Closing Bell, March 18, 2004

MARINERS TODAY ANNOUNCE FIVE-YEAR DEAL WITH BEN & JERRY’S

TheMariners today announced a five-year sponsorship agreement naming Ben &Jerry’s the specialty ice cream of the team and Safeco Field. In addition to products being offered atconcession stands, Ben & Jerry’s will open a full-service “Scoop Shop”inside the ballpark and its “Moo Mobile” will be parked outside the ballpark. Ben & Jerry’s receives signage on theconcourse and various promotion entitlements (Mariners).

JOHNSON, GUTKOWSKI WEIGH IN ON RSNs ON ESPN2’S “COLD PIZZA”

BobcatsOwner Bob Johnson and former MSG President Bob Gutkowski appearedthis morning on ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza” to discuss team-owned RSNs. Johnson, who announced plans for his own RSNlast week, said, “You’ve got a chance to keep giving your advertisers morevalue, so if you could link the advertiser who’s in the arena advertising andmake that value extend out to your regional sports network, you’ve given themsort of a two-for-one kind of opportunity that increases the valueproposition. It also could help youdrive your merchandising sales throughout a deeper part of the region becausepeople will see more content, more information about your players, whichtranslates into more merchandise sales.” But Gutkowski said an RSN “won’t be right for everybody and a lot ofteams don’t want to take on the risk of not taking that guaranteed rights feefrom the third party” (“Cold Pizza,” ESPN2, 3/18).

CALLAWAY GOLF RECENTLY SEIZES 27,000 KNOCK-OFF CLUBHEADS

TheORANGE COUNTY REGISTER reports that Callaway Golf “recently seized 27,000clubheads valued at more than $500,000 from Newport Golf, an Anaheim-basedcompany. Callaway had accused thecompany of selling illegal copies of its golf clubs. A court-mediated settlement in 2002 gave Callaway Golf more than$800,000 in cash and 28,000 golf club components valued at more than$500,000. The deal also gave Callawaythe right to conduct a final inspection,” during which the additional clubheadswere discovered (ORANGECOUNTY REGISTER, 3/18).

SINOPEC INKS LONG-TERM SPONSORSHIP OF CHINESE GRAND PRIX

XINHAUNEWS reports that China’s largest petrochemical company, China Petroleum &Chemical (Sinopec), has signed a long-term sponsorship agreement with Britishsports management firm Allsopp, Parker & Marsh, giving Sinopec theexclusive right to sponsor the Chinese F1 Grand Prix. The event will be held September 24-26 at the Shanghai Int’lCircuit (XINHAU NEWS, 3/18).

PROMOTION OF THE WEEK: PISTONS TO LET THEIR HAIR OUT FRIDAY

ThePistons will run a promotion Friday night that draws on the most recognizablefeature of the team’s most popular player, the hair of C Ben Wallace. For the team’s 8:00pm ET game against theNuggets at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the first 5,000 fans 14 and younger willreceive red, white and blue Pistons wigs.

Aspart of the event, the club will attempt to break the Guinness Book of WorldRecords mark of 5,574 wigs worn in a single venue, set last year by theNewcastle Knights, an Australian rugby team. Additionally, the club has planned wig-inspired video presentations forthe game, including the use of wigs over time, famous wig-wearers and notableafros throughout history.

WithWallace as the driving force, Pistons Dir of Strategic Communications DaveWeime told The Daily that the club sells 60-70 all black orred-and-blue wigs per night. Weime:“The thing about him is his afro. Andwhen he wears it up and out and wild, everybody loves it. We have seen, if you will, a phenomenonwhere people – regardless of age or race or demographic or sex or anything – buyafro wigs.” Wallace, who rotatesbetween the full-blown afro and cornrows, is expected to keep with thepromotion’s theme and wear his hair out for the game.

Morethan simply an influence for this event, Pistons President & CEO TomWilson said that Wallace has become the cornerstone of the team’sbrand. Wilson: “When we talk about‘Goin’ to Work. Every Night.’ – whichis our brand – Ben lives it every night. He’s synonymous with us right now in this city.”

Asthe Pistons are averaging 95.6% capacity at the 22,076-seat venue this season,the promotion was not designed to drive ticket sales. Asked why the team runs a nightly promotion despite a nearfull-house, Wilson cited competition with TV and stressed the need to give fansmore than what they can see at home. Wilson: “The philosophy is value added. … We want to make it somethingthat you want to go back to.”

Becausethe game is a sellout, the Pistons did not spend to advertise thepromotion. Instead, the club used aPR-driven campaign on local radio and TV stations, as well as the team’s Website. Weime: “Now it’s just a matter ofgetting the people to bring wigs and wear wigs. And if they’re coming anyway, it’s a just a matter of getting theword out.” When asked how many peoplehe expects to wear wigs, Weime said 5,575, one more than the currentrecord. Weime: “I’m thinking we can getover 6,000 easily.”

Doyou have an interesting promotion about which The Daily should know? Ifso, please email Jacob Crawford at jacobc@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

BUZZER BEATERS

Aspart of its 25^th anniversary, ESPN today announced the launch of ESPN25.com, aninteractive Web site dedicated to celebrating sports fanaticism. Fans will be the primary contributors to thesite (ESPN).

TheAP reports that the A’s signed 3B Eric Chavez to a “six-year contractextension believed to be worth $66[M] – the biggest contract in franchisehistory” (AP, 3/18).

