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Closing Bell

Closing Bell, February 27, 2002

 
The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
4:00pm ET

Astros Pay $2.1M For Naming Rights, Rename Ballpark After Team
Vail Resorts CEO Discusses Minor Boost Provided By The Olympics
Sales, Costs Of Athletic Footwear Both On The Rise
Anti-Yugoslav E-Mails Raise Red Flags In Sonics' Front Office
AT&T Wireless Handles Communications Crunch From Olympic Venues
Buzzer Beaters/In Other News/Daily Stat/Tonight's Events/Channel Surfing

ENRON FIELD NOW ASTROS FIELD AS TEAM BUYS OUT NAME RIGHTS

The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that the Astros "will pay Enron $2.1 million for the right to immediately remove the embattled company's name from its downtown ballpark." The team will begin negotiations for new naming rights immediately with "about seven companies," and a new agreement "could be reached before the season starts April 2" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/27).

The Bonham Group Chair Dean Bonham told THE DAILY this afternoon, "Dollar-for-dollar, this is the best investment the Astros have made since signing Jeff Bagwell. This is an extraordinary opportunity for the Astros to make lemonade out of lemons and end their troubling relationship with Enron. Count me among those who are shocked by how fast the bankruptcy judge moved in this case. I fully expected this to drag on" (THE DAILY).

Meanwhile, Gemini Sports President & CEO Rob Yowell told THE DAILY, "The fact that Enron was current, and not in default, makes this unique to other cases where the naming rights partner has gone bankrupt for 'legitimate' reasons. The Astros cashed the check, and it's their obligation to fulfill the benefits afforded by the payment. While a monetary compromise has been reached, how this will affect Enron's asset values in bankruptcy is still yet to be determined.

"The Astros are now re-entering a naming rights market that is much different than the one they experienced in 1999, when Enron signed the 30-year $100 million deal. Not to mention the competition from the Rockets new building, being constructed in the same market. It's a buyer's market now, and the Astros will do well to get 50-60% of the Enron deal today.

"Look for this case to result in rights holders adding new language to their agreements in the future that allows them to 'buy back' the rights in the event of a scandal or unscrupulous business activity that may be perceived as damaging to the image of the team/facility" (THE DAILY).


VAIL RESORTS CEO ADAM ARON TALKS OLYMPIC BOOSTS ON “BOX”

Vail Resorts announced yesterday Q2 earnings per share of $0.65, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $0.59 and topping the company's year-ago EPS of $0.46 for the quarter. Vail Resorts had net income of $22.93M, up 42.1%, on revenue of $217.8M, up 15.0%. Vail Resorts Chair & CEO Adam Aron appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning and was asked by Maria Bartiromo, "How did the Olympics being in Utah impact your business?" Aron: "We might have gotten a little bit of a windfall. A lot of those hotel rooms in Utah were filled with Olympic officials and athletes and journalists. But what really is impressive is that in the November-December-January quarter, before the Olympics, our resort cash flow was up 8.6%, our real estate net income was up 171%, our [EPS] were up 41%, and that's all following [September 11]." More Aron, on the impact the Olympics may have on the skiing industry: "I'm sure [the Games] will be a benefit to [UT ski resorts], but I think all the publicity for winter sports – thank you NBC and CNBC – will probably grow the sport. That should help Colorado and Vail Resorts as well" (CNBC, 2/27).


ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR SALES RISE 2%, AVERAGE COSTS UP 3.5%

According to research by The NPD Group, consumer spending for athletic footwear rose 2% in '01 to $15.42B from $15.11B in '00, as shoppers spent almost $1.31 more for each pair of sneakers last year. The average price paid for a pair of sneakers in '01 was $38.36, 3.5% higher than the $37.05 paid in '00, but still well below the $40.07 paid in '98. Consumers purchased a total of 401,943,000 pairs of sneakers in '01, down 1.5% from the 407,990,000 purchased in '00 (THE DAILY).


HATE E-MAIL SENT TO SONICS TARGETS YUGOSLAVIAN PLAYERS

The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports that an e-mail sent last week to an official Sonics' fan club Web site "apparently targets the pro basketball team because of its current Yugoslav players, Predrag Drobnjak and Vladimir Radmanovic." The e-mail doesn't name either Yugoslavia-born player by name, but "the gist is clear: 'I hate your ... organization now, and I hope someone kills him and all other Yugo bastards in the NBA.'" A day after receiving the e-mail, the Sonics contacted the police. Sonics Senior Dir of PR Valerie O'Neil: "We take these things very seriously" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 2/27).


PARISIAN TO POWER OAKLEY'S IN-STORE PROMOTIONS

Oakley Inc. today announced a retail partnership with department store chain Parisian, a division of Saks Inc. The partnership calls for Parisian to develop Oakley concept shops that will feature Oakley products such as eyewear, footwear, apparel and watches. Parisian will deploy seven in-store concept shops in May '02, which will be outfitted with Oakley-branded doublewide eyewear towers and branded footwear and apparel rocket displays (THE DAILY).


PACIFICHEALTH RECRUITS ATHLETES, COACHES FOR DRINK ADS

PacificHealth Laboratories will support its Accelerade Sports Drink and Endurox R4 Recovery Drink with a $1-2M print campaign. The ads, created in-house, are aimed at the "serious athlete," and will feature product editorials from athletes and coaches such as Olympic marathon runner Jeff Galloway, Ironman champion Dave Scott, track coach Roy Benson and Dr. Edmond Burke, author of "Optimal Muscle Recovery" (THE DAILY).


