By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
All the business marketing signs are pointing to Summerlin-based Allegiant Air as the naming rights sponsor for the new domed Raiders stadium in Las Vegas when you consider an impressive percentage of NFL fans attending Raiders games will be out-of-town football fans looking to buy a plane ride from smaller airports and markets served by the publicly-traded discount airline around the country.
One of the best business examples of this Raiders-Allegiant Air naming rights partnership in action would be visiting fans of the Raiders’ division rival, the Denver Broncos — a team that monopolizes the country’s Rocky Mountain region stretching from Montana to the northern counties of New Mexico.
Allegiant’s business model is based on serving leisure travelers who could be Broncos fans flying from Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport; Great Falls, Montana; Grand Junction, Colorado; or Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Another division foe of the Raiders — the Kansas City Chiefs — have fans in Kansas, Missouri and southern Iowa.
Imagine Chiefs fans flying non-stop to Las Vegas from Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, which is served by Allegiant Air.
Sports venue naming rights deals typically allow a sponsoring company to use the stadium or arena for marketing and activation purposes. But in an Allegiant-Raiders partnership, the airline can generate income from transporting fans to the stadium before the game even begins. Expect to see game packages involving Allegiant travel deals and Raiders game tickets under this naming rights agreement.
The Raiders stadium, being built on land on the west side of Interstate 15 across from Mandalay Bay hotel-casino, is expected to draw anywhere from 35 to 50 percent of its football fans from outside Las Vegas for games. The Raiders have big fan bases in California in both the Bay area and Southern California.
And yes, Allegiant Air has direct flights between Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport to Fresno and Oakland International Airport.
Allegiant Air’s charter flights would be in play, too. The airline, which strategically uses smaller airports with less expensive landing fees, could work deals with groups of NFL fans who want to watch a Raiders game and spend a weekend in Las Vegas via charter flights to McCarran.
The exterior of the Raiders stadium roof can also show Allegiant Air signage so that air passengers in planes taking off and landing in Las Vegas can see the Allegiant logo.
The Raiders are looking at the stadium’s naming rights deal as a major revenue maker when you consider the NFL team has an annual operating income of $25 million, according to Forbes magazine. Forbes recently published its top 50 most valuable sports teams around the world for 2019. Here’s how the Raiders ranked:
Forbes said the Raiders is one of 26 NFL teams that made Forbes’ 50 most valuable teams. But of the operating incomes of the 26 NFL teams on the Forbes list, the Raiders’ $25 million was the lowest by far. In comparison, the Dallas Cowboys, the world’s top valued sports team at $5 billion, has an operating income of $365 million, according to Forbes. The NFL team on the Forbes list with operating income closest to the Raiders is the Miami Dolphins, which has $56 million in operating income.
The Raiders could expect a big payment for stadium naming rights, like 20 years at $25 million a year — or $500 million. The NFL team is already receiving $750 million in public dollars from Southern Nevada and its personal seat license revenue has already hit $320.5 million and is expected to go beyond the budgeted $330 million mark. Here’s a look at the stadium funding so far.
While many people refer to the Raiders stadium as costing $1.8 billion or $1.9 billion, the stadium’s construction is actually $1.37 billion. The overall stadium project, which includes the construction and soft costs like professional design work, land acquisitions and another $40 million in premium seating additions, adds up to a $1.88 billion overall stadium project cost. Take a look here:
Allegiant Air already spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on local sports sponsorships here in Las Vegas.
A very pricey Allegiant corporate deal is having its logo on the ice at Vegas Golden Knights games at T-Mobile Arena. Allegiant has one of four corporate sponsorship spots on the ice near the center line.
Allegiant is the official airline of Minor League Baseball as you can see from this sign at the Las Vegas Aviators ballpark in Summerlin, and the deal includes promotions with various teams such as the Aviators.
It’s no secret that Allegiant Air has filed a trademark for “Allegiant Stadium” and Raiders President Marc Badain has said in the past the NFL team and the airline are talking about a potential naming rights deal. It would be no surprise if Badain and Allegiant executives pay close attention to the Raiders’ schedule to plot out potential marketing opportunities down the road at “The Al.”
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