In Denver, Howard Pankratz notes Metropolitan Football Stadium District Chair Ray Baker said that the resignation of Sports Authority CEO David Campisi "won't affect" the retailer's new deal for naming rights to the Broncos' stadium "or an ongoing, long-term relationship between the district and Sports Authority." Baker said that the stadium district is "in negotiations with Sports Authority to expand the assignment of naming rights for another 15 years" to '35. Baker also said that Sports Authority Exec VP, CMO & Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Schumacher was the "point man" for Sports Authority bringing about last week's name change to the Broncos' stadium. Broncos President Joe Ellis yesterday said that the team and Sports Authority "will continue to work together" (DENVER POST, 8/23).
ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK? Chargers Special Counsel Mark Fabiani last week said that San Diego County "probably has to be worked into any stadium deal, but tapping the 17 surrounding cities would be difficult, if not impossible." Fabiani indicated that the county could "help with free land to relocate transit yards ... or assist with bonding," but the cities would be "hard to enlist." In San Diego, Logan Jenkins wrote, "It would be morally wrong for the county to remain on the sidelines at this historic junction. It would also be morally wrong for city voters to reject a deal, and possibly send the Chargers to L.A., because the rest of the county was not asked to pay a fair share of the NFL luxury tax" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/22).
CLOCK TICKING: An L.A. DOWNTOWN NEWS editorial stated AEG "has the potential to bring football back to Los Angeles, and in the process to give the city a better footing in the convention game." The editorial: "That doesn't mean, however, that the deal is done or that the time has come to stop looking closely at the process. The city still has an important role to fill -- a final contract won't be hammered out until next year. Meanwhile, we're about to see whether AEG is just another player in the L.A. football game, or if the company is truly different" (LADOWNTOWNNEWS.com, 8/19).