BUZZER BEATERS

The AT&T Wireless network handled 9.6 million calls from February 8-24 from Olympic venues where the athletes competed, averaging more than 500,000 calls daily. The number of calls was nearly three times more than the same period last year, and represented nearly 25% of the 39 million calls the company handled for the entire Salt Lake City market (THE DAILY).

The FINANCIAL TIMES reports that Sir Alex Ferguson will "commit himself to a further three years of managing Manchester United" when he signs a contract worth about US$4.9M a year, which will make him "the best paid manager in English football" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 2/27).

FIFA President Sepp Blatter will visit North Korea in May, "ahead of the start of the World Cup, and is not concerned President Bush's classification of the nation as part of an 'axis of evil' has heightened tension." South Korea's top soccer official, Chung Mong-joon, is expected to accompany Blatter on his visit (AP, 2/27).

The AP reports that Wizards F Michael Jordan's surgery this morning "revealed torn cartilage in his knee, leaving the [team] hope that he will play again this season" (AP, 2/27).

The Outdoor Life Network will air "Le Tour Encore With Lance Armstrong: A Personal Look at the 2001 Tour de France" beginning March 4. The series of interviews will air every Monday through Friday from 7:00-8:00pm ET throughout March (THE DAILY).

The AP reported that Formula One teams "will be on the lookout for computer hackers who could interfere with the operation of their cars during Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park" (AP, 2/26).


TODAY'S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

The DESERET NEWS' John Hughes writes a day-by-day analysis of the Winter Games, providing both sports and non-sports highlights.

The N.Y. TIMES' Richard Sandomir on the USOC parlaying the success of Salt Lake City into sponsorship renewals.

The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL's Michael Grange on the CBC's hopes – from a ratings prospective – that Vancouver lands the 2010 Games.

The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE's Mary Jane Smetanka on the Univ. of MN's efforts to find private financiers for the school's sports programs.

The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER's Marc Narducci on fundraising efforts of the Flyers' wives.

FORBES' Davide Dukcevich on PA-based Global Sports.

See The Daily Insider's Articles Of Interest section for more sports business-related links.


TONIGHT'S EVENTS

N.Y. Univ. Preston Robert F. Tisch Center for Hospitality Tourism & Travel Administration will host a legal forum moderated by Associate Dean Lalia Rach for the students in the sports management leisure studies program from 6:00-9:00pm ET (THE DAILY).

Blue Jackets C Tyler Wright and Max & Erma's Restaurants will treat six children with pediatric cancer to limo rides and dinner at two Columbus-area Max & Erma locations at 6:00pm ET (THE DAILY).

Sportvision's special effects technology for NASCAR will be featured on TechTV during program "Fresh Gear," available on DirecTV (THE DAILY).


IN OTHER NEWS…

NBC's "Watching Ellie," which was heavily promoted during the network's Olympic coverage, got ample sampling last night with a time period winning 12.4/18 overnight Nielsen rating at 8:30pm ET, 33% above its repeat "Frasier" lead-in (9.3/14) and 18% ahead of CBS' "Jag" (10.3/15) (MediaWeek Online).


THE DAILY STAT: OLYMPIC HOCKEY VIEWERSHIP

The following lists the top 20 television markets when it came to viewing the Olympic men's hockey Gold Medal game, and the market's Nielsen ratings for the entire Olympic broadcast (Blue Jackets):

RK
MARKET
GOLD MEDAL
OLYMPICS TOTAL
1)
  Salt Lake City
25.8/55
16.4/36
2)
  Denver
23.8/46
10.8/23
3)
  Detroit
23.5/39
10.5/21
4)
  Providence
21.0/40
9.5/22
5)
  Minneapolis
19.2/39
8.1/21
6)
  Boston
19.1/37
8.1/19
7)
  Philadelphia
18.5/31
7.8/16
8)
  Phoenix
17.7/36
8.4/18
9)
  Pittsburgh
17.5/33
7.9/17
10)
  Columbus
16.0/27
8.6/18
11)
  Portland
15.9/37
8.1/23
12)
  Buffalo
15.6/30
6.9/15
13)
  Chicago
15.1/31
7.6/16
14)
  Cleveland
14.6/30
7.2/16
15)
  Hartford
14.6/29
6.8/16
16)
  Milwaukee
14.5/29
8.6/19
17)
  Seattle
14.4/34
7.5/20
18)
  New York
14.4/29
6.9/14
19)
  Dallas
14.4/28
7.3/15
20)
  Indianapolis
14.2/27
7.0/16
 

CHANNEL SURFING

ESPN's "College SportsCentury" will profile Marcus Houston at 7:30pm ET.

ESPN2 will air men's college basketball: Wake Forest-GA Tech, at 7:30pm ET, and Cincinnati-Louisville at 9:30pm ET.

ESPN will air Flyers-Devils at 8:00pm ET.

TNT will air Magic-Raptors at 8:00pm ET.

ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury" will profile Willie Shoemaker at 8:00pm ET.

Bears RB Anthony Thomas and boxer Vernon Forrest will be on ESPN's "Unscripted."

FSN's "The Last Word" will discuss the Jayson Williams situation with Fox News legal analyst Bob Becher, former NBAer Jack Haley and Bergen Record columnist Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ravens LB Ray Lewis, Bills QB Rob Johnson, Padres P Trevor Hoffman and Deion Sanders will be on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."

A&E's "Biography" will profile Ivana Trump at 8:00pm ET.

E!'s "True Hollywood Story" will profile rock legend Mama Cass at 8:00pm ET.

CBS will air the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, at 8:00pm ET.


HEADLINERS

Here are tonight's headline guests on the following talk shows:

"The Late Show"

Cher

"The Tonight Show"

Heidi Klum

"The Late Late Show"

Josh Hartnett

"Late Night"

Paula Zahn


If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com

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