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Coast to Coast

Coast to Coast: IronPigs add overhang seating

The Red Robin Tiki Terrace includes a private
hospitality area behind the seating overhang.
Image by: LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS
ALLENTOWN, PA.
IronPigs adding terrace seating

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Class AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, are adding a new hospitality area at Coca-Cola Park. The Red Robin Tiki Terrace will include a seating overhang in left field that will include the Red Robin Oasis, featuring covered four-seat “islands” directly above the bullpens. The terrace will be available for groups of 48 to 64 people, priced at $37 per person.

ATLANTA
USTA reaches deal with club

The U.S. Tennis Association reached a three-year agreement with the Racquet Club of the South to host the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs through 2013. This year’s playoff event will be held Dec. 16-18. The USTA and Tennis Australia have a reciprocal agreement through which the federations exchange wild cards for the U.S. Open and the Australian Open.

BOISE, IDAHO
D-League team picks Peppershock

The Idaho Stampede selected Peppershock Media as its new advertising and creative services agency. In addition to local media buying, Peppershock will develop new brand communications and advertising campaigns for the NBA D-League team and its corporate partners.

BUFFALO
Sabres, Labatt Blue create tailgate tent

The Buffalo Sabres have started hosting a tailgate tent party in the plaza area adjacent to First Niagara Center prior to their home games. The tailgates are presented by Labatt Blue Light. Live music and special events are featured in the heated, 3,200-square-foot tent. Fans attending games can purchase $10 stand-alone tickets or opt to buy a ticket package for $55 that includes a game ticket and tent admission.

UB upgrading Alumni Arena
The University at Buffalo is upgrading Alumni Arena with the addition of a video scoreboard, sound and lighting systems as well the installation of a new video and scoring system. UB projected the cost of the video board, scoreboards, courtside tables, and control room at $2.4 million. The scoreboard will be ready for use by early January during the Bulls’ Mid-American Conference basketball season.

The new retail space will help anchor the ballpark’s presence on West 35th Street.
Rendering: 2011 RGLA
CHICAGO
New Sox store opening at ballpark

A new sports store located at U.S. Cellular Field is expected to open next week. The retail outlet was developed by Buffalo-based Delaware North Cos., which has had a long association with the Chicago White Sox. The two-story, 12,000-square-foot site will be known as the Chicago Sports Depot.

COLLEGE PARK, MD.
College plans new journalism center

The Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland is creating of the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, named after the late Washington Post sportswriter and columnist. The center is made possible by a $1 million challenge gift from Povich’s children.

Sobieski’s branding includes the clever slogan “Always Take Your Best Shot.”
Photo by: COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
COLUMBUS

Jackets partner with Sobieski

The Columbus Blue Jackets formed a corporate marketing partnership with Sobieski Vodka. Elements include branding rights to the bar located at the Front Street entrance of Nationwide Arena, in-arena signage and broadcast inventory on the Columbus Blue Jackets Radio Network.

DALLAS
Nationwide Tour finale scheduled

The Nationwide Tour’s season-ending tournament will return to the Dallas-area TPC Craig Ranch in 2012. The formal title of the event will be the Nationwide Tour Championship at Craig Ranch.

DETROIT
Wings mark calendar for Kids Nights

The Detroit Red Wings have designated five home games this season as Meijer Kids Nights. Each game will feature a giveaway item for the first 2,500 fans in attendance ages 12 and under. Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.- based retailer.

EVERETT, WASH.

NLL team grows some ‘Mos’

The Washington Stealth joined the nationwide Movember effort to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. The NLL team’s players and staff are taking part in the monthlong event. Men (known as “Mo Bros”) begin with a clean-shaved face and grow only a mustache (aka “Mo”). Women (known as “Mo Sistas”) are asked to occasionally don a fake “Mo” to spread awareness.

LA QUINTA, CALIF.
Tour event picks Peter Millar

The Humana Challenge selected Peter Millar as the official apparel provider of the PGA Tour event. As part of a multiyear deal, Peter Millar will supply apparel for all of the pro-am events for the January tournament as well as for tournament board members, the executive committee, volunteers, logistical staff and tournament committee members.