ADWEEK.comreports that LoefflerKetchum Mountjoy, Charlotte, has added USA Canoe/Kayak to its client list. The agency said that it was “chosen withouta formal review after the team moved its governing body to Charlotte” (ADWEEK.com,3/18).

AND1 today announced that the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour will return this summer for afifth consecutive year. The tour willappear in 30 cities from June 3-August 21. In every city, open run participants will vie for an endorsementcontract (AND 1).

TheDETROIT NEWS reports that World Hockey Association officials “met with PontiacSilverdome officials for several hours [yesterday] to hammer out a deal tobring a start-up professional team to the stadium” (DETROIT NEWS,3/18).

TheAP reports that German cities Cologne, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hanover,Leipzig and Nuremberg will host the ’05 FIFA Confederations Cup. The plan is awaiting approval from FIFA’sexec committee (AP,3/18).

TheNFL Europe Amsterdam Admirals, Rhein Fire and Scottish Claymores will featuretenth anniversary logos during the ’04 season. Players will wear the logos on their uniform pants and the teams willproduce merchandise featuring the logos (NFL).

THEENTERPRISE reported that California-based private equity investment firm GlobalInnovation Partners paid $38.1M for the former Reebok headquarters inStoughton, MA (THEENTERPRISE, 3/17).

TONIGHT’SEVENTS

MLBExec VP/Labor Relations Rob Manfred will host a 5:00pm ET conferencecall to respond to recent player comments about MLB’s position on steroids.

Women’sSports Foundation Exec Dir Donna Lopiano will deliver the keynoteaddress to launch a two-day conference on gender equity in education andathletics at the Univ. of Pittsburgh’s Frick Fine Arts Building at 7:00pmET. The conference will explore theeffectiveness of Title IX (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE,3/18).

TheAAA Mexican Summer League Tijuana Toros will play their home opener tonightagainst the Puebla Pericos at 7:00pm PT, and the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE notesthat Tijuana native and White Sox P Esteban Loiza is to throw out thefirst pitch (SANDIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/18).

USAHockey will hold a 6:15pm CT press conference at the Xcel Energy Center todiscuss the ’05 IIHF World Junior Championship, at which time Ralph EngelstadArena Dir Events & Media Relations Chris Semrau will announce theofficial tournament schedule and report on ticket sales.

CHANNEL SURFING

CBSSports President Sean McManus willappear on CNBC’s “Bullseye” at 6:00pm ET.

ESPN2will air coverage of tennis’ PacificLife Open at 5:00pm ET and 10:00pm.

ESPNwill air Wild-Bruins or Maple Leafs-Flyers at 7:30pm ET.

ESPNClassic’s “SportsCentury” will profile GregLouganis at 8:00pm ET.

TNTwill air Pistons-Nets at 7:00pm ETand T’Wolves-Spurs at 9:30pm.

ProFootball HOFer Eric Dickerson,Lakers G Gary Payton, Fox’ Steve Lyons, N.Y. Post columnist Peter Vecsey and actors Steven Weber, Mark Curry and NormMacDonald are schedule to appear on FSN’s “BDSSP.”

E!’s“True Hollywood Story” will profile Rock Star Daughters at 8:00pm ET.

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

HEADLINERS

Hereare tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:

TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST

TheSAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE’s Jennifer Davies writes of Petco Park, “There’s noquestion that Petco’s profile has increasedlocally, but the key will be whether the ballpark can increase consumerawareness throughout the [U.S.], where the company operates more than 600stores in 43 states” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE).

USATODAY’s Christine Brennan writes, “Thanks to al-Qaeda and friends, there hasnever been an Olympic location fraught with the potential for more terriblethings to happen than Athens in August 2004. It’s sad but true: The upcomingOlympics are a home game for the terrorists. Which means, of course, that these Summer Olympic Games, shouldthey be held without incident, potentially could become the most meaningfulsports event ever held on the planet” (USA TODAY).

• CEOs say Terps coach Gary Williams has qualities of a turnaround specialist.
• Profile of Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta and other young baseball executives.
• Andro ban will have little effect due to availability of more potent drugs.
• On live NASCAR telecasts, the commercials are now better than the racing.

SeeThe Daily Insider’s Articles OfInterest for more sports business-related links.

TODAY’S TEASER…

SportsBusiness:What is the average yearly value of CBS’ 11-year deal with the NCAA to broadcast theNCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?

IN OTHERNEWS…

TheAP reports that N.Y. Controller William Thompson “rejected the city’s exclusive contractto sell Snapple drinks in 6,000 public buildings, saying [today] that theselection process was tainted.” Thompson “only has the authority to reject the city portion of Snapple’scontract, not the agreement with the schools. City law would allow Mayor Bloomberg, who championed the Snappledeal, to overrule Thompson” (AP,3/18).

TheINDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that Boston-based research firm Yankee Groupestimates that Americans will buy 6-7 million HDTVs this year, compared withabout 4 million last year. Yankee Groupanalyst Adi Kishore said that those sales figures “would be enough toput HDTV sets in about one in eight U.S. households” (INDIANAPOLISSTAR, 3/18).

THE DAILY STAT: BILLBOARD CHARTS

Thefollowing lists Billboard Magazine’s top-selling CDs for the week ending March14 (BILLBOARD.com, 3/18):

…TODAY’S ANSWER

The deal is worth approximately $565M per year. This year's cost to CBS is $389M.

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

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