Bank of America Corp. has committed to a deal worth at least $140 million to rename Ericsson Stadium as Bank of America Stadium.
The Carolina Panthers completed the 20- to 25-year agreement with Charlotte-based BofA. The bank replaces telecommunications firm L.M. Ericsson Inc. as naming-rights sponsor of the team's 73,250-seat home field beginning next season.
Industry experts peg the value at $7 million annually, among the richest naming-rights pacts in the NFL. Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson said the deal "is one of the two or three most important moments in the history of the Carolina Panthers."
"They're striking while the iron is hot, which is what you have to do," says Steve Hall, principal at Signature Sports Group Inc. "(Carolina Panthers President) Mark (Richardson) knows that fans and companies make buying decisions based on emotion. What's too expensive one day becomes a good deal the next, if you're winning. And, right now, they're winning."
The new deal takes effect next season. It may also be a sign that BofA is intent on affirming its commitment in Charlotte. Cross-town rival Wachovia Corp. won kudos last spring with its $8 million annual commitment as sponsor for the PGA Tour event at Quail Hollow Club.
BofA is in the process of acquiring FleetBoston Financial Corp., which offers BofA the option of putting its name on the Fleet Center. The Boston arena, named for Fleet in a $2 million-a-year contract, is home to the NBA Celtics and NHL Bruins.
Winning boosts naming rights
The Panthers began searching for a new stadium sponsor last fall. The team's $2 million-a-year agreement with Ericsson runs through 2004. Ericsson agreed to end the deal early if a replacement was found.
Earlier last week - before the deal with BofA was finalized - Mark Richardson said the team's success this year had fueled sponsor interest on a number of levels. "I think our success this season has put us in good position across the board. With the power of the NFL brand and our team's improvement, we have made a lot of gains during the past 18 months."
The naming-rights agreement expands an extensive relationship between the Panthers and BofA. The bank sponsors the club level at the stadium and has advertising signs above the scoreboards. Jerry Richardson and retired BofA Chairman Hugh McColl Jr. worked together to land the Panthers franchise.
Sports marketing executive Max Muhleman negotiated the stadium name deal. Muhleman also helped craft the seat-license campaign used to build Ericsson Stadium and lobbied the NFL for a franchise in the Carolinas.
Fans are tuning in
Even before the stadium naming-rights deal was done, Richardson was excited about the potential to close more agreements for next season and beyond.
The Panthers produce and sell preseason TV games as well as radio broadcasts for all games. Recent increases in the TV audience, in particular, will strengthen the team's pitch.
In Charlotte, which has 987,000 households with TVs, according to Nielsen Media Research Co., the Panthers reached 212,205 homes, on average, this season. Last year's broadcasts reached an average of 150,000 homes.
For the playoffs, the numbers are higher. The first two playoff games have generated viewership in more than 350,000 homes - comparable to the finales of American Idol and Joe Millionaire and ranking among the most-watched shows in Charlotte during the past year. WSOC-TV, the ABC affiliate, carried the Panthers-Dallas Cowboys playoff opener; WCCB-TV, the Fox affiliate, aired the Jan. 10 game and the NFC Championship on Sunday.
"It's helping us build our sports department, and it's helping us grow," says John Hutchinson, general manager at WCCB, known as Fox Charlotte. The Fox affiliate carries most Panthers games through the parent network's National Football Conference contract.
Hutchinson says the higher ad rates charged for playoff games help pay for expanded news coverage as well as personnel additions. Industry experts say Fox Charlotte charges as much as $15,000 for a 30-second spot during regular-season games - and as much as twice that figure for playoff games.
The station signed a three-year deal last spring to become the official Panthers station, carrying preseason games, coaches' shows and other team-related programming. Panthers ratings across the team's four largest markets in the Carolinas are up a combined 45 percent over last year.
"What you're doing is getting more people watching and, really, making people aware of this market in a profound way," Muhleman says.
Richardson agrees, citing the national scope of the playoffs. The past two weeks of intense national coverage have helped the Panthers go from being a regional story to a national one. That spurs sales, too. The team had two chartered planes - filled with fans paying $950 each - to the NFC Championship in Philadelphia.
Gains expected to continue
Soon after the postseason ends, the Panthers plan to pounce on the enthusiasm. The Panthers have 20 luxury suites, out of 159, available for lease.
The franchise, valued at $642 million by Forbes last year, increased revenue this season by 20 percent. Those figures may be revised upward after final tabulations for concessions and souvenir sales come in - bolstered by the home playoff date against Dallas. The franchise entered the season with 70 sponsors, reflecting an 11 percent increase in revenue from its various corporate partners.
The combination of higher attendance and more home games increased the haul at Ericsson, which the Panthers own. Each fan at Panthers games spent on average $12 in 2002; the average grew to $15 per fan this season. "The other thing they have going for them is the long shadow of the NFL, which is by far the most popular sports league," says David Carter, principal at The Sports Business Group, a Los Angeles consulting firm.
Just two years ago, the Panthers went 1-15 and fired coach George Seifert. Owner Jerry Richardson told fans the franchise had been sapped of its energy.
Now Mark Richardson finds himself sending hundreds of Division Champions T-shirts and caps to his growing sponsorship roster at the same time the city is hosting pep rallies for the team.
"The biggest thing is, people see that we have a plan for the franchise, and they see that it's working," he says. "I think that gives everyone hope for the future. We've always said our fans are great - it's up to us to do exciting things and give them a chance to cheer us on. We're starting to do that, and it's very rewarding."
Erik Spanberg writes for The Business Journal in Charlotte.
