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CINCINNATI REDS
Signs behind home plate will remain in the deal, and more ballpark ATMs are planned. |
CINCINNATI
Reds, PNC Bank extend deal
The Cincinnati Reds and PNC Bank extended PNC’s team sponsorship for five more years. The deal, which now runs through the 2015 season, keeps PNC as the official bank of the Reds. PNC customers will have the opportunity to buy single-game tickets a day earlier than they go on sale to the general public.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
Race allows for NFL change
The Daytona 500 next year is being moved to Feb. 26, a week later than it usually runs. A key factor in the decision to move the race is the possibility that the NFL’s current labor situation could delay the 2011 football season and push next year’s Super Bowl beyond the first weekend of February.
GREEN BAY
Packers raising ticket prices
The Green Bay Packers are raising ticket prices for the second consecutive year, according to a report in the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Tickets between the 20-yard lines will increase from $83 to $87 a game, and other sideline seats will go from $73 to $76, according to the report. Suite tickets will increase to $87.
KANSAS CITY, KAN.
Casino names Cup race
Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway will sponsor the fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for 10 years, beginning with the Oct. 9 race. The race will be the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Construction on the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway began in April. The facility is expected to open in the first half of 2012.
LEXINGTON, KY.
Rupp Arena, Learfield extend deal
Learfield Sports, the sales and marketing rights holder at Rupp Arena, agreed to a five-year extension on the deal, which now will run through 2016. Learfield operates the Rupp Arena property as part of a joint venture with IMG College. The property came into Learfield’s possession as part of the acquisition of Action Sports in 2008.
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NBAE / GETTY IMAGES
Noelle Quinn and company will wear the Farmers name again in an expanded deal. |
LOS ANGELES
Sparks will wear Farmers again
The Los Angeles Sparks and Farmers Insurance renewed and expanded their marketing partnership initially formed in 2009. The partnership includes a continuation of the branded jerseys worn by Sparks players. The Farmers name also will appear on team shooting shirts, on in-arena signage and on the Staples Center court.
Ducks, Kings shuffle for event
The Anaheim Ducks will participate in the first Rivalry Hold’em Poker Challenge with the Los Angeles Kings at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in San Bernardino on April 7. With a buy-in of $25 and $10,000 in cash prizes, the tournament will feature fans outfitted in their team’s colors in support of the Anaheim Ducks Foundation and Kings Care Foundation.
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
Gophers set up Target Field season
The University of Minnesota baseball team will hold all 12 of its 2011 Big Ten home games at Target Field. The Gophers’ usual baseball home, the Metrodome, remains out of action after its roof collapsed in December. The Gophers will play their first Big Ten home games — a doubleheader with Purdue — at Target Field on April 1.
NASHVILLE
Vineyard sponsoring track, race
Bully Hill Vineyards agreed to sponsor Nashville Superspeedway as its official wine. The brand also becomes the title sponsor of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bully Hill Vineyards 200 on April 22.
Track effort gets Daytona exposure
The push to save the Nashville Fairgrounds went national during the Daytona 500, as Brian Keselowski’s No. 92 Dodge featured a black stripe with SaveMyFairgrounds.com in white lettering. Save My Fairgrounds is a group trying to keep the quarter-mile track in Nashville from being part of a redevelopment plan of Mayor Karl Dean, according to a report in The (Nashville) Tennessean.
NEW YORK
Yankees waiting on radio deal
A New York Daily News report cited sources saying that the New York Yankees will not do a deal with current radio partner WCBS-AM before its exclusive negotiating window expires in April. WCBS currently pays the Yankees $13 million a season.
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NBAE / GETTY IMAGES
Some season-ticket holders will pay a bit more to see Russell Westbrook’s dunks. |
OKLAHOMA CITY
Thunder raising some ticket prices
Roughly one-third of Oklahoma City Thunder season-ticket holders will see a slight price increase for the 2011-12 season, according to a report in The Oklahoman. Team officials said 34 percent of the seats at Oklahoma City Arena will see an increase of $2 to $5 per game, but prices will remain unchanged in the rest of the arena. It marks the franchise’s first season-ticket price increase since relocating from Seattle in 2008.
OMAHA
Storm Chasers extend radio deal
The Omaha Storm Chasers and NRG Media extended their broadcast agreement, continuing a 15-year relationship between the Class AAA Kansas City Royals affiliate and the Omaha broadcaster.
ORLANDO
Magic, university form partnership
Orlando Magic and Full Sail University formed a partnership that includes opportunities for Full Sail student and staff collaborations inside Amway Center. Content created by Full Sail students, graduates and staff will appear on Magic TV during Magic home games and special events, as well as on OrlandoMagic.com.
PHILADELPHIA
Phillies set ticket sales record
The Philadelphia Phillies sold 70,000 single-game tickets the first day the tickets went on sale, setting a new franchise record. The team has already sold more than 3.3 million tickets for the coming season, and as of last week, 15 of the team’s 81 regular-season games were sold out.
Owls, Irish set first meeting
Temple University and Notre Dame signed an agreement for a three-game football series that will begin in 2014. The first game, in October 2014, will be hosted by Temple and played at Lincoln Financial Field. A September 2015 game will be in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame will also host the 2016 game. The Owls and Fighting Irish have never played a football game against each other.
PITTSBURGH
Steelers win clothier court order
The Pittsburgh Steelers won a contempt of court order against clothes maker Nicholas Wohlfarth and his firm Turtle Creek Sportswear, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Wohlfarth must give up a season’s worth of profits from his sale of various black-and-gold goods, according to the report.
SACRAMENTO
Tennis team returning to old home
The Sacramento Capitals professional tennis team is returning to its former home in the parking lot of Sunrise Mall in suburban Citrus Heights this summer. The Capitals’ average attendance in World TeamTennis declined since its move to the parking lot of Westfield Galleria at Roseville in 2007.
SPARTA, KY.
Track sells out Sprint Cup suites
Kentucky Speedway sold all of its 32 luxury suites for the July 9 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the track, the first at the facility, at prices between $45,000 and $50,000 each. The track plans to install additional temporary suites in the form of corporate hospitality tents, according to a report in The Lexington Herald-Leader.
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