By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
October 17, 2011
“Bust”: Top Five Reasons the Armageddon is Near
1. The NBA canceled the first two weeks of the regular season after being unable to reach a new labor deal with the Players Association. In losing 100 games, the NBA is forgoing more than $200 million, of which nearly $75 million comes from ticket revenue.
2. The National Basketball Players Association spent $600,000 this past year on legal, consulting and public relations fees for labor negotiations, according to John Lombardo and Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal. With the NBA in a lockout and players losing the PR battle, the money doesn’t appear to be well spent.
3. Plans for EPL club West Ham United to move into London’s Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Summer Games have fallen apart. The deal had faced legal challenges from fellow London soccer clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient.
4. Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo is under criticism for blaming ACC expansion on ESPN. DeFilippo in an interview with the Boston Globe said, “We always keep our television partners close to us… It’s 85% football money. ESPN is the one who told us what to do.” He’s since apologized.
5. The NFL fined Baltimore Ravens lineman Matt Birk $5,000 for refusing to wear a microphone under his jersey during a recent game. The NFL requires two offensive lineman per team to wear mics during games as a way to enhance the TV broadcast.
“Boom”: Top Five Reasons that Prosperity is Right Around the Corner
1. Indications are that AEG will work with the Sacramento Kings to build a new NBA arena. If the deal goes through, AEG could operate the venue and be its lead investor, with the city of Sacramento owning the venue. Collaborating with AEG would provide Sacramento and the Kings with enough upfront cash to begin arena construction.
2. Panasonic has expanded its soccer sponsorship portfolio, adding multi-year agreements with the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams, while renewing its MLS partnership. The deals run through 2014 and are valued in the low seven figures annually.
3. The University of Illinois is seeking $60-70 million for naming rights to the school’s basketball arena, according to Don Muret of SportsBusiness Journal. The entitlement revenue would finance an Assembly Hall renovation, which is expected to cost $140 million.
4. Florida Atlantic University this past weekend played its first game at the school’s new $70 million, 30,000-seat on-campus football stadium. The stadium is touted as the only one in the country to offer a view of the Atlantic Ocean.
5. Jos. A. Bank signed a one-year sponsorship deal with the Baltimore Ravens for the team’s “Purple Fridays” promotion. As part of the deal, the retailer will dedicate space in its Baltimore-area stores to purple dress shirts, ties and sweaters. “Purple Fridays” encourages Ravens fans to wear purple on the Fridays before football games.
“Hope”: Top Five Reasons That Creativity is the Key to Economic Survival
1. Real estate tycoon Ed Roski, who is behind the proposed NFL stadium in City of Industry, has dropped his request for a non-cash minority stake in whatever team relocates to LA, according to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. Instead, the team would be responsible for financing the stadium and Roski would buy part of the franchise at market value.
2. The Oakland Raiders gave season ticket holders complementary tickets to this past weekend’s game against Cleveland to ensure a sellout at O.co Coliseum. The game was the Raiders’ first at home since the passing of longtime owner Al Davis.
3. Hoping to keep pace with its fellow AQ-conferences, the Big East in a statement said it would consider adding six more football schools. The conference has lost three football schools in the last month. Getting up to 12 teams will allow the Big East to host a conference title game.
4. One of the poster children for outrageous NBA contracts is finding new business ventures during the league’s lockout. Drew Gooden, who’s scheduled to make $7 million this season, plans to open four new Wingstop restaurants in Orlando over the next year.
5. As they’ve done for other top endorsers, Nike has created a new logo for LeBron James’ sports apparel line that will go on sale later this month. Nike said James has the “heart of a lion,” as it unveiled his new lion emblem, which resembles an English coat of arms. Incidentally, James owns a minority stake in EPL club Liverpool.
