Marketplace Roundup

Carlsberg's Deal With FA Could Spell End To Long-Running Liverpool Sponsorship

In London, Kevin Eason reports England's FA has secured a US$82.6M sponsorship deal with Carlsberg, though the decision "almost certainly means the end of the company's long association" with EPL club Liverpool. The FA's new deal with Carlsberg, which begins August '10, is said to be worth about US$19.8M annually, and "will be one of the final acts at the FA" by Commercial Dir Jonathan Hill, who is leaving the organization "after reports of internal disagreements and friction over the loss of the Setanta deals." It is "thought that Carlsberg was unwilling to double" its US$11.8M annual sponsorship with Liverpool, which includes the team's shirt sponsorship. Liverpool is now "thought to have secured a new sponsor" with insurance agency Standard Chartered in a deal reportedly "worth as much as" US$24.7M a year (LONDON TIMES, 9/9).

WINGS & WHEELS: The NASCAR HOF will announce today that it has struck a 10-year deal for Buffalo Wild Wings to be its exclusive restaurant partner. The sports-themed restaurant will occupy the 8,400-square-foot restaurant space inside the Hall of Fame in Charlotte beginning in the spring of '10. Buffalo Wild Wings, headquartered in Minneapolis, operates more than 600 restaurants across the country, and its location will include entry ways from outside the Hall so that the restaurant can keep its own hours. The Hall, which will open May 11, 2010, expects to name a retail partner in the coming weeks (Michael Smith, SportsBusiness Journal).

FOURTH-YEAR SENIOR: MEDIA POST's Karl Greenberg reported Cars.com this season is "launching its fourth consecutive annual sponsorship of 'Saturday Afternoon College Football' on ESPN." The sponsorship will feature spots from Cars.com's current campaign and "Sponsored by Cars.com" on-air mentions during games. The company is "running a sweepstakes for its dealer/advertisers in which dealers can enter for the chance to win one of several prizes, including a grand-prize trip for two" to the BCS National Championship in January (MEDIAPOST.com, 9/4).

ENTERING A NEW ARENA: Go Daddy has signed a sponsorship deal with the PBR for the PBR Invitational. Go Daddy branding will be throughout Portland's Rose Garden Arena during the October 2-3 GoDaddy.com Invitational, including on venue banners and chute gates. The company has also signed a deal with country singer Erin Kalin, who will sing the national anthem during the event, as its newest Go Daddy Girl (Go Daddy).