LOS ANGELES
AccuScore debuts Facebook game

Sports simulation outfit AccuScore, based in Los Angeles, launched a public beta test of its first Facebook social game, SKL. The game involves statistics-based sports trivia and features a variety of mini-games, challenges and extended progressions. The game focuses on college and pro football and the English Premier League.

LOUISVILLE

Rare programs offered at auction 
        
Hunt Auctions will offer a rare World Series program from the inaugural series in 1903 as part of the eighth annual Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Live Auction and Appraisal Fair on Saturday. The game program is expected to sell for upward of $100,000. Other items at auction include a collection of early World Series programs, Pete Rose’s 4,000th hit baseball and a Yogi Berra-signed catcher’s mitt from the 1950s.

MEMPHIS
Grizzlies foundation surpasses $28M

The Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation is donating
A signed Yogi Berra catcher’s mitt (which could fetch $40,000 or more) includes the inscription “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Photos by: HUNT AUCTIONS
$370,000 in new grants to Memphis nonprofit organizations. This year’s distribution brings the total giving by the foundation to more than $28.3 million.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
Broken bats equal 16,800 new trees

Minnesota Twins pitchers broke 168 of their opponents’ bats this past season, and that means 16,800 trees are coming to Minnesota state parks and trails. Every broken bat translates to 100 trees for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a result of the group’s “Break a Bat, Plant a Tree” partnership with the Twins, now in its second year.

MUNCIE, IND.
Ball State signs Mattingly Sports

Ball State University signed Mattingly Sports to an equipment and apparel deal for the school’s baseball team. The deal is Mattingly’s first college deal. Mattingly was founded in 2005 by former MLBer and current Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and is based in Shelton, Conn.

NEW YORK
NYRR rolls out new logo, manifesto

New York Road Runners has a new logo, a redesigned website and a manifesto — all intended to capture the evolving role and spirit of the club, according to a New York Times report. NYRR President and CEO Mary Wittenberg said the organization worked for about 18 months with brand communications specialists Doublespace on the project, which she said cost less than seven figures, according to the report. NYRR is the organizer of the ING New York City Marathon, among other events.
 
Mets lowering outfield walls
The New York Mets are making alterations to Citi Field, including lowering walls and bringing in fences in an attempt to make it easier to hit home runs. The walls will be lowered to eight feet, with a new wall of that height being placed in front of the current 15-foot wall in left field. About 100 seats will be placed in the gap between the two walls.
 
Yankees, WCBS extend radio deal
The New York Yankees extended their broadcast deal with WCBS-AM through the 2012 season. The team has an option for 2013, but the two sides intend to continue talking about a longer partnership. WCBS has been the team’s radio home for the past 10 seasons.

ORLANDO
ECHL approves team for Amway Center

The ECHL’s board of governors unanimously approved the expansion membership application for Orlando, which will begin play in the league next October. The team, which is owned by Joe Haleski, Bob Ohrablo and Jason Siegel, will play home games at Amway Center.

PHILADELPHIA
Soul signs 2 after public tryout

More than 200 people turned out for an open tryout held by the Philadelphia Soul. The Arena Football League team signed two players after the tryout: defensive back Jesse Cooper, who played at Bloomsburg University, and wide receiver Alfonso Hoggard III, who played at Clarion University. The open tryout was held at the Philadelphia Eagles’ NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia.

PHOENIX
Suns hanging 1,968 orange nets

The Phoenix Suns last week launched Operation Orange Nets. The campaign aims to hang 1,968 orange basketball nets at schools, parks and recreational centers in honor of the Suns’ inaugural year as a franchise, 1968. The program is an extension of the club’s ongoing efforts to promote active and healthy lifestyles.
 
D-backs continue hardship program
The Arizona Diamondbacks are accepting applications through Nov. 28 for the 2012 Michael Wogan D-backs Season Ticket Scholarship. The program, which was created in 2008, awards fans experiencing financial hardships lower-level season tickets to attend Diamondbacks games at Chase Field. Some ticket packages may include parking passes and food concession coupons.

