Moving to Little Caesars Arena helped the Pistons double their corporate sponsorship revenue this seasonNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The Pistons' business department this season "marked a triumphant return to downtown Detroit," despite the team "missing the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons," according to Bill Shea of CRAIN'S DETROIT BUSINESS. Pistons Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Charlie Metzger said that the team "doubled its corporate sponsorship revenue for this season despite leaving its own building, The Palace of Auburn Hills, after 29 years to instead share" Little Caesars Arena, which is controlled by the Red Wings. The increase also "came despite having fewer advertisers at their new home, which they often struggled to fill, compared with the Palace." Metzger said that the companies advertising with the Pistons downtown are "willing to pay more," and the team "intends to further boost income using several strategies." The team is "in talks with its first Chinese corporate sponsor, an automotive firm the Pistons are not yet revealing." Metzger added that the team will use data to "show sponsors the ROI they're getting from spending on the Pistons' 20-plus 'digital content franchises.'" Two "major deals helped fuel the Pistons' corporate advertising income." The team has a jersey-patch deal with Troy-based Flagstar Bancorp, and another with Henry Ford Health System "to sponsor the team's new" HQ and training facility. The hospital system also "became the team's official health care provider" (CRAIN'S DETROIT BUSINESS, 4/16 issue).
