The Suns and D'Backs are "launching a rare joint venture that will develop a multimillion-dollar technology-fueled digital outdoor marketing showpiece in downtown Phoenix," according to John Lombardo of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The teams have created Legends Entertainment District, "with both teams investing in an effort to build 55,000 square feet of outdoor digital and static billboard signage in the downtown Phoenix corridor beginning with a six-block area that connects the Diamondbacks' Chase Field and the Suns' US Airways Center." The plan is "designed to develop new revenue for both teams, while using the digital marketplace to promote ticket sales and team offerings and events." The project "calls for the teams to share equally in the investment and revenue of the venture, which is expected to roll out its initial phase in time for" the July 12 MLB All-Star Game at Chase Field. Initial plans "call for both static and LED signs to be displayed along the Jefferson Street corridor, which runs past the facilities." Two 50-foot-tall freestanding towers with screen and LED advertising "will bookend Chase Field and the US Airways Center." Chase Field "will also have a 30-by-70-foot LED board built on the ballpark's facade." Neither Suns President & CEO Rick Welts nor D'Backs President & CEO Derrick Hall "would disclose specific initial investment in the venture but said the project would require several million dollars from each franchise" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/14 issue). In Phoenix, Emily Gersema notes the Suns, D'Backs and the city "all stand to gain financially from the initiative." Phoenix "charges a 0.5 percent license tax for advertisements that are broadcast, published or appear in the city," and the teams "would earn money from ad sales and sponsorships." Hall: "We want our partners to benefit. There really is no exclusivity, but with our marketing opportunities, we really would want those to go to them first" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/14).
