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Letter to the editor

New owner gives Storm strong backing

A new owner plans more marketing and promotion - and fewer ticket giveaways.

By ALAN SNEL, Times Correspondent
Published January 31, 2008

George Cochran, top left, and his brother, Ronnie Cochran, wait for CBS Outdoor co-worker Stephen Coogle, lower right, to tighten the bottom of the Tampa Bay Storm billboard they were installing Monday on I-275 west of West Shore Boulevard.
	[Ken Helle | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Daniel Wallace | Times] The Tampa Bay Storm's Jeroid Johnson escapes the grasp of Austin's Rob Schroeder to run into the end zone on June 23 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

TAMPA - Bob Nucci said he has been around the Tampa Bay area for a dozen years and never noticed many promotions for the Tampa Bay Storm, the Arena Football League team that plays at the St. Pete Times Forum during the spring.

That should change dramatically over the next few weeks.

That's because Nucci, an orthopedic spine surgeon, has purchased majority control of the Storm and is spending $250,000 on a billboard campaign to hype the team in hopes of generating more revenue from his new investment.

And look for plenty of tie-ins to promote his Nucci Spinal Institute in Citrus Park at the same time.

The billboard spree is the centerpiece of a new $750,000 marketing and business initiative aimed at luring more fans to games without having to give away free tickets, as was the practice in past seasons.

"The point of the matter is awareness. I was here for 12 years and I didn't know about the Storm," Nucci said. "People didn't know they existed. It's a championship team.We need to tell people they're here."

The new owner's marketing efforts include hiring his cousin from New Jersey, Jim Borghesi, in a new position of chief operating officer and president to handle the Storm's business operations, such as trying to beef up merchandise sales and sell more tickets.

In past years, Nucci said, the Storm's coach, Tim Marcum, tried to handle business work in addition to his coaching duties.

Borghesi is working with local Champs Sports stores to increase wall and shelf space for Storm merchandise. Borghesi said more space at the St. Pete Times Forum will also be reserved to sell everything from Storm jerseys to baby bibs with the Storm logo.

"We want walking billboards out there," said Borghesi, a former used-car dealer who grew up with Nucci in Newark, N.J.

Borghesi said he wants to diminish the past practice of giving away a massive number of Storm tickets.

"We're not going to give away as many free tickets as they did in the past. We don't want to dilute the product," Borghesi said.

Nucci said he has also hired five full-time employees to work on Storm business and marketing efforts.

In the past, previous Storm owner Woody Kern relied on employees of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the St. Pete Times Forum to try to sell the Storm to local fans. Lightning/Forum employees will continue to assist Nucci's new hires in the marketing efforts, Lightning spokesman Bill Wickett said.

Nucci closed the deal to buy the team from Kern on Dec. 7. He purchased a 51 percent majority share of a team valued at $19-million.

Nucci has to deal with a lawsuit filed by some former partners who were interested in buying the Storm with him, but he insists the legal action will have no bearing on his ability to market the team.

One of his new initiatives is to comarket his medical practice along with the team.

For example, Storm players will promote the team at a blood donation event Feb. 16 at the spinal institute, said Jason Kimball, Nucci Spinal Institute marketing director.

And blood donors will get a chance to receive three pairs of Storm season tickets. Expect to see Storm players making more public appearances to promote the club.

Kimball said he expects to spend 20 to 30 percent of his marketing time on Storm work. And another Nucci Spinal Institute marketing employee, Joy McNamee, will also split her time between jobs for the 30-employee institute and the Storm, Nucci said.

One other visible link: The Nucci Spinal Institute logo will appear on the Storm billboards in hopes that selling the Storm to local fans might spur more patients to visit Nucci's practice on Gunn Highway.

"The more people know that the Storm exists, the more people will know that Nucci Spinal Institute exists," Nucci said. "A symbiotic relationship is what we're looking for."

Lightning owner Bill Davidson rarely travels from Detroit to watch his team play at the Forum.

But Nucci lives literally across the street from the arena, residing in a loft in the Channel District. He expects to attend the Storm's first home game on March 7.

The Storm season begins March 1 with a game at Kansas City.

Bob Nucci

Age: 46

Business: Owns Nucci Spinal Institute in Citrus Park.

Net worth: Between$10-million and $32-million, based on recent divorce court filings.

History: Born in New Jersey to parents who were doctors; graduated from Georgetown; attended film school at New York University before settling on a career in medicine.

Latest venture: Paid about $9.6-million for a 51 percent stake in the Tampa Bay Storm.

Tampa Bay Storm

- Member of the Arena Football League

- Five-time Arena Bowl Champions (1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003)

- 2008 season opens March 1 at Kansas City Brigade. First home game at 7:30 p.m. March 7 vs. Georgia Force at the St. Pete Times Forum

- To purchase tickets and more information, visit www.tampabaystorm.com

[Last modified January 30, 2008, 23:05:50]