The Rapids on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging that jersey sponsor Ciao Telecom's parent company Global Logistics Solutions "has failed to make nearly half a million dollars in jersey sponsorship payments," according to Daniel Boniface of the DENVER POST. The lawsuit claims that GLS "has missed two payments and seeks the $485,000 that is owed as well as attorney fees and unspecified damages." The Rapids earlier this year signed a five-year jersey sponsorship with Ciao worth a total of $8.3M. Court documents show that GLS "agreed to pay the Rapids $80,000 to close the sponsorship deal, but only $75,000 was paid." Payments of $240,000 "due on July 30 and Sept. 30 were not made." Another $240,000 payment "is due Nov. 30." The deal "would have paid the Rapids $800,000 this season," increasing to $1.5M in '15, $1.75M in '16, $2M in '17 and $2.25M in '18. Rapids President Tim Hinchey said, "They're still a little behind on their launch. They're looking at retail locations. As we said before, 2014 was about getting the name out for them." Boniface notes Ciao also has a "jersey sponsorship with Italian Serie B club Reggina Calcio, which was supposed to run through the 2014-15 season, but Ciao's logo has since been removed from the club's website" (DENVER POST, 10/31).
