, citing a response from the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, that the restaurant had not been paying the compulsory pension funds for around 20 workers since April. Established in 2006, the chain was famous for traditional Chinese dishes such as roast suckling pig. Its main branch in Jordan earned one Michelin star in 2012 and 2013. It closed its Causeway Bay branch in February 2019, HK01 reported. Other branches were also shut down over the past few years. The restaurant chain had seven branches in Hong Kong at its peak and started to venture into mainland Chinese markets around 2022, according to a report by Chinese media outlet Sohu. According to online information, the group currently runs a few branches in mainland Chinese cities, including Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing. The news came amid a strong wave of restaurant closures in Hong Kong. It was reported on Tuesday that Metropol Restaurant would cease operations in September, after 35 years of service. In late June, bakery chain Taipan Bread & Cakes, which created the famous snowy mooncakes, closed all its stores after 41 years in operation, reportedly owing unpaid salaries and rent. In early June, Hong Kong catering group King Parrot informed its staff about its closure, without settling severance pay. In May, chain restaurant Ocean Empire announced the closure of all its branches, putting an end to its 33-year history.
