Capitals Enter Into Partnership With Nuclear Energy Institute

NEI Will Use Its Partnership With Capitals To Tout The Benefits Of Nuclear Energy

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has signed a deal with the Capitals to become an official energy partner of the team. NEI will use the partnership to tout the benefits of nuclear energy. NEI's "Nuclear: Clean Air Energy" message will appear on signage near the goal at Verizon Center and the team's training facility, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, in Arlington, Virginia. NEI will air 30-second radio commercials during coverage of all 82 regular-season games on WFED-AM, and it will also have video and display ads on the Capitals' Web site and full-page ads in game programs. Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis in a statement said nuclear energy is an "important part of a technology-based solution to climate change" (NEI).

UNUSUAL PARTNERS: In Toronto, Mitch Potter writes the "unusual team endorsement, believed to be the first of its kind for a pro sports franchise, comes as energy industry lobbyists in Washington intensify efforts to influence climate legislation working its way through Congress." The announcement "carried no afterglow for climate campaigners, who immediately questioned how much money the Capitals organization received for its nuclear nod." NEI sources confirmed that the group "would pay the team" for its season-long campaign "but declined to disclose the amount." NEI VP/Communications Scott Peterson said the value of the deal "is not hugely significant." Peterson: "But it is a significant partnership for us to have access to the fan base. Because it is Washington and because the team's television feed will get the message out pretty frequently to people in a part of the country we want to reach" (TORONTO STAR, 10/1).

Ovechkin Says Support From Capitals Fans Makes DC Feel Like Canada

PRIDE OF OLD DC: The AP's Joseph White wrote the Capitals are "the 'it' team" in DC, as they "have the most popular athlete in the city" in LW Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin: "Everywhere we go I see people with Caps jerseys and Caps hats and they recognize us. My first year in the stands were maybe a couple thousand, and now we're sold out. It's like Canada" (AP, 9/30). However, in DC, Tim Lemke notes Leonsis "bought the Capitals as an investment, and it has thus far failed to bring in an annual profit." Despite the salary cap and the "probability of 41 sold-out games at Verizon Center this season," Leonsis said that the team will "still fall short [of] making money." Lemke notes the team remains "in the middle of the pack in the amount charged to fans ... despite raising ticket prices each of the past two years." But Leonsis said that he believes the franchise has "boomed in value since he bought it." And while Leonsis has "no plans to sell the team," he added that if he "did decide to cash out, he'd make back every penny he spent because of the strength and prestige of the Washington market" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/1).