Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Kim Serafin (212) 788-2958
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that the Fifth Annual ESPY Excellence in Sports Performance Awards will be held in New York City for the fifth consecutive year on February 10, 1997 at Radio City Music Hall. The Mayor was joined in City Hall's Blue Room by ESPN Sportscaster Charley Steiner and ESPY Awards Executive Producer Jeff Ruhe.
The Mayor also accepted an award for "Outstanding Performance by a Host City" from the ESPY Awards commemorating the fifth anniversary of the ESPY Awards which have been held in New York City since their inception in 1993.
"New York and the ESPY's are a perfect match. The ESPY's are the most prestigious sports award program in the world and New York City is the greatest sports town in the world," said Mayor Giuliani. "Not only is our City famous for our World Series Championship Yankees, we are also home to some of the best professional and amateur teams and players around."
The 1997 ESPY Awards will be highlighted by a special presentation of the fifth annual Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to Muhammad Ali. In addition, there will be a special tribute to the late Jackie Robinson, marking the 50th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
The ESPY Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on Monday February 10 at 8:00 PM on ESPN.