Franchise Notes

In DC, Tim Lemke reported the Nationals have announced a new marketing and advertising campaign called "NatsTown." Team officials said that the slogan is "designed to unify fan attitudes toward the team, the ballpark and the community." The "NatsTown" phrase "will appear in all of the team's promotions and advertising during the season at Nationals Park, on television, online and in newspapers." Nationals VP/Communications Chartese Burnett said that the team "will bring back the 'Get Your Red On' slogan, which had been used during the 2006 season, the first with the Lerner family" as owners (WASHINGTONTIMES.com, 2/5).

SUITE SALES: The BALTIMORE EXAMINER's Ron Snyder wrote one of the Ravens' most pressing offseason concerns is "selling all of their 120 suites at M&T Bank Stadium, as the team still has about 10 that are not under contract." Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti: "We know what the economy is like. We're running on fairly small margins when it comes to cash flow. So all those companies in Baltimore that buy our suites and everything, I need them to keep on going" Bisciotti added, "I've been through economic downturns in my other business, and so I think that we know how to prepare for those kinds of things. But you can't prepare for loss of revenues. You just have to try and manage it the best you can and minimize the losses" (BALTIMORE EXAMINER, 2/5).

NO LONGER IN THE HUNT: In Columbus, Shawn Mitchell reported Hunt Sports Group President John Wagner Thursday indicated that talks to sell a minority ownership stake in the MLS Crew to a group headed by California businessman Mark Noorzai "have ceased." Hunt, which operates the team, in a statement said, "Those discussions are not active at this time." Noorzai reportedly "remains interested in bringing an MLS expansion team to Las Vegas although the city did not submit a formal bid to the league in October" (DISPATCH.com, 2/5).

BUSINESS AS USUAL: Predators and Nashville's Metro Sports Authority (MSA) officials said that the resolution of the criminal case involving former Predators investor William "Boots" Del Biaggio III "would have no impact locally." Predators Senior VP/Communications & Development Gerry Helper said that the franchise "would keep doing what it's been doing for months." Helper: "This development doesn't affect anything for us. Operationally, (Del Biaggio) hasn't been involved in any way, shape or form going back to last May." MSA Vice Chair Steve North: "Whether he pleads guilty or not is fundamentally irrelevant to the Predators' situation" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 2/6).