By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
August 20, 2012
“Bust”: Top Five Reasons the Armageddon is Near
1. Following the acclaimed London Olympics, Sochi and Rio have issues to overcome before hosting the Games in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Sochi has to build all of its competition venues during an economic crisis, while Rio doesn’t have a budget and is progressing slower than the IOC would like.
2. Prospective Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera is considering bringing in minority partners as concerns about his bid continue to surface. Pera’s net worth has fallen by more than $500 million since March, and his company is being investigated for illegally selling products to Iran.
3. The Detroit Red Wings have canceled their annual prospects tournament because of the uncertainty surrounding labor negotiations. Eight NHL teams, including the Red Wings, New York Rangers, and Dallas Stars, were expected to participate in the tournament.
4. The NFL has to find a new team for its annual International Series because the St. Louis Rams have decided to not play a regular season game in London during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The Rams are trying to allay fan concerns about the team possibly relocating.
5. The Seattle Sounders have retained CAA Sports to explore new jersey sponsor opportunities amid concerns Xbox might not renew after next season, according to Christopher Botta of SportsBusiness Journal. The team’s five-year deal with Xbox is worth an estimated $4 million annually.
“Boom”: Top Five Reasons that Prosperity is Right Around the Corner
1. EPL club Manchester United raised more than $230 million from an IPO that valued the team at $2.3 billion. While the IPO was below the bottom forecast range, the total raised is a substantial amount for majority owners the Glazer family, which will use the money to pay off debt and buy new players.
2. By nearly all metrics, the London Olympics have been deemed a massive success. IOC Chairman Jacques Rogge called the Games “absolutely fantastic” and said that they “refreshed the Olympics movement.” Domestically, NBC posted its best Olympic audience since the Atlanta Games in 1996.
3. Cablevision signed a multiyear deal to carry NFL Network and NFL RedZone,. The deal comes after six years of negotiations, and puts NFL Network in more than 60 million homes. Time Warner Cable, the last major cable operator holdout, has more than 12 million subscribers.
4. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman earned $8 million in salary and benefits last year, up from $7.5 million the year before, according to the league’s most recent tax filing. Bettman’s salary has more than doubled since the 2004-2005 lockout, when he was making less than $4 million annually.
5. Honda becomes the 10th founding partner of the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, signing a multiyear deal to become the official car of the arena and the Brooklyn Nets. The deal is being touted as Honda’s first major arena sponsorship on the East Coast.
“Hope”: Top Five Reasons That Creativity is the Key to Economic Survival
1. MLS executives reportedly are working with elected officials in Queens on a plan to build a $300 million soccer stadium. Though a stadium deal is a long way from done, MLS Commissioner Don Garber has been outspoken about his desire to have a team in one of New York’s five boroughs.
2. The organizers of Comic Con held their first annual Fantasy Football Fest in Atlantic City last weekend. The two-day convention, which expected to attract 25,000 fans, allowed attendees to conduct fantasy drafts, meet and solicit advice from former players, and buy memorabilia.
3. 2K Sports will include the 1992 Dream Team and the 2012 U.S. men’s national team in its NBA 2K13 video game, scheduled for an October 2 release. Scottie Pippen is the only Dream Teamer not appearing in the game because he isn’t a member of the NBA Retired Players Association and couldn’t come to terms with 2K Sports.
4. Gatorade’s latest commercial featuring gold-medal winning sprinter Usain Bolt plays on the fact the brand wasn’t an official sponsor in London. The ad is one of several from a range of companies that feature Olympic athletes and that began airing after the IOC’s advertising blackout period ended.
5. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Lexus have extended their corporate partnership that dates back to 2008. A new component of the deal is “The Lexus Glass Seats,” which gives the car company branding and naming rights to the entire first row of seats closest to the ice.
