Legionnaire11 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2007 Nashville Arena Naming Rights Don't mean to break in on your playoff party, but there's some pretty big news down this way. The Nashville Arena has a new partner for naming rights. The Sommet Group. The Nashville Arena, Gaylord Entertainment Center, House of the Predators, Barn on Broudway, etc... is now known as the Sommet Center. Now, usually naming rights isn't a huge story. But this particular partener is a big deal for the Predators for a few reasons... 1. Signing a long term naming rights deal reinforces the owner's stance that he is commited to nashville for the long run. 2. Signing a long term naming rights deal would make it more expensive (about $12-15M) for the team to buy out of it's contract to relocate, making relocation a lot less likely. The total they would have to pay right now to leave town would be somewhere around $30M. For a franchise with financial struggles to begin with, to take a hit like that, to move to another shaky hockey town (K.C.) would be moronic. 3. This is the real big one. Sommet Group is a local company that works with small-medium businesses. They provide the "office work" for companies that aren't big enough to build a big office and staff it with people to take care of their business end of things. Sommet does all of that type of boring office stuff for a small business, letting the business focus on their product/service, it's a really cool deal actually. Why that matters, is that everyone knows the Predators biggest ticket issues are with the corporate ticket sales. The Predators just haven't been very succesful getting in the door or making the sale to local businesses to buy season tickets. But with Sommet's plethora of local business connections, having them as a strong business partner is going to be huge. Sommet is going to open a lot of doors that the Predators couldn't get into before. And since we were only about 300+ short on the required minimum attendance last season, and with a push in individual ticket sales during the playoffs, things should settle down here and the whole ticket sales/attendance issue will become a thing of the past! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esteef 2,679 Report post Posted May 18, 2007 Nashville Arena Naming Rights Don't mean to break in on your playoff party, but there's some pretty big news down this way. The Nashville Arena has a new partner for naming rights. The Sommet Group. The Nashville Arena, Gaylord Entertainment Center, House of the Predators, Barn on Broudway, etc... is now known as the Sommet Center. Now, usually naming rights isn't a huge story. But this particular partener is a big deal for the Predators for a few reasons... 1. Signing a long term naming rights deal reinforces the owner's stance that he is commited to nashville for the long run. 2. Signing a long term naming rights deal would make it more expensive (about $12-15M) for the team to buy out of it's contract to relocate, making relocation a lot less likely. The total they would have to pay right now to leave town would be somewhere around $30M. For a franchise with financial struggles to begin with, to take a hit like that, to move to another shaky hockey town (K.C.) would be moronic. 3. This is the real big one. Sommet Group is a local company that works with small-medium businesses. They provide the "office work" for companies that aren't big enough to build a big office and staff it with people to take care of their business end of things. Sommet does all of that type of boring office stuff for a small business, letting the business focus on their product/service, it's a really cool deal actually. Why that matters, is that everyone knows the Predators biggest ticket issues are with the corporate ticket sales. The Predators just haven't been very succesful getting in the door or making the sale to local businesses to buy season tickets. But with Sommet's plethora of local business connections, having them as a strong business partner is going to be huge. Sommet is going to open a lot of doors that the Predators couldn't get into before. And since we were only about 300+ short on the required minimum attendance last season, and with a push in individual ticket sales during the playoffs, things should settle down here and the whole ticket sales/attendance issue will become a thing of the past! Plus, just getting "Gaylord" out of the name must be nice as well... esteef Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vladdy16 2,154 Report post Posted May 18, 2007 Good news, Legionairre. The Preds deserve to be supported at home. Hey, what are our chances of getting some of that revenue sharing back now that you're flush? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hockeymom95 0 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 Plus, just getting "Gaylord" out of the name must be nice as well... esteef That's really nice, but sorry, after Luongo's performance in the playoffs, your "in search for the Cup", Kariya, will probably be signing with the Canucks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esteef 2,679 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 That's really nice, but sorry, after Luongo's performance in the playoffs, your "in search for the Cup", Kariya, will probably be signing with the Canucks. MY Kariya? I'm not a Preds fan BTW. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingsZR2 1 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 I guess they won't be needing that For Rent sign anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hockeymom95 0 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 MY Kariya? I'm not a Preds fan BTW. I know that, but your comment putting Kariya and Gaylord together was too irrestible for a Ducks fan and the other guys post was too long to reply to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 So is this the end of the "u ply at GAYlord haha lolz" jokes? Gosh, I'll really miss them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntsVegas Baby 0 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 (edited) Yes, this is huge because I only live 90 miles from Nash-tucky and it is close enough for me to catch four Wings wins a year. Edited May 19, 2007 by HuntsVegas Baby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipetz22 0 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 Congrats, on the naming rights! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
