In Ottawa, David Reevely reports the Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group is "out to find more parts of Lansdowne Park for businesses to sponsor" after having sold naming-rights for Lansdowne Park to TD Bank Group. OSEG Chair Roger Greenberg said, "Theoretically, everything else is available. It's just a question of what somebody wants." While Greenberg did not specify what TD is paying for the naming rights, Reevely reports it is "more than" C$1M per year in "a long-term deal." The "next task is to make deals with about four 'founding partners,' more big-name sponsors who will probably get their logos on the stadium" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 1/9).
OHIO PLAYERS: In Cleveland, Mark Naymik noted the Indians and Cavaliers "each have a long list of needed repairs and proposed improvements for their publicly-owned homes." But the teams "are not sharing the information just yet." The teams' lack of disclosure is "disgraceful when you consider that the teams and corporate leaders are asking taxpayers to cover these yet-to-be defined costs" via a sin tax. This is "like a mechanic asking you to agree to pay for car repairs and improvements before you receive an estimate" (CLEVELAND.com, 1/8).
THE 12TH MAN: Seahawks VP/Technology Chip Suttles said of expanded Wi-Fi capabilities at CenturyLink Field, "We're trying to roll it out by the 2015 season. It will be full WiFi for the whole stadium. Let's just say it costs more than $3 million." He added, "I've been to Gillette and AT&T stadiums and I've seen their installations. We're trying to accomplish what they have. ... We are currently looking for (corporate) sponsorship on the WiFi" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/6).
