Red Hawk
JUST WIN!
Battle over luxury suite marketing settled
Ty Young
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 17, 2006 05:19 PM
Officials from the Arizona Cardinals and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl have brokered an eleventh-hour deal that puts to rest a battle over luxury suite marketing rights for future Fiesta Bowls.
The agreement helps both organizations avoid what could have been a drawn-out fight that would have potentially cost both sides sponsors and hurt each group's bottom line.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority Board met Friday to approve the deal, which was finished late Thursday evening. advertisement
After months of negotiations, both sides agreed there are 87 suites available for the game, which will be played at the Arizona Cardinals Stadium in Glendale. The Cardinals have the rights to 53 suites, the Fiesta Bowl has 34.
At the heart of the argument was the size of the ownership suite, which is four-times larger than the others. The Fiesta Bowl contended the suite should count for four suites for the Cardinals. Eventually, the Cardinals relented.
In return, Fiesta Bowl officials compromised on the Insight Product Center, an area used to showcase the sponsor's merchandise. The Fiesta Bowl wanted it to be included with the Cardinals share of suites.
By striking the deal, both sides avoided a lengthy arbitration process that would have pushed the marketing of suites back by months. Now those sales can begin. The Cardinals want to include the Fiesta Bowl suites as part of their marketing plan for the 2006 NFL season.
Because the agreement between the two sides last for 30 years, the issue was more than just a few suites, said Mike Allen, outgoing Fiesta Bowl chairman who negotiated the deal.
"I think we're ready to move forward," he said. "We have 32 suites to market, which we didn't have up until yesterday."
Despite losing three allocable suites with the deal, the team's marketing staff is happy to get started.
"At the end of the day, it wasn't our first choice," said Ron Minegar, Cardinals vice president of marketing and sales. "But we're glad it is in the rear view mirror."
Both sides also agreed on the location of the suites. Fiesta Bowl officials contended their suites were not fairly distributed throughout the stadium, with the majority favoring one side. The two sides negotiated the locations of all suites, save for two that will change slightly.
"On a scale of 100, we're 99 percent there," said board member Larry Landry. "This is incredible progress considering the complexity of the issue."
Another issue resolved with the agreement is the allocation of club seating, those seats closest to the field.
Fiesta Bowl officials were concerned about where longtime Fiesta Bowl season ticket holders - those who sat in the loge areas at Sun Devil Stadium - would be sitting in the new stadium. They will now be sat in the first eleven rows, with the Cardinals retaining 1,167 seats in rows six and seven. There are approximately 7,500 total club seats in the stadium.
Despite the successful agreement, negotiations are just picking up, Allen said. Next up is marketing rights to the Bowl Championship Series National Championship, which will be played one week after the Fiesta Bowl. The agreement made Thursday does not affect that game, and none of those suite allocation issues have been resolved.
Allen said he thinks the agreement will help speed up the process for future negotiations, although he admits the two sides have historically been in conflict.
"We've laid the groundwork for future discussions," he said.
The Board wants negotiations to be complete before its March meeting.
Ty Young
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 17, 2006 05:19 PM
Officials from the Arizona Cardinals and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl have brokered an eleventh-hour deal that puts to rest a battle over luxury suite marketing rights for future Fiesta Bowls.
The agreement helps both organizations avoid what could have been a drawn-out fight that would have potentially cost both sides sponsors and hurt each group's bottom line.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority Board met Friday to approve the deal, which was finished late Thursday evening. advertisement
After months of negotiations, both sides agreed there are 87 suites available for the game, which will be played at the Arizona Cardinals Stadium in Glendale. The Cardinals have the rights to 53 suites, the Fiesta Bowl has 34.
At the heart of the argument was the size of the ownership suite, which is four-times larger than the others. The Fiesta Bowl contended the suite should count for four suites for the Cardinals. Eventually, the Cardinals relented.
In return, Fiesta Bowl officials compromised on the Insight Product Center, an area used to showcase the sponsor's merchandise. The Fiesta Bowl wanted it to be included with the Cardinals share of suites.
By striking the deal, both sides avoided a lengthy arbitration process that would have pushed the marketing of suites back by months. Now those sales can begin. The Cardinals want to include the Fiesta Bowl suites as part of their marketing plan for the 2006 NFL season.
Because the agreement between the two sides last for 30 years, the issue was more than just a few suites, said Mike Allen, outgoing Fiesta Bowl chairman who negotiated the deal.
"I think we're ready to move forward," he said. "We have 32 suites to market, which we didn't have up until yesterday."
Despite losing three allocable suites with the deal, the team's marketing staff is happy to get started.
"At the end of the day, it wasn't our first choice," said Ron Minegar, Cardinals vice president of marketing and sales. "But we're glad it is in the rear view mirror."
Both sides also agreed on the location of the suites. Fiesta Bowl officials contended their suites were not fairly distributed throughout the stadium, with the majority favoring one side. The two sides negotiated the locations of all suites, save for two that will change slightly.
"On a scale of 100, we're 99 percent there," said board member Larry Landry. "This is incredible progress considering the complexity of the issue."
Another issue resolved with the agreement is the allocation of club seating, those seats closest to the field.
Fiesta Bowl officials were concerned about where longtime Fiesta Bowl season ticket holders - those who sat in the loge areas at Sun Devil Stadium - would be sitting in the new stadium. They will now be sat in the first eleven rows, with the Cardinals retaining 1,167 seats in rows six and seven. There are approximately 7,500 total club seats in the stadium.
Despite the successful agreement, negotiations are just picking up, Allen said. Next up is marketing rights to the Bowl Championship Series National Championship, which will be played one week after the Fiesta Bowl. The agreement made Thursday does not affect that game, and none of those suite allocation issues have been resolved.
Allen said he thinks the agreement will help speed up the process for future negotiations, although he admits the two sides have historically been in conflict.
"We've laid the groundwork for future discussions," he said.
The Board wants negotiations to be complete before its March meeting.
