AutoTrader.com To Title Sponsor Suns-Nuggets Outdoor Game
By Terry Lefton, Editor-at-Large
 |
AutoTrader.com Gets On-Court Branding In
Deal For Suns-Nuggets Outdoor Game |
AutoTrader.com has purchased title sponsorship to the October 11 outdoor NBA game. When the Suns host the Nuggets at the 16,000-seat Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, on Saturday, the pre-season contest will be known as the AutoTrader.com Open. AutoTrader.com gets branding on-court within the event logo, courtside and facia signage, tickets and hospitality. Working with the NBA and Turner, the Suns added a sponsor zone outside the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and a tent in a sponsor area adjacent to the outdoor arena. The game will be broadcast on TNT, and under a separate deal AutoTrader, an NBA corporate sponsor since the ‘06-07 season, gets ads within the telecast. Other sponsors displaying include NBA sponsors Sony PlayStation and Kia. The league will also have its "Jam Van'' mobile marketing vehicle on site. Verve, the Suns' official energy drink, will sample and underwrite a music area with DJs. The city of Indian Wells is also a sponsor and will get its name on the baseline and a spot promoting the town as a tourist destination within the broadcast. "Turner being the All-Star Game broadcaster, that game being in Phoenix; all this really was just a perfect storm that created a preseason that will really be meaningful for us,'' said Suns President & COO Rick Welts.
GAME MORE THAN A YEAR IN THE WORKS: While Welts has owned a house in the area for 13 years, it was an unsolicited letter 14 months ago suggesting the idea to Suns Minority Owner Richard Heckmann that was the catalyst for the outdoor game. "It was one of those ‘why didn't I think of this' moments,'' said Welts, who has the Suns co-promoting the game along with the owners of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. "We like it enough that we have an option to do it again next season.'' Welts said around 1,000 seats remain, but he expects a sellout. This is only the second al fresco game in NBA history -- the Suns also played in the only other NBA outdoor game, September 24, 1972, in Puerto Rico against the Bucks.
|
Related Stories By Company
|
Related Stories By Sport
|
NBA Franchise Notes
December 1, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Catching Up With NBA's Heidi Ueberroth
November 26, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Deal For LeBron Docu Involves Sponsors
November 25, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
NBA, NCAA Names Weiberg Chief Exec
November 24, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Ad Sales Down For Sports Properties
November 19, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
ESPN Offers Holiday Hoops Coverage
December 1, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
NBA Franchise Notes
December 1, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
LeBron, MSN End Marketing Partnership
November 26, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Catching Up With NBA's Heidi Ueberroth
November 26, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Bobcats Local TV Ratings Last In NBA
November 26, 2008 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
|
