In Minneapolis, Nick Halter reported the Wild have "struck a deal with Jack Daniel's that includes a renovation and rebranding of the Xcel Energy Center's Headwaters Bar & Restaurant." The 220-seat Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Club will be "unveiled before the NHL season starts." The restaurant is the "centerpiece of a multiyear partnership between the Tennessee whiskey distillery" and the club. The club-level restaurant "will be open to all fans." The deal "also includes TV and in-arena advertising, plus a Jack Daniel's drink cart in the concourse" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/12).
JET SETTERS: ESPN N.Y.'s Rich Cimini cited a source as saying there is a "90 percent" possibility the NFL Jets will hold their '15 training camp at SUNY-Farmingdale on Long Island. Cimini: "I think the chance to re-connect with their Long Island fan base will prove too tempting to ignore, not to mention the marketing possibilities associated with the metropolitan area" (ESPNNY.com, 9/14).
WHAT CAN BROWN DO? In Cleveland, Terry Pluto wrote, "I like a lot of what has been done at FirstEngery Stadium." The off-season improvements "made it better," as the front office "put thought into trying to give the place a sense of identity in terms of a place to watch the game" (CLEVELAND.com, 9/14).
DELAY OF GAME: The GLOBE & MAIL’S David Shoalts cited two CFLPA officials as saying that the "real reason" the Tiger-Cats’ C$145.7M stadium is "three months late is because of a major engineering miscalculation." Brick and Allied Craft Union Local 1 Business Manager Tony DiMaria said that Tim Hortons Field was “not designed to support a capacity 24,000 crowd.” The resulting work to “fix the mistake plus poor construction scheduling by the builder,” Ontario Sports Solutions, “meant increased labour, design and materials costs along with the delay.” ONSS officials have “blamed the delay on a severe winter” (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/13).
