Duco Events CEO Martin Snedden said that this year's National Rugby League Auckland Nines "will go ahead unchanged," according to Clay Wilson of STUFF. Snedden said that "the placement of Dick Smith stores into voluntary administration will have no impact on the upcoming NRL Auckland Nines."
Three years into a five-year deal as major sponsor of the Duco-run tournament at Eden Park, the electronics retail company's board confirmed "the news in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Tuesday."
It "is yet to be confirmed how the New Zealand arm of the business would be affected, but Snedden said their February 6 and 7 Nines tournament would go ahead unchanged" (STUFF, 5/1). The NEW ZEALAND HERALD reported Dick Smith's sponsorship, along with support from, among others, Auckland Council's events arm ATEED, "allows the organisers to offer a winner's cheque" of A$500,000 ($357,000) from the total prize pool of A$2.25M ($1.6M).
All of the NRL's 16 clubs "are contractually obliged to attend the two-day tournament," which starts on Waitangi Day, Feb. 6.
The event "will be held in Auckland until at least 2018, with other cities, most notably Sydney, also keen to host it" (NZ HERALD, 1/5). The NATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW's Chris Keall wrote Duco Founder & Owner David Higgins "thought it unlikely a Dick Smith trade could be concluded ahead of Nines." He said, "The best option would be to take another major brand to take the position." He added that "given the truncated deadline, the fee would probably be quite attractive." If Duco loses money through no sponsor filling the gap, or one stepping in at lower cost, Higgins said that "legal action is unlikely." He said, "Who would we go after? We won't be the only people potentially burnt by this. We're in the events business. You win some, you lose some. Sometimes things happen commercially and you've just got to take them on the chin and move on" (NBR, 1/5).
STAR POWER: In Sydney, Jesse Hogan wrote Big Bash League side Melbourne Stars' tumultuous week "is on the cusp of returning to positive territory," with the team closing in on what would be a rapid replacement for collapsed key sponsor Dick Smith. Stars CEO Clint Cooper said, "We've gone from an unbelievable high of drawing over 80,000 to the MCG to finding out that our principal partner, and a relationship we had been fostering for a number of years, has gone into formal administration."
The Dick Smith logo "adorns the front of the Stars' shirts." Given the low prospect of clawing much, if anything, from the deal the Stars "are willing to consider a short-term deal with another company for what, for the next three weeks at least, is prime sporting sponsorship real estate." The Stars assured potential partners that should a deal be completed its "players, directors and staff will do everything possible to make this a success" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/5).