The Timbers went 11-14-9 last season but had a winning record at Jeld-Wen Field.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
PORTLAND

Timbers meet demand with more seating

The Portland Timbers plan to expand the seating capacity at Jeld-Wen Field and make another 2,000 season tickets available for the club’s second MLS season next year. Demand for tickets prompted the club to test expanding the stadium’s capacity for two late-season home games by opening some seats in existing sections, increasing the capacity from 18,627 to 20,323.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.
Phelps’ school expands with Velocit
y
Michael Phelps Swim School is partnering with Velocity Aquatics to teach kids in upstate New York how to swim. According to the Baltimore-based learn-to-swim program, Velocity is its first licensee outside of Maryland. Olympic champion Phelps, who is from Baltimore, founded the swim school in 2009 with longtime coach Bob Bowman.

SACRAMENTO
Kings select ticket software manager

The Sacramento Kings selected Spotlight Ticket Management software to manage suite and ticket assets. With the SpotlightTMS application, Kings corporate suite holders can securely access and manage ticket inventories, distribute tickets, analyze ticket use, and obtain additional tickets from multiple sources.
 
Kings documentary in progress
A documentary on Sacramento’s effort to attract and keep the NBA Kings over the last 26 years is set to be released in December. Small Market, Big Heart Productions, a group dedicated to keeping the Kings in Sacramento and getting a new arena built, launched a website and a Kickstarter page to raise money for the film. It seeks sponsors to help pay for the rest of the production.

Arena group aims for green status
Sacramento’s arena committee wants the proposed downtown arena for the NBA Kings to be green. The group, Think Big Sacramento, hopes to make the project sustainable to the degree that it would qualify under a new law that speeds up judicial review for large, job-creating developments that can guarantee they’re environmentally friendly.

New campaign adds some funny to football.
SAN ANTONIO
Alamo Bowl has 'the feeling'
The Valero Alamo Bowl unveiled its new branding campaign, dubbed “You Never Forget the Feeling.” Visitors to a new website, www.youneverforgetthefeeling.com, can view a series of TV commercials and outtakes as well as submit their own videos. The videos with the most votes each week will win prizes. The campaign was designed, developed and produced by the new partnership of The Atkins Group and Gray Digital Group, based in San Antonio.

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.
49ers hint at stadium time line

The San Francisco 49ers are telling Santa Clara officials to expect a financial plan soon for the team’s desired billion-dollar stadium, raising hopes for a groundbreaking on the project by late next year, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. The team has said it wants to occupy a new stadium in 2015, but that could move to 2014 if the team’s plan for financing the stadium is successful.

Kentucky Speedway GM Mark Simendinger (front right) launched the program in Warsaw, Ky., with Gallatin High School educators and landscape students. Photo by: Kentucky Speedway
SPARTA, KY.

NASCAR donates 70 trees

NASCAR is donating 10 trees for each of the seven green flags that waved during Kentucky Speedway’s Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 on July 9. The NASCAR Green Clean Air program was created to help capture the carbon emissions produced by racing, and trees are donated to mitigate 100 percent of the carbon emissions produced by cars during events.

ST. LOUIS
Pujols graces Wheaties Fuel box

General Mills’ Wheaties Fuel cereal issued a limited-edition, commemorative package
The breakfast of champs continues its win streak.
honoring St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. The box is available exclusively at six St. Louis-area grocery stores.

STORRS, CONN.
UConn renews with ticketing partner

The University of Connecticut renewed its partnership with Paciolan for an additional five years. The school has been a Paciolan client since 1992.

TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG
Lightning, airport team for ticket giveaway

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa International Airport last week began a partnership in which travelers will have a chance to win tickets to Lightning games. Running throughout the regular season, one winner will be chosen each day at the exit to the airport parking garage.

Forum changing name for newspaper
The St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa will be renamed the Tampa Bay Times Forum to coincide with the St. Petersburg Times changing its name to Tampa Bay Times on Jan. 1, according to a St. Petersburg Times report.

Send your Coast to Coast news to: CoastToCoast@sportsbusinessjournal.com or phone (704) 973-1436.


SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

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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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