Sportech Partners with Sports Legend Bobby Valentine For New Concepts in Sports Entertainment

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sportech Venues (Sportech) is delighted to announce a partnership with baseball great and philanthropist Bobby Valentine in their new state-of-the-art restaurant and sports bar facility that is to open next month at the Bradley Teletheater in Windsor Locks, CT, adjacent to Bradley International Airport.

Bobby V's Restaurant and Sports Bar, which has been created alongside the existing gaming facility, will set new standards for watching sports while dining. At a cost of over $3.5m, the stunning 300 seat restaurant and sports bar features a giant 17 ft. by 10 ft. LED TV alongside 70 other large screens, a golf simulator, private dining space and meeting room. A fabulous outdoor bar and patio will open in the Spring.  It boasts custom designed furniture made with many natural repurposed and salvaged materials.

The restaurant and sports bar was designed and built by Sportech, the organization that owns and operates the 15 licensed sports bar and OTB venues in Connecticut, and continues the investment made during the three years since Sportech entered CT.  In this period Sportech has invested $10 million in upgrading many of the locations.  With the hiring of new staff at the restaurant and sports bar, Sportech's work force in the state of Connecticut will increase to approximately 370 employees.

Bobby Valentine, a Stamford, CT native, brings well-rounded experience to the table. Best known for his Major League Baseball career as a manager of several teams and currently Athletic Director at Sacred Heart University, Bobby is an experienced restaurateur and was a natural choice to operate this new restaurant and sports bar.

Bobby Valentine said, "I've been talking to Sportech for a while and I like what they have done since buying the Connecticut operation.  They've invested huge sums of money to raise standards and create new concepts, and I've enjoyed working with them to design something we are all proud of.  There's nothing like it up here in Southern New England and I've not seen a screen as impressive as this outside Vegas! You're going to have to see it to believe it!"

Ted Taylor, Sportech's Managing Director said, "It's great to be partnering with Bobby, whose experience and personality make him a natural partner. We wanted to create a groundbreaking concept for sports entertainment, and the restaurant looks fantastic – I'm looking forward to the opening in January."

Press and VIP tours after January 6 can be arranged by contacting Paul Dionne, Sportech Venue's Director of Marketing, at [email protected] or 203-946-3192.

About Sportech Venues, Inc. and Winners
Sportech Venues, Inc. holds the exclusive license to conduct off-track pari-mutuel wagering on horseracing, greyhound racing and jai alai in the State of Connecticut, in perpetuity. The company operates 15 off-track and sports bar wagering venues under the brand Winners, in addition to an account wagering service that offers telephone wagering on racing and jai alai. The company will also soon be launching an account wagering service to allow Connecticut residents ages 18 and over to wager over the Internet on horseracing. A portion of every dollar wagered with Winners goes to the Connecticut General Fund, to local municipal tax funds and to funds for responsible gaming. For more information about Winners, please visit www.mywinners.com.

About Bobby Valentine
Stamford native Bobby Valentine is a sports legend with strong ties to Fairfield County. In addition to his baseball achievements at Stamford's Rippowam High School, Valentine was the only three-time all-state football player in Connecticut history. He was widely recruited out of high school and attended college at the University of Southern California. He was voted by Sports Illustrated as one of the best athletes of the 20th century from Connecticut. After his selection in the first round by the L.A. Dodgers, his 10 years as an MLB player included successful stints with the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Mets and Mariners. 

After retiring from baseball as a player, Valentine opened the first of seven restaurants while working in television for ESPN and NBC. He later coached in the minor leagues with the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets before becoming third-base coach for the Mets in 1982. In 1985, he was named manager of the Texas Rangers. As the Rangers' manager, he was named UPI American League Manager of the Year in 1986 and went on to become the winningest manager in Rangers history. In 1994, he became the first American to accept a management position in the Pacific League of Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines, and in 1995, he took on the role of manager of the Mets AAA club in Norfolk, VA. In 1996, he was hired as the manager of the New York Mets, where he led the team to the post season in consecutive years for the first time in team history and to the World Series in 2000. 

In 2004, Valentine returned to the Japan and led the Marines to its first Asian championship. He became the first foreign manager to win the prestigious Shoriki Award given to the person who contributes the most to Japanese baseball. In 2011, Valentine was appointed director of public health and safety in his hometown of Stamford. During his time of service, he donated his salary back to the city. That same year, he took on an analyst role for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. He returned to the baseball diamond to skipper the Boston Red Sox during the 2012 season. He currently serves as NBC's senior baseball analyst. In addition, he is the longtime owner of Bobby Valentine's Sports Gallery Cafe in Stamford.

Valentine helped to found the Mickey Lione, Jr., Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to Stamford sophomores who excel off the field and exemplify the values that Lione instilled in his athletes and students. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Steel Excel and Steel Sports. Valentine co-founded the Shin Taku Juko School in Japan. The University of Southern California Business School has created a curriculum for Shin Taku Juko, which teaches values to parents and their children. The school also offers a stay-abroad program for children who lost their parents in the tsunami that devastated Japan. Over the years, Valentine has received numerous awards both for his athletic successes and philanthropy. These include:

• Branch Rickey Award, 2002
• Lifetime achievement Award, 2001, Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation
• Man of the Year, Grand Marshall, Columbus Day Parade, 2002
• Publisher Award, 2002 
• All American Football, 1967
• The Matsutaro Shoriki Award, 2006 (Valentine is the only American to receive this award)
• Connecticut Gold Key Award
• International Sports Business Prize, 2009, Western New England College
• Humanitarian of the Year Award, 2001 
• Armenian-American Sports Hall of Fame
• Italian-American National Hall of Fame
• CT and Fairfield County Hall of Fame 
• Citizen of the Year, Stamford, CT, 2011
• MS (multiple sclerosis) National Man of the Year Award, 1997
• American Cancer Society, Man of the Year, 1999 
• Japanese Society Humanitarian Award, 2011
• Boy and Girl Scouts of America Man of the Year, 2007
• Lifetime Achievement Award, 2011, Hearts of the Community, Good Samaritan of Stamford
• March of Dimes, Man of the Year, 2002
• NY Chapter Arthritis Foundation, Man of the Year, 1999
• Connecticut Gold Key Award from Connecticut Sports Writers Association
• Dallas Sports Writers Association Award
• New Jersey Sports Writers Association Award
• New York Sports Writers Association Good Guy Award

SOURCE Sportech Venues