What makes Golden Platter Sports different from other hospitality companies? The simple answer is, our owner, Mike “Red” Walsh. He brings a unique skill set to the industry, and makes sure that everyone you and your clients comes in contact with can feel the GPS difference.
So, who is Red Walsh?
The first bones you make in the business world normally don’t come with the ragged edges that George Steinbrenner produces. Your initial job usually doesn’t entail working for the Yankees, the premier sports franchise in the world.
Yet, that was Walsh’s. If something needed to be done at the Yankees’ complexes in Tampa, Walsh did it. Pick up a minor leaguer from the airport? Get Red. Derek Jeter needs a physical so his $189 million contract can become official? Tell Red to get the van. Somebody needs two tickets to the Pirates-Yankees game at a sold-out Legends Field that weren’t left by a player? Red will take care of it.
Sounds exciting, huh? Sure was. But like everything else in life, it had a price. And that came when The Boss, clearly the most demanding man on the planet, wanted to see you at 11 o’clock in the morning. Forget what already happened that Steinbrenner didn’t like. He knew what was going to happen that he wasn’t going to like. Walsh lived behind the velvet rope, inside one of the most complex business operations on the planet and absorbed every drop.
Yet, when you work for the best you would be foolish to not learn from the best. Walsh watched Steinbrenner run his operation for seven years. He handled travel plans and tickets and got to know Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte very well. What Walsh learned more than anything else is that working for Steinbrenner means a lot of things but one stood out: know what you want.
As the head of GPS, Red knows what you want when it comes to putting a corporate hospitality package together. You want reliability, fun and an experience that will not only help you sell your product to clients but one that will be enjoyable for everybody involved.
When it was time to leave the Yankees, Red took the commitment to excellence that Steinbrenner forces his employees to accept. He was organized, a must to work for Steinbrenner, and hungry.
You work long enough for the Yankees you understand value on every level. After leaving that environment Red worked for an international sports hospitality company. Handling tickets and travel for the Yankees gave Red an understanding of what people enjoy from sporting events: a total experience.
The Yankee job introduced Red to baseball stadiums; the five years with the international sports hospitality company allowed him to familiarize himself with football, basketball and hockey arenas as well as golf courses all over the world.
If you want a seat for the Super Bowl, Red has sat in the chair. Ditto the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Final Four. You need a place to entertain your clients, GPS knows the best caterer to make it happen. You have worked hard to get to where you are and now you want to be seen at the best restaurant on Sunday night of the Final Four? Golden Platter Sports can handle it. Golf on the morning of Monday’s title game? Done.
In one way what GPS does is no different than any other successful business. In the sports hospitality arena, the thing that matters most is experience. Red brings an ocean of it to every event.
Red has been on both sides of the business, and that’s what separates GPS from others. When he left the Yankees, Red knew how to get inside the tangled web that pro sports have become. He’s established a network of connections that span generations, continents and sporting genres and continues to expand daily. Fortunately for you, he can get you and your clients inside as well.
Contact GPS today to find out how they can help you get your business to the next level.
