Marketplace Roundup

AirAsia In Talks To Replace AIG As ManU Jersey Sponsor

The AP reports budget airline AirAsia is in talks with EPL club Manchester United "about becoming the club's next shirt sponsor." AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes wrote on his blog yesterday that he "has been in London to meet with United officials about a potential deal." ManU has been looking for a new shirt sponsor since insurance company AIG "recently announced it will no longer have its name emblazoned across the club's red jerseys" when its deal expires after the '09-10 season. ManU also has "reportedly been in talks with India business conglomerate Sahara" (AP, 2/24).

NAME GAME: In Phoenix, Peter Corbett reports a corporate name change is "not expected to alter" the name of the PGA Tour FBR Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. FBR's parent company, Virginia-based Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc., is changing its name to the Arlington Asset Investment Corp., but FBR will "continue as the title sponsor for the tournament." FBR has been the tournament's "title sponsor since 2004 and is under contract to continue its support of the event through 2012"  (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/24).

SPONSOR WRANGLINGS: Racecourse Association Chair David Thorpe, who heads the 60 horseracing tracks in the U.K., predicted that sponsorship of race courses "could fall by as much as 40[%] during the economic recession." But Thorpe's estimate was "swiftly rebutted by" Sponsors' Association CEO Nigel Payne, who "believes that the present shortfall is less than 10[%], possibly rising to 20[%] later this year" (LONDON TIMES, 2/24).