Kroenke Sports Enterprises has signed a three-year renewal with Toyota that gives the automaker naming rights to several parking lots surrounding Pepsi Center in Denver.
The sponsorship is valued at seven figures annually, said Tom Philand, Kroenke Sports’ senior vice president of marketing and media sales.
 |
Toyota also adds the rights to display its vehicles at the Denver arena during most games.
Photo by: KROENKE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
|
Toyota was already a sponsor on the media side with Altitude, the sports television network owned by Kroenke Sports that covers the Avalanche, the Nuggets and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League.
The bigger news is that the renewal marks the first expanded sponsorship for Kroenke Sports after the company integrated marketing inventory of both the media and sports groups earlier this year, Philand said.
“This is the first deal that went across all boundaries,” he said. “The nice thing is that we have consolidated to the point where we can sell it all for TV, radio, the teams and the building.”
The deal’s main component is the parking lots. Toyota bought the rights to brand 10 lots for its Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Prius, Rav4, Tacoma and Tundra models. The Prius brand is tied to three lots, and Camry’s name is on two. In total, there are about 6,000 parking spaces.
There will be signs and pole banners designating each lot. “We got the idea from rental car companies branding their lots,” Philand said.
In other markets, Lexus and Mazda have done deals with teams and facilities tied to lots where only those brands are allowed to park. In Denver, all lots are open to the public with no spaces reserved for arena patrons driving those Toyota models, Philand said.
The deal extends to special offers tied to new car sales and vehicle service printed on the backs of parking passes for season-ticket holders and other arena patrons.
In addition, Toyota now owns the rights to display its vehicles in the arena’s grand atrium and on both public concourses during most events. The exception is six Nuggets games, where NBA sponsor Kia has the right to display vehicles, Philand said. Toyota has the rights for all other NBA games.
