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Letter to the editor

Bolts assure backers on sale

Sponsors should notice little change, Lightning says.

By James Thorner, Times Staff Writer
Published August 9, 2007

As he stepped out of the shower shortly after sunrise Tuesday morning, Tampa Bay Lightning president Ron Campbell started dialing for dollars.

He'd learned to his surprise a day earlier that his hockey team was weeks away from getting new owners. He hadn't even known the Lightning was for sale.

It was reassurance time for the sponsors, the companies whose names adorn the marquees, banners and programs of the franchise, and supply about a quarter of the Lightning's revenue.

"I talked to or left messages for every single one of those top 10 sponsors at 7 a.m.," Campbell said.

When it comes to pleasing sponsors, the principals of the new ownership group - ex-hockey coach and executive Doug MacLean, Florida developer Jeff Sherrin and Hollywood producer Oren Koules - are snagging the team at an opportune moment.

Three years off its championship season, the Lightning, with a raft of star players, are among the top attendance draws in the National Hockey League.

But as Detroit billionaire William Davidson prepares to transfers ownership this fall, some of the team's top sponsors wondered aloud about potential changes in the Lightning's administrative offices and expressed comfort with sports executives they've rubbed shoulders with in negotiations.

As part of a naming rights deal for the St. Pete Times Forum, the 21,000-seat Tampa arena where the team plays, the St. Petersburg Times will spend $2.43-million this year.

"Our sponsoring agreement was based in part on our regard for the Davidson organization," said Paul Tash, chairman and chief executive of Times Publishing Co., the paper's parent company. "We have been in general very happy to have them as partners. The new group is still largely unknown to us."

A cause for pause?

Another top sponsor, Sweetbay Supermarket, largely concurred. The company's deal gets them, among other things, naming rights to an indoor blimp that hovers over the ice.

"From our prospective the sale does not or should not change anything," said Steve Smith, a Sweetbay vice president who has twice re-upped with the Lightning.

Then Smith added: "The only thing that would temper that is if they make major changes in the administrative office."

McDonald's, which lends its name to an on-site Lightning ticket office, cited a willingness to feel out the buyers.

"We've had a great relationship with the Lightning for six years and everything is mutually beneficial. We look forward to meeting the new owners," said Tampa area McDonald's spokeswoman Stacy Howell.

Representatives of TECO and Bright House Networks were similarly positive about their sponsorships.

MacLean and his fellow buyers appear keen to avoid any slipups as they close the $200-million deal. Aside from announcing imminent moves to Tampa, the three principals took the precaution of announcing that most or all of the team's administrative core would stay in place.

"Where the sponsors are concerned, they should have peace of mind," Lightning spokesman Bill Wickett said.

Major money factor

Sponsorships earned the team about $20-million last season, a figure dwarfed only by ticket sales that took in close to $35-million. Other moneymakers include broadcasting rights ($17-million) and concessions ($6.5-million). None of it was enough to turn a profit, however.

For eight years, the Lightning has been part of Davidson's Palace Sports & Entertainment, whose flagship brand is the Detroit Pistons basketball team. The Davidson organization has boosted the quantity and quality of sponsors. When it bought the team in 1999, such deals brought in just $5-million.

But for all the early buzz about the Lightning sharing sponsors with the Pistons, Tampa Bay area hockey has mostly stood alone. Pepsi sponsors the Lightning, but the Pistons go with Coca-Cola. The History Channel cut a deal in Detroit, but avoided Tampa. While both sports venues serve Anheuser-Busch beer, the Lightning cuts a separate contract with the St. Louis brewer.

An easy transition

That independence could reduce the stress of decoupling the Lightning from Davidson's empire. Campbell is banking on the new owners' passion for hockey and their local residency to help drive sponsorships.

"Bill Davidson is the best owner in sports. However, he did not have a presence in Tampa and did not necessarily have a passion for hockey," Campbell said. "These guys do. They know the game. Everyone of these guys knows the game better than me."

The Lightning's front office expects many sponsors to, in Campbell's words, give their contracts a "look-see" in light of the sale. But most, if not all, of the marketing agreements provide no opt-outs for transfer of team ownership.

Richard Reeves, the Times vice president of advertising and marketing, said he expects no disruptions to the naming rights deal.

Tuesday's press conference introducing the new owners reassured him on that count.

Said Reeves: "I thought they were sharp. They seemed impassioned about it and said all the right things."

Fast Facts

Top sponsors of the Lightning
Sponsorships contribute $20-million a year to the Lightning's revenue. Here are the sponsors that contribute the most:
- St. Petersburg Times
- Chrysler-Jeep
- Anheuser-Busch
- Academic Financial Services
- Bright House Networks
- Tampa General Hospital
- McDonald's
- Sweetbay Supermarket
- Metro PCS

[Last modified August 8, 2007, 22:33:29]