Hello, Houston: Meineke To Title Sponsor Texas Bowl In Three-Year Deal

Texas Bowl officials yesterday announced that Meineke Car Care Centers has agreed to become the title sponsor of the game at Reliant Stadium in a three-year deal, and the “true value of the agreement could emerge when the bowl system is reshuffled for the 2014 season,” according to David Barron of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The Texas Bowl, which had been one of “only two among the 35 bowl games without a title sponsor," now will be known as the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. ESPN Regional Television GM Pete Derzis, whose company owns the bowl, said that it will match teams from the Big 12 and Big Ten and will be “played after Christmas at a date to be determined.” Barron writes the “stability of a naming rights deal with Meineke, if the relationship prospers, will give the Houston game an extra boost when the Bowl Championship Series and the other bowl games renegotiate contracts” in ’13. Meineke is a subsidiary of Driven Brands, which also “owns Maaco, the title sponsor of ESPN Regional Television’s Las Vegas Bowl." Meineke for six years was the title sponsor of Charlotte's bowl game, and Driven Brands Chair Kenneth Walker said that the “cost of the sponsorship of the Charlotte and Houston games was relatively equal but the Houston game provides better long-term value” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/13). Texas Bowl Exec Dir Heather Houston said, "This really guarantees the long-term sustainability of the bowl game. It's the key piece to the puzzle." In Houston, Richard Justice notes television ratings "have grown, and ticket sales in the city have soared" for the game. More than 30,000 tickets "were sold in Houston before the two teams were even announced last December" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/13).