Bundesliga Passes Barclays Premiership For Total Shirt Sponsorship Income

The Bundesliga may no longer regularly produce Champions League finalists, and their national team bowed to Fabio Capello's resurgent side in Berlin six days ago, but Germany has edged ahead of England in one increasingly significant league table - the value of its shirt sponsorship.

Figures released today show that the Bundesliga has overtaken the Barclays Premier League as the league with the largest total income from shirt sponsorship, and that Bayern Munich are ahead of Manchester United in having the single most valuable shirt sponsorship deal.

However, this shift in power is only partly a consequence of German top-flight clubs becoming more attractive billboards for sponsors. SPORT+MARKT's tenth annual European Jersey report explains that the economic climate and the drop in the exchange rate of the pound against the euro have been largely responsible for reducing the value of English sponsorship deals relative to those of the top European clubs - even though the contracts have not been renegotiated.

It also helps to explain why the overall level of shirt sponsorship across the six main European leagues has dropped for the first time, from €405.3million (about £344.2million) in 2007-08 to €393.2million this season.

“Due to the weak British pound, Bayern Munich beat Manchester United to the title of the most valuable jersey deal,” Hartmut Zastrow, the executive director of SPORT+MARKT, said. “The main reasons why the Bundesliga now generates higher income from jersey sponsorships than the Premier League lies in [clubs] lacking jersey partners and the current weakness of the British currency. The sponsor of West Ham United, XL airlines, went bankrupt, West Bromwich Albion have yet to find a partner and Aston Villa now bears the logo of a charity organisation on its jersey.

“The Bundesliga is the winning league in this jersey report after slipping behind the English FA Premier League last season. For the first time revenue from jersey sponsorship in the Bundesliga exceeds the €100million mark. No other league has reached such a consistency of sponsorship deals for all teams.”

At the other end of the scale, a dip in revenues in Spain has meant that it has almost been caught by the Dutch Eredivisie. “It is astounding that a small league like the Eredivisie reaches the same level as the Primera División in terms of jersey sponsorship,” Zastrow said.

In the early days of sponsorship, shirts tended to bear the names of beers and electronics manufacturers. Nowadays, financial institutions such as AIG, Manchester United's sponsor, lead the way in Europe, followed by travel and tourism companies and betting outlets such as bwin, whose name adorns the jerseys of Real Madrid and AC Milan. Telecommunications do not make the top three sectors despite the presence of T-Home and Samsung on the shirts of Bayern and Chelsea respectively.

However, that is expected to change. “As contracts are fixed over a long period of time, the Jersey report proves that sport sponsorship is not affected by the financial crisis - yet,” Zastrow said. “Instead of a decrease in sponsorship value, we expect a shift of sectors amongst sport sponsors.”

SPORT+MARKT also expects England to regain its pre-eminence. “If the currency or the teams that are lacking a paying sponsor recover, the Premier League will top the ranking again next season,” Gareth Moore, the international sales director, said.

Source: The Times UK

Seats Going Fast At New Dallas Cowboys Stadium

The faltering economy has humbled many American icons this year, but not the Dallas Cowboys.

The team announced Monday that it has sold nearly 85 percent of the season tickets for next year's inaugural season in Arlington and that the remaining tickets are now available to the general public. The sales figures seem to back up owner Jerry Jones' financial decision to charge record-high seat options, which cost as much as $150,000.

About 9,500 of the 61,000 seats are still available after nearly a year of sales, said Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels. He said the economy is probably having an effect, but it's hard to quantify.

"Certainly we're aware of the economic uncertainty in the marketplace, but at the same time, the fans view this as a long-term commitment," Mr. Daniels said. "This isn't a one-year decision. This is a 20- or 30-year commitment that they are making, and so I think that has an impact on their thought process."

Monday's announcement coincided with the opening of season ticket sales to the general public. Previously, season tickets for the new $1.1 billion stadium were only available to current season ticket holders or fans who paid for a spot on a waiting list.

The stadium's 80,000-seat capacity comes from the 61,000 reserved, club and loge seats as well as suites and standing-room-only tickets in the end zones. Temporary seats and additional standing-room-only tickets in the end zones could boost that to at least 100,000.

Sean Pate, a spokesman for ticket reseller StubHub.com, said the 85 percent mark for season ticket sales is impressive, but it shouldn't be a surprise. He said that this year the team has been the hottest NFL ticket on his company's Web site and is regularly at the top in ticket demand.

Combine that with the lure of a new stadium, Mr. Pate said, and the team has a strong sales pitch.

"The stadium itself for a number of years is the attraction," he said. "It's the place to be. It's the cool factor."

