MainGate Wins Contract To Sell Super Bowl XLVIII Merchandise At NFL-Sanctioned Hotels

Indianapolis-based MainGate has won the contract "to sell merchandise at 40 NFL-sanctioned hotels during the 10-day festivities leading up to and including" Super Bowl XLVIII next February, according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. MainGate also will sell merchandise during Media Day. The company "beat out 14 other bidders" and is the "only firm selected by the NFL to sell merchandise in each of the last three Super Bowls." Delaware North won the bidding "to sell merchandise at MetLife Stadium." Sources said that MainGate's performance at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans earlier this year, where it "helped the NFL beat sales forecasts despite a power outage at the stadium, helped the ... firm secure the deal for the 2014 Super Bowl." Schoettle noted when the power at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome went out, MainGate employees "sprung into action with battery-powered hand-held scanners and credit card processing machines." MainGate CEO Dave Moroknek did not indicate how much the company will make from the Super Bowl contract, but he said, "It should be the single biggest event we've ever done." The company will be paid "on a percentage of sales the company makes." Sources said that the percentage of sales "likely will reach into the seven figures" (IBJ.com, 7/23).