Saints

The Saints will open 12 new field-level suites and a new club in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome’s north end zone in the '21 season, part of a $450M renovation project. The new suites, the first below the 300 level in the Superdome, are on sale starting today. Each suite will have between 21-24 tickets, food/beverage packages, premium parking, a dedicated entrance and access to concerts and other major events. The stadium currently has 152 suites, all on the 300 and 400 level.

A Saints spokesperson declined to provide specific pricing other than to say it is “within league average” for field-level suites, a popular addition to both new stadiums and renovations in recent years. Sources say that average is between $200,000-300,000, though it varies widely.

A new all-inclusive North End Zone Club space will also be available to all suite guests, along with about 500 ticket holders in the first six rows in the end zone. Amid the renovation, Oak View Group is currently selling Superdome naming rights to replace Mercedes-Benz, which will not renew. Trahan Architects are the lead designer on the projects, and Broadmoor is the lead contractor.

Giants GM Dave Gettleman "will be back" with the NFL team for "at least one more season," according to a source, despite a third straight losing season and a three-year record of 15-33. This comes as "no surprise to those in the organization who have long said there was no indication ownership was planning a change, and since those who know Gettleman well had insisted he had no plans to retire." Given the record, "many had wondered" if Giants President & CEO John Mara and Chair & Exec VP Steve Tisch had "run out of patience." The Giants "have not made an official announcement on Gettleman’s status, and one likely won’t come until Mara holds his season-ending press conference" today or tomorrow. What is "unknown is whether Gettleman will be brought back with any conditions" (SNY.tv, 1/4).

Georgia's runoff election culminates today, and members of the WNBA Atlanta Dream "have continued their push for voting" via More Than A Vote's latest social media campaign. The advocacy group published a video narrated by Dream players that "illustrated moments of activism throughout the WNBA season and encouraged Georgians to vote." Republican U.S. Sen. and Dream co-Owner Kelly Loeffler faces Democrat Raphael Warnock in a race that "will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate." The video "did not mention any candidate by name" (USA TODAY, 1/5).

GEORGIA: Tomorrow -- Tuesday, January 5th -- is Election Day!

The @WNBA's @AtlantaDream got the stakes exactly right -- there are moments that make history. And this moment chose Georgia.

Make sure all your Georgia fam make their plan to vote tomorrow at https://t.co/9XigCM7nTv pic.twitter.com/hOUcEs4Tdz

— More Than A Vote (@morethanavote) January 4, 2021

Quebec is the "third province to approve NHL games this season in Canada, leaving Manitoba and Ontario as the only jurisdictions not to announce a final decision." A Quebec Health Department spokesperson confirmed that "public health authorities approved the revised protocol submitted by Canadian teams to federal authorities." Meanwhile, Manitoba Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Brent Roussin said that the "risk to the public is 'quite low' under the NHL's plan. He added that the "next step is to amend public health orders" (CP, 1/4).

A promo deal with former NBAer Richard Hamilton will bolster PointsBet sportsbook’s sponsorship of the Pistons, who now have locked down three sponsors in the category in anticipation of the launch of online sports betting in Michigan in the coming months. PointsBet joins FanDuel and DraftKings, both of which announced deals with the team at the end of November. PointsBet became the first sportsbook to sponsor an MLB team when it closed a deal with the Tigers in August. BetMGM has deals with the Lions and Red Wings.

PointsBet’s deal with the Pistons includes promotion on the team’s website, app and social channels, as well as TV visible signage on the courtside LED board, basket stanchion LED board and courtside corners. Hamilton will serve as the face of PointsBet’s Michigan sportsbook app and local promotions.

Brands spent $262.5M in overall advertising during the New Year’s Six bowl games telecasts across ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes from Dec. 28-Jan. 2, according to data from iSpot.tv. AT&T, a CFP sponsor, led all brands with a $10.2M outlay. Taco Bell’s "The Craving," via Deutsch, L.A., was seen by 135.9 million TV viewers during the telecasts. The Nacho Fries promo, a 60-second spot shot as a movie trailer, aired 65 times during the games. Dos Equis had two of its spots crack the top 10 in terms of impressions over the six games.

See a full breakdown of the ad spending and impressions.

