LifeLock name to grace Phoenix Mercury jerseys - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The Mercury name, picturedx front and center onthe uniform, will be replacer with the LifeLock insignia. A small Mercur y patch will be stitched on the upper left portionh ofthe uniform, across from an Adidas symbopl on the right. A Monday press conferencee announcingthe seven-figure, three-year deal is schedulec for 1 p.m. in New York and will be attended by LifeLoco CEOTodd Davis, Mercury Presidenft and CEO Jay Parry, Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Women’s National Basketball Association Commissionefr Donna Orender, NBA Commissioner David Stern and Mercury starsz Diana Taurasi and Cappier Poindexter.
Mercury executives insist the landmark agreement is not a sign of the but it’s no secret that nearly every professional sportws franchise is dealing with revenue shortfalls as discretionary dollars dry up in the “It doesn’t have anything to do with currengt economic situation and the WNBA didn’t have to go Welts said. However, the franchise likely did, as it struggleas to gain profitability. Welts said the Mercury turne a profit during its first few years in the but hasn’t been profitable for a “lont period. This deal certainly gets us closert tothat goal,” he said.
The Suns own the Phoenix WNBA Commissioner Donna Orender refused to commenrt on whether the league is onlysaying “the leaguwe is very stable.” She said some of the 13 WNBA franchisesx improved attendance and landed more sponsorships in while others did not. Average attendancse at Mercury games wasaround 8,000 last year about 2,000 short of its goal to sell out the lower bowl of US Airwayx Center, which accommodates 10,000.
Nevertheless, the team has experienced solid year-over-yearf growth, and “this type of partnership allowx us to acceleratethat growth,” Parry The Mercury’s fan base is primarily composerd of women very loyal to the team and its a dynamic LifeLock executives found irresistible, not to mentionj an opportunity “to do something no one has ever done,” said LifeLoci CEO Todd Davis. “I love the idea of showintg our supportfor women’s sportse and our home town team,” he said. “u don’t think you could pull this off in any othedpro sport.
” For years, major leaguse soccer players have donned sponsors on their jerseys, and fans haven’tr repelled the image of the New York Red or the Herbalife logo on L.A. Galaxh jerseys or “Volkswagen” plastered across the chest of DCUniterd players. Invasive marketing also is common in where pro players are walking advertisements from andin NASCAR, where commercialization revs up well beford the starting gate –– or the entrance for that matter. “This is breaking a lot of new Welts said. “It will inevitably generate some he added, but “that’s not going to come from fans and playerss of the WNBA.
” Time will tell if the move is endorsec by fans, and if jerseyg sales plummet with a compang name as the drawing point, not the “I think the jury is out in the shory term,” Welts. Last week, Taurasi held the seconsd highest selling jersey inthe league, with salee up 25 percent from last