Tuesday, January 24, 2012

New Orleans Arena Could Be Getting a New Name, a Long One

The name of the newly minted Mercedes-Benz Superdome appears to have taken with relative ease among local football fans.


But how many basketball fans are prepared to call and watch the Hornets in say, “The Louisiana Seafood Arena Spiced by Zatarain’s”?

If the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board has its way, the New Orleans Arena could be getting a new name.

Ewell Smith, the executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said it might use a portion of the $30 million it received from BP after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to buy the naming rights of the Arena, which opened in 1999.

“We see this as a major media buy for us because we are going to be spending the money on TV or billboard or traditional media one way or the other,” Smith said. “So we are looking at different avenues, whether it’s the Hornets or other venues and what will give us the strongest impression with the consumers across the nation and then how can we use that within the trade to drive sales.

“This is a multi-faceted approach. It’s not just buying the name; it’s all the other assets that having a platform like that provides.”

While the prospects of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board purchasing the naming rights to the Arena are far from slam dunk, Smith said landing the naming deal could have great value as part of their campaign to restore confidence in the seafood industry, which took a major blow following the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

If the board and Hornets, who under their current lease with the state would receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of naming rights at the state-owned building, reach an agreement the deal can be consummated within 30 to 90 days, Smith said.

“Naming rights have been a focus for the team for the last few seasons, and although it’s not appropriate to identify who those discussions are with, we are very excited about our progress,” Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman said.

The Hornets, whose lease with the state is set to expire following the 2014 season, are in negotiations with the state to extend the lease while also seeking to find an owner to purchase the team from the NBA.

Read The Whole Story Here: http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2012/01/new_orleans_arena_could_be_get.html

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