NBA CMO Rick Welts is interviewed by BRANDWEEK's Terry
Lefton and says that the league has told its corporate
partners "that they will get the information they need"
throughout the league's lockout. Welts said he believes
corporate partners "have confidence that at some point we
are going to accomplish what we are trying to do," but he
acknowledged that the dispute has affected some areas of the
league's development. Welts: "New business prospects have
stalled, and it's been a little bit harder to get to the
finish line on a couple of deals that are, for the most
part, done, but now there is no real urgency to finalize."
Welts, on reports of McDonald's ending its All-Star
balloting sponsorship: "They decided they didn't want to do
it, and we decided we weren't going to sell it to anyone
else, given the uncertainty of our labor situation."
Lefton: "Word is you may have as many as 100 fewer
employees, down from around 800." Welts: "Most of the
changes will be on the (licensed) consumer products front
than on the marketing front per se" (BRANDWEEK, 10/26).
ON TARGET? In MN, Charley Walters writes that Target
Center Exec Dir Dana Warg "is seriously considering an offer
to join" NBAP (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/27).
