The Orioles are looking for a long-term lease at Camden Yards, the roster of MLB jersey patch deals grows and Jersey Mike’s now has a seat at the NHL table.
Happy Groundhog Day to everyone listening. Something you may have missed on Wednesday was National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and in celebration, the broadcast of the Marquette-Villanova women's basketball game on FS2 was entirely female led. The broadcasters and the production crew, including camera operators, replay operators, audio and graphics teams, and the technical director was entirely female, as were the game officials. The all-day celebration, sponsored by Villanova and the Big East, also included a women's leadership panel moderated by game analyst Kim Adams. Well done by the Big East and Fox.
Good morning. It's Thursday, February 2nd. This is your SBJ Morning Buzzcast. I'm David Albright filling in for Abe Madkour.
The Orioles will decline an option to extend their Camden Yards lease by five more years, planning instead to secure a longer term, more comprehensive stadium agreement. The current lease expires at the end of 2023, and the team expects to reach a new agreement by then with the Maryland Stadium Authority. The bigger deal is expected to commit the team to Baltimore for many more years, as well as outline plans for upgrades to the state-owned ballpark. It also could include redevelopment projects at or near the site to boost the region's economy. Ideally, the club would like a deal of at least 10 to 15 years in place by the All-Star break on July 11th.
Sticking with baseball, a few more MLB patch deals have touched home. The logo of Kroger, which at more than 69 years is one of the Red's longest-tenured sponsors, will grace the team's uniform sleeves starting in spring training later this month. Sources told our Terry Lefton that Cincinnati-based Kroger, which was already paying the Reds more than $1 million annually, will be paying 5 million per season to be the first non-apparel brand on the uniform of the Reds. MLB teams were recently told by the league office that five patch deals are complete, with the Padres and Red Sox already in the books last year. Lefton's sources say it's more like seven, with the reigning World Series champion Astros close to announcing incumbent team sponsor Oxy Energy, also known as Occidental Petroleum, as the team's patch sponsor. Oxy moved its headquarters from LA to Houston in 2014, so it would be another local tent pole and a means of differentiation in the nation's most crowded energy market. That means both the Reds and Astros patch deals were upsells and not incremental sponsorship dollars.
Finally, our Erik Bacharach reports the Diamondbacks have signed Avnet as their jersey patch partner beginning in spring training. The Phoenix-based tech company's A and the name will be featured on the sleeve of the D-back's jerseys as part of a multi-year agreement that also includes ballpark signage and a community partnership element. Unlike the Reds and Astros and their new patch partners, Avnet was not a pre-existing sponsor of the Diamondbacks.
Jersey Mike's will make its debut as an NHL sponsor during All Star festivities in South Florida this weekend after signing a multi-year agreement with the league. The pact marks the sandwich chain's first time sponsoring a pro sports league, adding to a portfolio that includes numerous team-level deals across pro and college sports. Jersey Mike's will be designated the official sub sandwich of the NHL, filling a previously open sponsorship category for the league. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Jersey Mike's tapped Van Wagner to help broker the deal with the league. In addition to marketing rights, Jersey Mike's will receive exposure on the league's national broadcasts during the regular season and playoffs via its newly-introduced, digitally-enhanced dasher board technology, as well as at tent pole events such as the Winter Classic.
Heading into its third season in MLS, Austin FC has added five new corporate partners to its sponsorship portfolio under multi-year agreements. The newcomers include energy corporation Chevron, Austin Telco Federal Credit Union, chip maker AMD, the UPS Store, and UBEO Business Services. Financial terms of those deals were not disclosed. As part of its deal, Chevron will receive entitlement rights to the southeast corner of Q2 Stadium, which will officially be named the Chevron Community Corner. Chevron will also be the new presenting partner for the ceremonial ball delivery before home matches. Official credit union Austin Telco will receive naming rights for the 300 level concourse on the west side of the stadium, a 1500 seat section that will be known as the Austin Telco Terrace. Each of Austin FC's new partnerships also includes a community giveback component as a part of its deal.
Tech and media veteran Nick Bell has joined Fanatics as CEO of Fanatics Live, a new business division under the Fanatics umbrella that will focus on live content-based commerce, starting with the Fanatics' collectibles business. In this role, Bell's team will be tasked with transforming the digital customer shopping experience for collectors, building commerce capabilities focused around content and personalities, and further expanding Fanatics' portfolio of technology products. Fanatics Live will take an app-first approach with a coinciding website, with plans to launch in the second half of 2023. Bell previously led teams responsible for Google Search experience and prior to that served as VP and Global Head of Content and Partnerships at Snap.
We'll close on a programming note. In this week's Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, sponsored by WSC Sports, Andrew and John talk about what Diamond Sports Group's pending bankruptcy means for professional sports teams, and they dive into the media rights negotiations for both the PAC-12 and NASCAR. The podcast also unveils a new segment this week with Karp's Corner. Our Austin Karp joins the boys to put the NFL's huge championship game TV ratings in perspective. Karp also discusses the NHL ratings performance heading into the All Star break, with ESPN and TNT showing a 22% drop in viewers compared to last season. You can download the Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And that's your SBJ Morning Buzzcast for Thursday. I hope everyone has a great day, and we'll see you back here tomorrow morning.