Web media company, LibertyOne, has launched its latest Web sports portal offering, a tennis resource branded as the official site of top ranked player, Pat Rafter.
The Pat Rafter site, www.oncourt.com, is the second sporting 'portal' site to be launched by LibertyOne, following last month's launch of Greg Norman's shark.com. The Greg Norman site was launched as a portal site for high-flying business people including shopping, lifestyle editorials and travel information as well as golf related content.
Rafter's site follows the model developed in Norman's site, but is aimed more at tennis fans and a wider demographic, not just wealthy males. Oncourt.com's General Manager, Julian Bristow pointed out that the site will have a wider interest for the public than an normal fan site.
"Much of the site's content will be devoted to aspects of the lifestyle surrounding the game of tennis", he noted. "As such, the site will not be a typical fan site often associated with leading sportspeople and celebrities."
Revenue for the site will be raised through a combination of advertising, e-commerce and content syndication with LibertyOne taking 70% of profits and Patrick Rafter 30%.
"oncourt.com is also e-commerce enabled, allowing visitors to purchase tennis products, Patrick Rafter memorabilia, participate in online auctions and the site will soon allow online donations to be made to the Cherish the Children Foundation, of which Patrick is patron," Bristow noted.
The site will be managed jointly by Bristow and Pat Rafter's manager Stephen Rafter.