The Warriors and Chase Center named Josh Proctor CFO. Proctor most recently spent six years at Nike, preceded by a four-year stint with the 49ers. He will report to Warriors President & COO Rick Welts (Warriors).

Phoenix Raceway will host a “limited number of fans throughout its annual spring NASCAR weekend, scheduled for March 12-14.” Some details, including the “final number of tickets that will be available for all events that weekend, are still to be determined” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/5).

Centerplate has reached a 12-year contract to continue as concessionaire at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex and Legacy Arena through '32. The agreement includes a new deal to service Protective Stadium, the future home venue for UAB Football (Centerplate).

“I’m not going anyplace in this building. I’m still going to be here. There will be a fair amount of continuity. My role will be significant moving forward. But when he does get back, whenever that is, he will have the final say on decision-making” -- Jets Chair & CEO Christopher Johnson, on team’s front-office setup once Owner Woody Johnson concludes his duties as U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. (N.Y. POST, 1/5).

“The way we look at Michael Jordan for Nike, we look at Allen Iverson that way in Reebok. We need to bring him to the forefront. We need to bring in better designers. We also need to make this for the millennials. And I think that that would be a game changer” -- Entrepreneur and hip-hop artist Percy Miller, on what his group plans to do if it succeeds in buying Reebok from Adidas (FINANCE.YAHOO.com, 1/4).

“For the first time since 2002, the Cleveland Browns are going to the playoffs. Even the Georgia Secretary of State was like, ‘That can't be right. Count the wins again.’ When they heard that they made the playoffs, the Browns were like, ‘There’s more games after the season? Do they do that every year?’” -- NBC’s Jimmy Fallon (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 1/4).

THE UNDEFEATED goes with the header, "The NFL And Inclusive Hiring: What’s The Plan?" Through every iteration of the Rooney Rule, "every hiring cycle postmortem and the NFL’s annual acknowledgment that it must do better with regard to inclusive hiring, this much has been clear: The league still has never had a discernible long-term strategy -- in which goals, and timelines for achieving them, are public -- to effect substantive improvement." It is "time for that to change." The climate has "never been riper for the league to finally take the most significant step in a process that’s entering its 18th year."

Also:

• Ten guidelines NFL owners should "follow when looking for a new coach."
• Game day at Gillette Stadium "during a pandemic is a bizarre experience."
• A weekly NHL chat is "connecting viewers with guests like Scotty Bowman."

During this crisis impacting the sports business, we want everyone to be up-to-date on the latest news and information. Here are the top headlines from last night's SBJ Unpacks: Taco Bell Orders Up New Year's Six Exposure.

• NBA Team Health Officials Struggle With Protocol Balancing Act
• NCAA Tournament Back Home Again In Indiana
• Outside Contributors: 2021 Brings Mindset Shift Across Industry

More from SBJ Media: ABC Gets Back In The Fight Game:

• Expect UFC To Get More Run On ABC
• Non-Exclusive Midweek Games Proving To Be Tough Sell For MLB
• Three Sports Media Execs To Keep An Eye On

There was a belief- at one time - that socially distanced games would have disproportionate demand relative to low supply

That hadn’t come to fruition until now ... with the College Football National Championship game and NFL playoffs

Seeing some nutty prices for a pandemic

— Patrick Ryan (@PRyanTexas) January 5, 2021

I missed #TheBachelorABC premiere, but I'm assuming @mattjames919 just pulled up his sleeve to flash his 2011 @MusicCityBowl watch and all the women passed out. #GoDeacs

— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) January 5, 2021

2020 has been a brutal year on so many fronts but watching the #barstoolfund that @stoolpresidente has put together has been an incredible light in a dark time. I Walk away from each video thinking what an incredible job he’s done utilizing his platform. Well done sir

— Steve Wheatcroft (@wheatiePGA) January 5, 2021

We appreciate your patience and are conscious that time timelines are very tight. We are doing our utmost to get the flight details to the entire playing group as soon as possible. Thank you for bearing with us, we will get everyone to Melbourne.

— Craig Tiley (@CraigTiley) January 5, 2021

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was "Literary Characters of the 1600s."

"When the title character tells him that a great adventure may win him an island he can govern, he leaves his family."

"Who is Sancho Panza?"