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Franchises

Oregon Trail: Blazers' Chris McGowan Making Presence Felt In First Offseason

Trail Blazers President & CEO Chris McGowan's "imprint is all over" the franchise this offseason, as he has "trimmed the business staff, but says he has put more emphasis on areas of 'need,'" according to Kerry Eggers of the PORTLAND TRIBUNE. McGowan said his split from AEG last October "was about having the ability to have more influence on how we’re going to run the building. We need to market in a collaborative and collective manner as opposed to separate staffs.” Eggers notes the Blazers have hired a "new catering service and will make renovations and updates in the club seating and suite areas, though most of those changes won’t be in place" until the '14-15 season. The team last season sold "between 11,000 and 12,000 season tickets" in the 20,500-seat Rose Garden. McGowan said that the club is "on pace to better that next season." He added, "We want to be at about 12,500. I’m encouraged by where we’re at on ticket sales.” He envisions "capping season ticket sales at about 16,500 in the future." The Blazers last season "sold 29 of their 66 luxury suites on a full-season basis," and there are already "commitments for 38 next season." McGowan said that the Blazers are "on pace for increased sponsorship dollars, too, in part because of what he calls a 'unique' partnership between the club and area businesses." Another major project for McGowan in recent months has been "seeking a naming rights sponsor for the Rose Garden -- which, incidentally, is unlikely to carry the 'Rose Garden' moniker when a deal is reached." The Blazers are in "serious negotiations with at least one business with local ties" (PORTLAND TRIBUNE, 8/1).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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