ATLANTA
Champions Classic picks PrimeSport
The State Farm Champions Classic reached a deal with PrimeSport making the company the official ticket-exchange, VIP pregame hospitality and fan travel-package provider for the basketball event. The event is scheduled for Nov. 13 at the Georgia Dome, featuring a doubleheader of Kansas vs. Michigan State and Duke vs. Kentucky.
BUFFALO
Constellation Brands signs with Bills
Constellation Brands signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with the Buffalo Bills. The premium wine producer will provide more than 15 wines and spirits to the executive suites and premium club seating areas at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Constellation is based near Rochester, N.Y.
Canisius hires firm for ticket sales
Canisius College and Get Real Sport Sales reached an agreement in which Get Real will provide ticket sales and service work for the Canisius men’s and women’s basketball and hockey programs. Two Get Real representatives will be dedicated to Canisius.
DENVER
Race’s economic impact increases
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Fans crowded the championship stage after patronizing hotels, restaurants and more.
Photo by: USA PRO CHALLENGE / DOUG PENSINGER / GETTY IMAGES
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The economic impact of the USA Pro Challenge cycling event rose during its second year this year. The seven-day, 12-city race through Colorado generated an estimated $99.6 million in economic impact, up from $83.5 million in 2011. The study was conducted by St. Louis-based sports research firm IFM North America.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
Bowl signs Colonial Savings
Colonial Savings signed on as an official sponsor of the 2012 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. This year’s game, marking the bowl’s 10th anniversary, is scheduled for Dec. 29 at TCU’s newly renovated Amon G. Carter Stadium.
GREEN BAY
NFL approves $58M Packers loan
The NFL approved a $58 million loan that completes financing of the $143 million expansion of Lambeau Field, according to a Green Bay Press-Gazette report. A $64 million stock sale last winter is helping the Packers pay for the renovations.
HAGERSTOWN, MD.
Suns judging fans’ woolly bears
The Class A Hagerstown Suns have partnered with the Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack to bring back the annual Woolly Bear Caterpillar Contest for another year. Entries will be judged in two categories: biggest and woolliest (the largest), and smallest and cuddliest (the smallest). Winners in each category will receive $100 from the Almanack and a gift from the Suns. The contest runs until Thursday. The Suns’ mascot, Woolie B, is based on the woolly bear.
INDIANAPOLIS
Fever to have Finish Line on jerseys
Pacers Sports & Entertainment and the WNBA champion Indiana Fever reached a deal with Finish Line to feature the retailer’s logo on Fever jerseys beginning with the 2013 season. Finish Line will be included in Fever TV broadcasts as well as through team merchandise, advertising and signs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
MILWAUKEE
Arena, Bucks reach lease agreement
The BMO Harris Bradley Center reached a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks on a new six-year lease, through September 2017. The agreement is retroactive to Oct. 1 of last year and represents the longest lease between the venue and the franchise in more than 10 years. It also is the first multiyear extension since 2007.
NEW YORK
MSG, Kia reach long-term extension
Madison Square Garden agreed to a long-term extension of its marketing partnership with Kia, making the car company a signature partner. Kia will be the official vehicle of the arena as well as the New York Knicks, Rangers and WNBA Liberty. The deal includes expanded exposure on the MSG Networks and on team websites, as well.
PHOENIX
Suns win Heart of Business Award
The Phoenix Suns were honored at the Phoenix Business Journal’s Heart of Business Awards for the recent launch of Suns-Central, an education-based partnership between the team and Central High School. The partnership is the result of a $500,000 grant, over two years, that Phoenix Suns Charities is donating to the school. The Phoenix Business Journal is an affiliated publication of SportsBusiness Journal.
PORTLAND
Blazers tout ‘New Team. New Dream.’
The Portland Trail Blazers unveiled their 2012-13 marketing campaign, “New Team.New Dream,” an effort that focuses on the club’s overhauled personnel, according to a Portland Oregonian report. Sockeye Creative of Portland worked on the overall marketing plan, with Portland-based marketing agency Character assisting, according to the report.
SACRAMENTO
Soccer returning to Raley Field
Raley Field, home of the Class AAA Sacramento River Cats, will host its second soccer match of the year Nov. 11 when Miller Lite presents El Super Clasico De Las Estrellas, an exhibition match featuring retired Mexican all-stars. The match will be preceded by an amateur match. A Mexico First Division League game was played at the ballpark in September.
SAN ANTONIO
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San Antonio Spurs forward-center Tiago Splitter (below) joined hundreds of SS&E members in building 10 new houses.
Photos: D. CLARKE EVANS, NBAE / GETTY IMAGES
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Huge turnout for Habitat project
Spurs Sports & Entertainment staff members on Oct. 18 joined a Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio home building project. More than 250 employees from the company and its teams — including the NBA Spurs, AHL
Rampage, WNBA Silver Stars and NBA D-League Austin Toros — worked on 10 houses in Southwest San Antonio.
SEATTLE
Mariners rename sections, raise prices
Seattle Mariners season-ticket prices will increase nearly 7 percent in some sections of Safeco Field for next year while 40-game weekend packages will rise more than 10percent, according to a Seattle Times report. In addition, the team is turning eight Safeco Field seating areas into four sections, labeled Main Level, Terrace Club Level, View Level and Bleachers.
