Marketplace Round-Up

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Debuts New Uniforms Against Ukraine

In Pittsburgh, Chuck Finder reports Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops and Washington County yesterday unveiled plans for a $287M project that will go up on a 210-acre lot. The development, which the company calls “the outdoor campus,” will include a 250,000-square-foot store, a themed restaurant, a convention center, a spa, a 200-room hotel and cabins (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 7/12).

HIP-HOP BOXING: In N.Y., John Eligon examines how boxing could benefit from embracing the hip-hop culture and writes the sport is “willing, and almost obliged, to take this risk in an attempt to gain broader relevance.” Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.: “I need to be promoted in the hip-hop area. My fights need to be promoted like it’s a rap album. ... I think the hip-hop world and the boxing world coming together is great on both ends.” Roc-A-Fella Records co-Founder Damon Dash has formed a promotions company with Lou DiBella, and Duva Boxing President Dino Duva said hip-hop impresarios “have a huge vehicle to be able to market and get exposure for fighters through the hip-hop industry. I think that can be great for African-American fighters” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/12). In a separate piece, Eligon writes boxers generally cite two reasons for “ducking traditional brands like Everlast and turning to apparel lines like Fubu, Rocawear and Phat Farm. ... They do it out of loyalty to the brands they wear in their everyday lives; and it is a chance to make money through endorsement deals” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/12).

NEW DUDS: In Portland, Abby Haight reported the U.S. women’s soccer team sported newly-designed Nike uniforms when they played the Ukraine Sunday at the Univ. of Portland (Portland OREGONIAN, 7/10).