ESPN-Owned Las Vegas Bowl Reaches Two-Year Title Sponsorship Deal With Mitsubishi Motors

By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com

 

Cars and sports go way back in the annals of sponsorships and quite a few sports leagues, teams and players have done pitch jobs to peddle autos.

 

Here in Las Vegas, the Findlay automobile dealership uses the sidewalk in front of the Vegas Golden Knights training center in Summerlin to show cars, while Findlay has used the pre-game plaza in front of Cashman Field to display cars.

 

So with that in mind, let me introduce to you the newest name for the Las Vegas Bowl under a two-year deal: the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl.

 

The bowl game has had a proud history of car-related title sponsors. The bowl contest was called the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas from 2009-2012, while the last title sponsor was Royal Purple, an oil and vehicle lubricant company, which had the title sponsorship from 2013-15. In 2016, there was a presenting sponsor instead of a title sponsor and the game was called the Las Vegas Bowl presented by GEICO.

 

The Las Vegas Bowl has had a host of title sponsors through the years. It was called the SEGA Sports Las Vegas Bowl in 2001 and 2002 before the Pioneer Corp. bought the title sponsorship from 2003-08.

 

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Typically, title sponsors of college bowl games use the games to promote their products and give tickets to valuable clients and customers.

 

Mitsubishi was in a promoting mood with its Business Wire statement, which included the following vehicle model names. “We are extremely enthused about this partnership and how it can help build brand awareness for Mitsubishi Motors and our exciting vehicle lineup, including our all-new Eclipse Cross and Outlander PHEV,” said Francine Harsini, Mitsubishi Moors chief marketing officer.

 

It’s the first college bowl game title sponsorship for Mitsubishi.

 

The bowl game moves to the Raiders stadium in 2020 when the $1.8 billion, 65,000-seat domed venue is expected to be open. There’s a chance there could be a second bowl game in Raiders stadium, while even an early-season college football game could happen, too, that would match up high-profile teams from different parts of the country. UNLV will be using the Raiders stadium as its home venue.

 

ESPN Events, an ESPN division, owns the bowl game in Las Vegas and 13 other bowl games, using the games as content for ABC and ESPN’s networks.

 

This year’s game is set for Dec. 15, at 12:30 p.m. local Las Vegas time at Sam Boyd Stadium and will be televised by ABC.

 

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