Apparently the Arizona Cardinals aren't too happy about their sponsor's proposed name for their new stadium. I guess it's just a matter of taste . . .
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/s...1/daily10.html
Cardinals sack 'Pink Taco Stadium' idea
The Business Journal of Phoenix - 2:52 PM MST Monday
by Adam Kress
The Business Journal
The owners of Scottsdale's
Pink Taco restaurant have serious designs on being the
Arizona Cardinals' naming rights partner for the team's new stadium.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, are about as interested in "Pink Taco Stadium" as they are Sun Devil Stadium. According to the team, the Cardinals won't ever be playing in either.
"We're in serious discussions with companies about naming rights, and Pink Taco is not one of them," Cardinals spokesman Mark Dalton said Monday afternoon. "There's no doubt in our minds that this is a publicity stunt."
But at a Monday afternoon press conference, Pink Taco president Harry Morton sounded serious about making a deal happen. "We won't take no for an answer," he said.
All determination (and cash) aside, the Cardinals can choose whomever they want as a naming rights partner, and some believe there's no real hurry to rush into a deal.
Even so, Morton met with a Cardinals corporate sales representative last week to discuss a deal. He said there's a 10-year, $30 million deal on the table.
"A $30 million
PR stunt would be pretty expensive," Morton said. "We are serious about this."
Morton said Monday that there is another meeting scheduled with Cardinals officials for this week, but Dalton said no such meeting is arranged.
While the Cardinals view the whole thing as a publicity stunt, the fact remains that Pink Taco seems to have the financial resources and genuine desire to make a splash with the Cardinals and the NFL.
Harry Morton's father, Peter, founded the
Hard Rock Cafe 35 years ago but sold it off last month for more than $700 million. Harry Morton had a $5 million check on hand at the press conference Monday that he is all-too willing to offer the Cardinals as part of the $30 million deal.
