| | The Daily Insider
Afternoon News & Headlines
Monday, December 20, 2004
4:00pm ET | |
| |
| • | AEG Live To Exclusively Promote Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Facility |
| • | Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson Today Unveils Details Of Colts Stadium Plan |
| • | Nike Today Appoints Four To Vice Presidential Posts For U.S. Operations |
| • | Braves Beginning $15M Worth Of Renovations At Turner Field |
| • | adidas Relocating Winter-Sports Workforce From France To China And Romania |
| • | Buzzer Beaters/Tonight’s Events/Channel Surfing/In Other News/The Daily Stat |
AEG LIVE BECOMES EXCLUSIVE PROMOTER FOR FRISCO FACILITY
By Scott Warfield, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
Hunt Sports Group was expected to announce today that the Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Center and AEG Live, the entertainment division of AEG, have signed a five-year agreement. The deal makes AEG Live, the country’s second-largest concert promotion and touring company, the exclusive sports and entertainment agent for the 27,000-seat venue set to open in the spring.
The arrangement projects eight to 12 concerts a year at the outdoor stadium located in Frisco, Texas, which will be the home of MLS’ FC Dallas, formerly known as the Dallas Burn.
The Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Center will include a permanent end stage allowing for quick setups before concerts and prompt tear downs following an event, allowing for the capability of having a concert on a Friday night and a soccer match on Saturday. AEG Live’s Dallas-based regional office will oversee booking activities for the venue (THE DAILY).
INDY MAYOR UNVEILS DETAILS OF STADIUM AGREEMENT W/ COLTS
The INDIANAPOLIS STAR reports that Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson this morning unveiled details of the city’s agreement with the Colts to build a $500M, retractable-roof stadium that would keep the team in town at least through 2034. The city is proposing increases in hospitality taxes and the introduction of slot machines in Marion County to pay for much of the stadium. Roughly one-third of the $100M the Colts have agreed to commit to the project will come from the NFL in the form of a loan to the team. In return for signing the 30-year lease, the city will pay the Colts a $48M lease termination fee for their current deal. There are no ticket, suite sales or stadium naming rights revenue guarantees to the team (INDYSTAR.com, 12/20).
BRAVE NEW WORLD: TEAM MAKING CHANGES AT TURNER FIELD
The Braves announced today a renovation project that includes the installation of an 80’x72’ HD video display in center field, wrap-around LED display and new concession stands at Turner Field prior to the ’05 season (Braves). The ATLANTA CONSTITUTION reported that the improvements will total roughly $15M. Meanwhile, the Braves and Turner Broadcasting are “considering building a $3[M] Cartoon Network-themed entertainment park adjacent to the entry plaza” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/16).
NIKE APPOINTS FOUR TO VICE PRESIDENT POSTS IN U.S. OPERATIONS
Nike USA today appointed Julia Law, Nicholas Athanasakos, Craig Cheek and Peter Kolsky to VP posts. The following details the changes (Nike USA):
| Current Position | New Position at Nike USA |
| McKesson Corp. Senior VP/Human Resources Julia Law | VP/Human Resources |
| Nike USA Supply Chain Dir Nicholas Athanasakos | VP/Supply Chain |
| Nike USA Footwear GM Craig Cheek | VP/Footwear |
| Nike USA Apparel & Team Sports GM Peter Kolsky | VP/Apparel & Team Sports |
BUZZER BEATERS
Nike has extended its endorsement deals with golfers Stewart Cink, Paul Azinger, Bo Van Pelt and Rory Sabbatini. Cink will add Nike Golf apparel, headwear, eyewear and watches to his footwear, clubs, ball and staff bag and glove (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/20).
Andy Roddick today inked a multiyear deal with John F. Turner & Co. to publish an annual calendar featuring Roddick beginning in ‘06. Turner also has calendar deals with Anna Kournikova, Natalie Gulbis and Pamela Anderson (SFX Sports Group).
