SDSU Signs 10-Year Arena Naming-Rights Deal With Viejas Tribe
By Terry Lefton, Editor-at-Large
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Those in the sports industry seeking any sign that the recession is easing may have found one in the first major U.S. naming-rights deal of '09 -- San Diego State Univ. (SDSU) will announce today that its 12-year-old campus basketball venue is changing its name from Cox Arena to Viejas Arena on July 1. The Viejas tribe of Kumeyaay Indians has a 1,600-acre reservation 35 miles east of San Diego, which includes a casino with 2,500 slot machines, along with a 57-store outlet mall, and a 1,500-seat outdoor concert venue. Sources put the 10-year deal at just under $1M a year, and said that under the agreement the word “casino’’ would not be used in association with the sponsorship, as officially the deal is with the Indian tribe. Premier Partnerships, L.A., handled the deal for SDSU. Premier President & CEO Randy Bernstein said the issue of whether it was suitable for a university to sell sponsorship rights to an Indian tribe with a casino was an integral part of negotiations. "But there’s no way a university as large and established as SDSU would risk association with any organization that was less than a pillar of the community," said Bernstein, himself an SDSU alum. In a year when naming rights and other large sports sponsorships are going begging, “we’re hoping this opens up the category for other worthy tribes," Bernstein said.
TV INVENTORY, SIGNAGE INCLUDED: The Viejas deal includes TV and radio inventory, along with exterior and interior arena signage, directional signage in and around the SDSU campus, tickets and hospitality. Cox Communications will continue as the building’s telecom sponsor, with a reduced rights package. Cox Arena holds 12,414 for basketball and will this month host both the NIT Tournament and first- and second-round games in the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The arena opened in July '97 as the Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl, since it was built on site of the Aztec Bowl football stadium, a WPA project where former president John F. Kennedy delivered the commencement address in '63. Aside from NCAA basketball games and concerts, the arena has hosted World Championship Wrestling and was the home of the defunct NIFL San Diego Shockwave in '07. Sycuan, another San Diego-area Native American tribe, ruffled feathers across MLB when the Padres signed them to a presenting sponsorship for the entire '00 season.
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