SUNRISE, FLA.
Service America renews with Panthers
Service America renewed its marketing partnership with the Florida Panthers and the BB&T Center. Panthers coach Kevin Dineen will be featured in Service America’s advertising creative. The deal also provides for in-arena signs and a feature called the Service America Plan of the Game before each Panthers home game.
COAST TO COAST — BEYOND THE COASTS
BANGKOK
F1 race on Thai radar
Sports Authority of Thailand struck an in-principle deal to host a Formula One race in Bangkok in 2014, with negotiations ongoing about the hosting fee, according to an AP report. The government will reportedly fund 60 percent of the cost, with the rest coming from sponsors such as Red Bull, which is half Thai-owned, and brewing company Singha.
BOLOGNA, ITALY
Virtus Bologna sips San Benedetto
Italian basketball club Virtus Bologna agreed to a sponsorship deal with mineral water company San Benedetto, according to an online report at MáquinaDoEsporte.com.br. The company will be the official mineral water of the club. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Effort under way to revive Bullets
A joint venture was launched to revive a former National Basketball League team, the Brisbane Bullets, according to a Courier-Mail report. The Brisbane Bid Group is a partnership between Basketball Queensland, Basketball Australia and private equity investor Brisbane Bullets Queensland Pty Ltd.
DOHA, QATAR
Aamal Co. sponsoring soccer teams
Aamal Co. and the Qatar Stars League signed a partnership agreement. The deal will see Aamal sponsor the National A Team, H.H. Emiri Cup, Sheikh Jassim Cup, Reserve League, Qatar Futsal League and the H.H. Heir Apparent Cup.
FÜRTH, GERMANY
Court rules in favor of team
Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth does not have to pay damages to its stadium owner after a court decided in favor of the club, according to an online report at Nordbayern.de. Conny Brandstätter, owner of the stadium and son of toy company Playmobil founder Horst Brandstätter, sued the club for naming-rights violations. The stadium changed its name from Playmobil-Stadium to Trolli-Arena in 2010.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
Rangers edge closer to liquidation
The Scottish Third Division Rangers moved a step closer to liquidation when creditors approved the end of the club’s administration process, according to a Scotland Daily Record report. The administrators have instructed lawyers to make a formal application to place the company into liquidation in the Court of Session.
Celtic shareholders oppose joint deals
A group of Scottish Premier League Celtic FC shareholders are calling on the club to drop any joint sponsorship deals with the Scottish Third Division Rangers in an attempt to break an unwanted alliance with its rivals, according to a Scotsman report. Celtic and Rangers currently share a shirt-sponsorship deal with Tennent’s that ends next year.
GUMMERSBACH, GERMANY
Handball team breaks ground for arena
German Handball Bundesliga club VfL Gummersbach broke ground for its new Schwalbe Arena, according to a DPA report. The 4,132-seat venue is expected to open on July 15. The new arena costs a reported $14 million.
JOHANNESBURG
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Majola
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CSA’s Majola dismissed
Suspended Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola was dismissed for concealing bonus payments made to himself and staff three years ago, according to a London Independent report. CSA Disciplinary Chair Karel Tip found Majola guilty of all nine charges against him after a hearing that Majola refused to attend, according to the report.
LILLE, FRANCE
Partouche threatening to quit Lille
Isidore Partouche, founder of casino group Partouche, is threatening to end its sponsorships of Ligue 1 club Lille if he does not obtain the naming rights to the new Grand Stade stadium, according to a La Voix du Nord report. The French casino group made an offer of $3.3 million per year for the naming rights to the stadium, but the club is hoping for between $4.3 million and $4.9 million.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
Liverpool to play Bangkok friendly
The Football Association of Thailand confirmed that Liverpool FC will play a friendly in Bangkok next year, according to a Bangkok Post report.
LONDON
Cricket Board seeks new sponsor
The England and Wales Cricket Board is seeking a new sponsor for the England team after Brit Insurance decided not to renew its four-year shirt deal that runs until 2014, according to a London Times report. The Brit sponsorship is worth a reported $28.8 million.
MANIZALES, COLOMBIA
Kenworth biggest shareholder of team
Truck manufacturer Kenworth subsidiary Kenworth de la Montaña reached a deal to become the primary shareholder of Colombian club Once Caldas, according to an El Colombiano report. The deal will give the company 17 million of the 46 million shares that the club has on the market.
SAITAMA, JAPAN
Inaugural women’s soccer tourney set
Japan will host the inaugural International Women’s Club Championship in November, with ambitions of eventually turning it into a worldwide FIFA-sanctioned event, according to a Kyodo report. The tournament will be a knockout format, with the first games scheduled for Nov. 22 at Urawa Komaba Stadium.
SÃO PAULO
Ponte Preta to wear AM4 logo
Brasileiro club Ponte Preta agreed to a sponsorship deal with digital agency AM4, according to an online report at MáquinaDoEsporte.com.br. The deal will run until 2014; financial terms were not disclosed. The company will have its logo on the front and back of the club’s jersey.
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