The Yankees today inked a multiyear partnership with Steiner Sports to launch Yankees-Steiner Collectibles, under which the team will release game-used bats, balls, bases, hats, lineup cards, etc. for bi-annual auctions at Yankees Clubhouse Shops (Yankees).
Incoming Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins confirmed that he “called the meeting that led to [Tyrone] Willingham’s firing. But he rebutted the notion he had done so at the urging” of Board of Trustees Chair Patrick McCartan (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/20).
adidas-Salomon will cut about 160 jobs over the next two years in France, “almost 10[%] of the French workforce at its winter-sports division, as it shifts production of snowboards and skis to China and Romania” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 12/20).
The Celtics have signed a ten-year lease with Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. to move the club’s corporate headquarters from 151 Merrimac St. to 226 Causeway St. in Boston (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/20).
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation today announced that NASCAR-licensed license plates are available in 33 different driver styles. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp (Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation).
CHANNEL SURFING
ESPN2 will air NCAA basketball: Princeton-Temple at 7:00pm ET.
NBA TV will air Jazz-76ers at 7:00pm ET.
ABC will air “MNF”: Patriots-Dolphins at 9:00pm ET.
ESPN’s “OTL Nightly” will examine the 49ers at 1:00am ET.
Marlins P Dontrelle Willis will appear on NBC’s “Last Call” at 1:35am ET.
HEADLINERS
Here are tonight’s headline guests on the following talk shows:
| “Late Show” | Bill Murray |
| “The Tonight Show” | Hilary Swank |
| “The Late Late Show” | Mos Def |
| “Late Night” | Elijah Wood (r) |
| “Jimmy Kimmel Live” | Best of … 2004 |
TODAY’S ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH’s Jeremy Rutherford writes of colleges building new basketball arenas, “It's becoming apparent that having one of these new facilities will give your program a visible campus treasure, maximize a university's potential revenue and help lure high-caliber recruits. Gone are the days of dreariness and decay creating a beloved ambiance at some of the older, more intimate buildings. These days, athletic departments are seeking amenities that will keep both players and fans more comfortable” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH).
The L.A. TIMES’ Tim Brown writes of the hoopla surrounding the Pacers-Pistons brawl, “More recently, some of the discussion has evolved into broader alarm over the decline in civility and widening economic gap between players and fans, and the possible chilling impact of the brawl on spectator sports beyond basketball. … Already, officials of the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball are being asked to assess security, alcohol policies, the images they sell and the causes of the apparent disintegration of rapport between their employees and customers” (L.A. TIMES).
See The Daily Insider’s Articles of Interest section for more sports business-related links.
IN OTHER NEWS……
The N.Y. TIMES reports that TiVo gave away nearly 2,000 digital video recorders to Comcast subscribers who showed up at its Silicon Valley headquarters on Friday. TiVo scheduled the giveaway “to capitalize on problems that Comcast, the major cable provider in the Bay Area, was having in getting its own DVRs to customers” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/20).
THE DAILY STAT: N.Y. TIMES BESTSELLING NONFICTION
The following presents best selling nonfiction books for the week ending December 20 (NYTIMES.com, 12/20):
| RK | HARDCOVER NONFICTION |
| 1) | AMERICA, Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin & David Javerbaum (Warner) |
| 2) | CHRONICLES: VOLUME ONE, Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster) |
| 3) | FAITHFUL, Stewart O’Nan & Stephen King (Scribner) |
| 4) | HIS EXCELLENCY, Joseph Ellis (Knopf) |
| 5) | WHEN WILL JESUS BRING THE PORK CHOPS?, George Carlin (Hyperion) |
| 6) | LEARNING TO SING, Clay Aiken w/ Allison Glock (Random House) |
| 7) | EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES, Lynne Truss (Gotham) |
| 8) | THE GAMES DO COUNT, Brian Kilmeade (ReganBooks/HarperCollins) |
| 9) | HOW TO TALK TO A LIBERAL, Ann Coulter (Crown Forum) |
| 10) | MY LIFE, Bill Clinton (Knopf) |
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
dailyinsider@sportsbusinessdaily.com
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