MARKETING NEWS
MARKETING AND LICENSING AGREEMENTS
Yahoo! Inc. announced an agreement with Student Advantage and its Fans-Only Network college sports division to provide a college sports broadcast network on Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com). The new site will provide college sports fans with access to more than 13,000 free live and archived audio and video events for nearly 200 colleges and universities.
Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, is teaming with the NFL Cleveland Browns for a promotion to introduce the all-new Avalanche SUV-pickup vehicle. "Drive the Distance: The Ultimate Game Day Experience" is co-sponsored by McDonald's. Participating Cleveland Chevy Network dealers will conduct a sweepstakes where winners and three guests will be picked up at home in an Avalanche on game day, taken to a Chevy Tailgate Party outside Cleveland Browns Stadium and given a Browns Fan Pack, along with tickets to the game. At halftime, the winner of the sweepstakes will have an opportunity to win an Avalanche through the "Drive the Distance" skills competition on the field. Chevrolet and McDonald's will feature the promotion at every Browns regular-season home game.
BROADCAST AGREEMENTS
For the 12th consecutive season, Empire Sports Network will carry live game coverage of Buffalo Sabres hockey. The Sabres and the regional network recently announced the telecast schedule for the coming season. The first telecast is Sept. 21.
The Canadian Football League has signed a deal with the USFR Media Group, a Houston-based television and magazine company, to broadcast CFL games throughout the United States, on the American One Television Network. Broadcasts began Sept. 3.
SPONSORSHIPS
MGO Marketing Group, a sports and entertainment marketing and consulting group with headquarters in Lafayette, Calif., recently completed the first major sponsorship deal for the Class AAA Fresno Grizzlies' new downtown stadium. On behalf of the Grizzlies, MGO signed The Fresno Bee to a 10-year, $2.4 million deal that will provide the newspaper with exclusive newspaper sales and promotions at the facility when it opens in spring 2002.
Kansas Speedway and commercial and residential security services provider Protection One announced a two-year partnership deal. Protection One will sponsor the speedway's NASCAR Winston Cup Series race, to be called the Protection One 400.
Coral Canyon Golf Club in Washington, Utah, has been selected as the sole course of the Dixie Travel and Convention Center.
ENDORSEMENTS
Pro Beach Volleyball player Brent Doble signed a one-year endorsement deal with Bolle' Sunglasses. Doble, a winner of three events on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour this year, is represented by Evans Marketing Group.
FACILITIES NEWS
Facility management company SMG has been awarded a contract to manage the new Mid-America Recreation and Convention Complex in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The complex will include a multiuse arena, state-of-the-art convention center and exposition hall, and will be home to the Omaha Lancers of the U.S. Hockey League.
BUSINESS NEWS
BUSINESS NOTES
Hornet Animation has relocated its New York studio to larger facilities at 213 W 35th St., Suite 605. Hornet, which has its headquarters in Los Angeles, develops, produces and creates high-end computer animation, visual effects and motion graphics. The company provides animation services for many professional sport teams, including the MLB Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees and the NHL Atlanta Thrashers.
Seton Hall University has launched a redesigned Web site for athletics at www.shupirates.com through a partnership with AmericanEagle.com Inc. The Pirates' new-look site features updated information and statistics on Seton Hall's 17 intercollegiate sports as well as questionnaires for prospective student-athletes and ticket order forms. AmericanEagle.com is a hosting and development company for collegiate Web sites across the country.
AGENCY NEWS
CLIENT SIGNINGS
Edge Sports International recently signed Jimmy Shea Jr. and Rusty Smith, both of whom will compete in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Shea will compete in one-man skeleton (sled), and Smith will compete in short-track speed skating. Edge Sports International is a management, marketing and consulting firm specializing in sports and entertainment.
CHARITY NEWS
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's PeyBack Foundation, The Indiana Sports Corp. and Indiana Black Expo will present PeyBack Classic II on Sept. 22 at the RCA Dome. The tripleheader high school football event features the five Indianapolis Public Schools high schools and one guest school. Manning will attend each game. Proceeds are split among the five IPS high schools to help offset the costs associated with athletic competition.
The River Cats Foundation Inc. donated $85,000 to the West Sacramento Teen Center. Community members plan to establish a downtown West Sacramento teen center that would be open to the public during the day and available for youths during the afternoon and evening. Organizers hope to raise almost $1.1 million. The $85,000 grant will be issued in equal installments over the next three years. This year, the foundation will donate more than $100,000 to local organizations that benefit families and children.
LaSalle Bank donated $7,500 to the Chicago District Golf Association Foundation that will sponsor "Sunshine Through Golf" camps taking place in Chicago. The donation will provide funding for five camps at three Chicago sites, reaching 77 golfers. Camps consist of five one-hour sessions that teach the participants the principles and fundamentals of golf, and focus on teaching the game of golf to individuals with disabilities.
Berger LLC, Denver-based investment manager for Berger Funds, announced a $1 million sponsorship with the Gold Crown Foundation to help build a youth athletic complex in Lakewood, Colo. In doing so, Berger Funds becomes the naming partner in the planned Berger Funds Youth Center. The Gold Crown Foundation is seeking additional sponsorship of the 55,000-square-foot indoor facility, which will provide athletic opportunities for nearly 20,000 young people.
Atlanta Hawks coach Lon Kruger, forward Tony Kukoc and former Hawks guard and current scout Steve Henson joined their sons to donate their time to lead and participate in a parent-child basketball camp to benefit the Walton High School basketball program in Marietta, Ga. The camp was Sept. 8.
The Buffalo Sabres' annual carnival benefiting local charities is planned for Sept. 23 at HSBC Arena. The Sabres have held the carnival each year since 1980, offering fans a chance to participate in interactive games, auctions and raffles as well as a chance to meet players and coaches. Proceeds from this year's carnival will go to the Buffalo Museum of Science Camp Wee Explorer, United Cerebral Palsy Association of Western New York and the St. Catharines (Ontario) Minor Hockey Association.
The Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Sports Council recently hosted the annual Atlanta Falcons Charity Kickoff Luncheon at the Georgia Dome. More than 1,400 fans and corporate sponsors supported this annual fund-raiser for the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, which featured a player autograph session, silent and live auctions, and a keynote address by coach Don Reeves. The event was presented by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was expected to raise $90,000.
The 20th annual Hospice Cup, which has raised over $4.3 million to benefit hospices in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, will take place Sept. 20 in the Chesapeake Bay off Annapolis, Md. The all-volunteer event raises about $400,000 annually. Since 1984, Shearwater Sailing Club has hosted the regatta and donated the trophies and net race fees. The race, which has more than 100 sailboats participate, is part of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association's season-long High Point trophies and is the local qualifying event for the National Hospice Regatta Alliance Championship. Craig Venter, chief scientific officer of Rockville, Md.-based Celera Genomics, will serve as this year's honorary chairman.
Source: Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal research