ESPN Rides NBA RV Tour Into Finals
ESPN is wrapping up its National Basketball Association RV tour on a post-season swing, with stops planned for what could be a bi-coastal final series.
The tour set out in January to promote the return of the NBA to ESPN and expanded coverage on ABC, which will carry the playoff finals. After receiving positive fan feedback in more than 20 cities during the regular season, ESPN decided to keep the tour—conceived by Revolution—going through the finals to generate more good will.
“The tour’s all about getting to know the personalities of the commentators and the color guys,” Nick Ziebarth, Revolution’s director of events, said.
The 35-foot ESPN-branded RV features photo stations where people could have their pictures taken with stand-ups of Steve Smith and Bill Walton, and interact directly with ESPN and ABC on-air personalities. Hubie Brown, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Tirico and Mike Breen all spent time on the bus during the season.
Fans visiting the ESPN RV outside NBA arenas before games can also shoot free throws on a backboard at the rear of the bus and compete in “knock-out” shooting contests. They could also play NBA video games and trivia contests inside the trailer. And they received ESPN-branded mini-basketballs, T-shirts and headbands as takeaways.
The final stops will be outside the first two games in Detroit or Boston, where the opening finals games will be played. Then the RV will head for Los Angeles or San Antonio for the third and fourth games in the NBA Finals to be played on the western division champ’s home court.
