The NBA in Canada, the NFL, Arena Football, and CISL in
Mexico.  That's only the beginning of a new international push by
the U.S. sports industry.  Yesterday, THE SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY
spoke with Craig Tartasky about global sports marketing.
Tartasky is Exec Dir of the International Sports Summit, and the
company he works for -- E.J. Krause & Associates -- is about to
announce a Japanese Sports Summit, and is exploring the market
for a European Sports Summit.  Highlights of our conversation
follow:
     THE DAILY:  Who is driving the move overseas? Corporate
sponsors or the leagues?
     TARTASKY:  I think it's a combination of both sides asking
if the market is ready.  Leagues are not going to  new countries
arbitrarily.  Rather, they are talking to their sponsors and
gauging their interest.  At the same time, the sponsors want to
know if there is already an understanding of the league's product
in a foreign market.
     THE DAILY:  Is it important to move licensed products first,
as a way to build fan awareness?
     TARTASKY:  Absolutely.  While we tend to look at licensed
goods at home as an extension of our teams, in many countries
they are nothing more than fashion statements.  But, they do
create consumer identification with the product.  People will go
to see a team or league just because they've been wearing their
colors and want to find out what it's all about.
     THE DAILY:  How does the ever-changing international
telecommunications industry figure in to the globalization of
sports?
     TARTASKY:  The biggest problem facing the international
media is the same problem our regional cable companies have right
now -- and that's the struggle to find product.  Overseas, there
are no strikes, but sports television is still developing, so
there isn't necessarily a lot to put on the air.  American
leagues -- which provide great visuals --are perfectly poised to
take advantage of that gap.
      THE DAILY:  What are the hot international marketing
approaches?
     TARTASKY:  I don't think anyone's come up with anything too
novel.  What you're seeing are new ways to skin the same cat.
We're trying to reach the same demographic -- mostly men, a lot
of 18-34. ... The key is to appreciate [cultural] differences,
start with licensed products, add an exhibition game or two, and
begin to build grass roots interest.

     The Jaguars have named Coca-Cola as the exclusive soft drink
provider and soft drink advertiser for the Jaguars.  Coke will
receive primary advertising locations on one of the state-of-the-
art scoreboards and throughout stadium concourses, in Jaguars
publications, and in association with Jaguars special events and
promotions.  In addition, Coke will be producing a set of four
commemorative bottles highlighting the Jaguars selection as the
30th franchise in the NFL.  Two other non-alcoholic drink
categories are still open:  water and isotonic.  Sources within
the Jaguars organization told THE SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY that
Gatorade, the official isotonic drink of the NFL, is in
negotiations with the team.  The Jaguars also plan on working
with Coke to find a water provider.  FL is home to many of the
leading bottled water producers (THE DAILY).

     Seeking to show that baseball, as a sport, is still alive,
Rawlings Sporting Goods Marketing Director Scott Smith announced
yesterday that Rawlings will provide 52 sets of baseball
equipment to youth leagues representing the organizations that
form the Amateur All-Star Baseball Inc (THE DAILY)....The Hoop-
It-Up 3-on-3 World Championships will take place in Dallas on
October 28-29.  NBC will telecast both events on November 19 (THE
DAILY)....Miller Brewing started a five-week NFL promo Monday in
which 2,500 Sony TV's and 10 pairs of Super Bowl tickets will be
awarded to winning customers (BRANDWEEK, 10/3)....SportsTown, an
Atlanta-based sports superstore chain, announced it may close
some of its 29 stores and plans for "aggressive markdowns" in
efforts to rebound from a $5M loss in FY '93.  (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 10/7).

     Levi Strauss has bought the rights to make Dockers the
official pants of NFL coaches, a 3-year deal costing close to $2M
a season.  The NFL Coaches Club negotiated the deal and said that
23 of 28 NFL coaches have agreed to wear Dockers pants.
Endorsement fees will be divided between NFL Properties and the
coaches.  A Dockers competitor criticized the company for the
deal, citing the difficulty cameras will have showcasing the
pants: "Only Dockers is stupid enough to pay that kind of money"
(Elaine Underwood, BRANDWEEK, 10/3).
     7-ELEVEN:  7-Eleven has announced plans to become the
official convenience store of the NFL.  The deal is the first
step in a broad series of promotional initiatives, including a
tie in with Coke's "Monsters of the Gridiron" series.  7-Eleven
is also talking to other NFL sponsors like Frito-Lay, Gatorade,
Hershey and Budweiser about cross-promotional efforts (Michael
McCarthy, BRANDWEEK, 10/3).

     Nike is reportedly negotiating to buy all or part of Canstar
Sports Group, the marketer of Bauer in-line skates and one of the
world's biggest street and roller hockey equipment marketers.
Both companies have denied the rumors ever since Nike bought a
sponsorship with the NHL in July.  Canstar President Pierre
Boivin: "It makes sense for Nike to go in this direction, because
you'd have to believe there is a product strategy behind their
NHL deal, but two and two doesn't always equal four" (Terry
Lefton, BRANDWEEK, 10/3).

     According to a report in the ORLANDO SENTINEL on this week's
ISMA conference on sports marketing for women, ads for beer,
razor blades, and trucks "are missing the most important emerging
sector of the sports consumer market -- girls and women."  Nye
Lavalle, chair of Sports Marketing Group:  "The total growth of
all major (spectator) sports for the remainder of this decade
will come from women. ... Women are coming into sports in equal
if not greater numbers than men did years ago."  FACTS:  Females
account for 44% of NBA merchandise sales; one out of five U.S.
teenage girls "owns or has bought a piece of NBA-sanctioned
clothing"; sales of women's athletic shoes increased 9% last
year; one in three high school girls takes part in varsity
sports; 8.2M U.S. girls and women play basketball, 8.5M run or
jog, and 3.8M play soccer.  To broaden its own appeal, the NBA
"plans to begin producing a line of women's wear."  Michele
Brown, the NBA's Dir of Women's Marketing, calls women an
"untapped market" (Rene Stutzman, ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/6).

     The Hornets are the latest team to join the NBA's
partnership with Fannie Mae, the Federal Home Mortgage
Association.  As reported in THE SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY, several
NBA teams have joined the campaign to revitalize city
neighborhoods and promote low- and moderate-income home ownership
for families and minorities.  The Fannie Mae Foundation announced
a $75,000 grant to renovate two houses in one of Charlotte's
"most drug-infested" neighborhoods.  Hornets President Spencer
Stolpen said the program "allows the Hornets to expand and
broaden our contributions to the community that provides us with
so much support."  The Hornets will raise money to participate in
an education campaign and housing renovation (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,
10/6).