This weekend’s Skate America event is the first major one for figure skating in the U.S. during the pandemic. While no fans will be at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, the event will have a new title sponsor in Guaranteed Rate.
“It came together quickly,” said U.S. Figure Skating Chief Marketing Officer Ramsey Baker of the sponsorship deal. “It fit with the demographic they’re trying to reach and their plan to make a splash in this time of the year.” Guaranteed Rate had initially reached out through broadcast partner NBC, and the deal was negotiated by newly formed agency Aggregate Sports.
In recent months, U.S. Figure Skating has had strong sponsor support. HomeLight took a contractual option to continue its partnership for an additional two years, and Consumer Cellular and health and lifestyle app maker Noom have both negotiated multiyear extensions. Baker said the NGB’s partners have broadly been supportive. “We have not had a single sponsor ask for a return of rights fees in any way,” said Baker. “That’s likely because we’ve been creative and collaborative in trying to find solutions.”
When the world championships were canceled in March, U.S. Figure Skating pivoted to broadcast events from earlier in the year. This week’s event will come with a new suite of digital offerings that will involve the NGB’s partners. It no doubt helps that figure skating has over 80 hours of broadcast time on NBC and NBCSN throughout the year; Skate America will feature 10 hours of live competition across the two networks.
The event will take place in a bubble, with dedicated elevators and a secured floor of the hotel. And the NGB aims to improve on return strategies used elsewhere, including reworking plans to print sponsor signage directly on tarps over unused seating. “We’re creating some overlays that can be shifted and moved,” said Baker. “And then we’ll actually optimize the spots where we’re going to have logos. That way they can maximize the brand exposure.”