Mr. Pate said the Arizona Cardinals were able to sell out their new stadium despite a poor record and long playoff drought.

The Cowboys also revealed Monday that 240 of the stadium's 300 suites have been sold. The Cowboys originally planned to build 200 suites but increased that number this year in response to strong sales.

Those suites originally cost $100,000 to $500,000 annually and require 20-year contracts. Mr. Daniels said most of the remaining suites are priced between $150,000 and $350,000.

For season tickets, the one-time seat options for remaining tickets cost between $4,000 and $150,000. Ticket prices range from $89 to $340 per game.

Many of the cheapest seats have sold out for the 2009 season. All of the upper-deck corner seats, which cost $59 per game and don't require a seat license, are gone. Some of the other upper-deck seats, as well as many in the end zone, have also sold out. Club and loge seats are still available in every price range.

"They are pretty evenly dispersed across the reserved seats and the club," Mr. Daniels said about the available tickets.

He said the team hasn't calculated what percentage of Texas Stadium season ticket holders bought seats in the new stadium.

He said the team's plans to expand season ticket sales to the general public by the last half of this season is on schedule. That gives the Cowboys until late next summer to reach its goal of selling out the stadium with season tickets.

It's not clear whether any single-game tickets will be available through the Cowboys.

"We still have nine months to go before our opener, and we're down to this few tickets," Mr. Daniels said.

Source: Dallas Morning News

Woods, GM End Sponsorship Agreement

General Motors Corp. agreed to discontinue a marketing accord with Tiger Woods, the world’s top-ranked golfer, at year’s end as plummeting sales spur cost cuts at the automaker.

Woods, 32, endorsed GM products including Buick for the past 9 years. He had been under contract through 2009, Pete Ternes, a spokesman for the Detroit-based automaker, said today.

The need for “budget efficiencies during a difficult economy” contributed to the decision, according to a statement from GM, which is seeking to cut U.S. marketing expenses by 20 percent. Sales of Buick vehicles dropped 24 percent through the first 10 months of this year, outpacing the 20 percent decline for all of GM’s cars and light trucks.

Sales of Buick vehicles in the U.S. plunged 58 percent to 185,791 units from 1999 to 2007, more than any other GM brand in the period. Sales of the 105-year-old Buick brand peaked in 1984 at 941,611, according to trade publication Automotive News.

Woods made $122.7 million in on-course earnings and endorsements last year, according to Golf Digest magazine. GM posted almost $73 billion in losses since 2004.

GM will continue sponsoring the Buick Invitational in California and Buick Open in Michigan indefinitely, said Ternes. The company is the largest and original PGA Tour sponsor, according to Buick’s Web site.

GM gained 53 cents, or 17 percent, to $3.59 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. That was GM’s biggest percentage increase since Oct. 13.

Source: Bloomberg

Mets and Citigroup Still Confirmed For Naming Rights

Mets fans can rest easy. Citigroup and the New York Mets have confirmed that their record 20-year, $400 million naming rights deal for the team’s new ball park, set to open for the 2009 baseball season, is still on. Not that Citi could wiggle out of the deal anyway.

On Sunday, the struggling bank won a $326 billion bailout from the federal government. But the Mets deal was signed in 2006, when times were flush for Citi, or at least when the extent of its troubles was harder to see.

To be sure, handing over $20 million a year to the National League baseball team is a drop in the bucket compared to the magnitude of the bailout, but even the bank seems to be having second thoughts about the deal’s value.

Millions of fans and television spectators will be regularly reminded of how much Citi spent to name the baseball field, before ultimately turning to the government to be rescued. Probably not be the branding Citi intended for when it signed the deal.

Here is what CFO Gary Crittendon had to say about it Monday on CNBC:

“That was a decision made in a different time. We have binding legal agreements… I don’t think it’s an issue.”

So let’s follow the money here: The government gives funds to Citigroup, who is now better able to make an annual payment to the Mets. Sounds a bit like a new taxpayer subsidy for the Mets, who are already receiving government subsidies for building their stadium.

Source: Reuters

Half Now, Half When The Dow Hits 10,000

Tough economic times call for creative promotions.

Enter the Reno Bighorns who came up with a season ticket promotion that ties the payment plan to the performance of the stock market. The NBA development league team is rolling out what they are calling their "Wall Street" financing plan.

Under this plan, buyers will be allowed to pay half their balance now and the remaining half on the day the Dow Jones reaches 10,000 or by Nov. 15, 2009, whichever comes earlier. The dow closed Thursday at 7,552.

The plan is available for new season ticket buyers purchasing courtside seats, club seats and center seats. Team officials believe they are the first team in professional sports history to tie a ticket plan to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Source: Reno Bighorns, CNBC