Knowing it was going to be a challenging year on the business side, the Miami Heat has made upgrades at AmericanAirlines Arena to increase sponsor and advertising opportunities. The team’s new MediaMesh – the giant LED marquee on the front of the arena – was unveiled in May. New high definition television screens and menu boards have been installed for this season.

In a meeting with reporters Tuesday, Heat owner Micky Arison said the innovations appear to have made a difference, although he can’t say for sure what’s helped drive sponsorship sales during the recession.

“On the cruise side, one of our brands recently did a consumer survey, trying to find out if people will buy vacations this year. The questions dealt with what will consumers cut back on next year, and sports was number one in the answer of cutting back. This is a national issue, probably a global issue,” said Arison, who is also chairman of Carnival Corp.

In the NBA, Arison said, “The league is dealing with significantly less ticket sales, but … sponsorship has held up better than I would have expected. We’re in a very tough market, because it’s very real estate and banking oriented. We’ve also had some sponsors like Stanford Financial, and others that have failed on us, so there’s no question this is going to be a tough year and a tough period, financially for the franchise. But I don’t think that’s unique to us. It’s a national and global problem.”

Stanford Financial had signage across the Heat’s VIP lobby entrance until earlier this year when R. Allen Stanford was charged with fraud. The signs were pulled from the lobby after the company missed a payment. Meanwhile, with law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler now in turmoil since Scott Rothstein’s alleged involvement in what federal authorities are calling a massive fraud scheme, RRA advertisements are no longer appearing in the Heat’s game program.

But the team’s sponsors sales, including signing Assist-Card to the team’s first-ever presenting sponsorship this season, have been healthier than he anticipated.

“We’re in good shape with sponsorships, surprisingly good shape, but really struggling with ticket sales,” Arison said.

As for why sponsor sales have increased, Arison pointed to the new inventory such as the MediaMesh and speculated that some companies may be excited about the Heat’s young team.

“Because it’s such a banking, real estate oriented community, I thought it would be really murder. And last spring it looked that way,” Arison said. “As the summer progressed, it came around. Where we’re struggling is premium seating and ticket sales, which is really hard right now. People can watch it at home and consumers are very, very price conscious. It’s a unique product, you can sit at home and get it for free. You can’t do that with a cruise.”

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If you’re a sports fan in South Florida, chances are you’ve seen RRA’s logo. Or heard of one of the companies Scott Rothstein’s invested in. That’s because Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler has been rapidly racking up sports sponsorships and teaming with local athletes and their charitable organizations.
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Remember those billboards featuring Rothstein with Dan Marino, promoting RRA’s partnership with the Dan Marino Foundation? RRA served as a presenting sponsor of The Summer Groove, hosted by Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade, held in July at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.

Ten days ago – not long before it became public Rothstein was under investigation -- RRA was the sponsor of the Miami Dolphins 2009 Alumni Weekend. RRA sponsors the Heat and messages promoting the firm's connections with Marino’s and Mourning’s charities have flashed from the giant MediaMesh LED marquee on the front of AmericanAirlines Arena that overlooks Biscayne Boulevard. There’s even an RRA ad in the Miami Heat’s opening night program.

RRA has a sponsorship deal at BankAtlantic Center with the Florida Panthers. Three other companies in which Rothstein has an investment -- Bova, Renato and V Georgio Vodka -- also have sponsorship agreements with the team and arena. Bova sponsors the Panthers' Ice Dancers.

The Heat, Panthers and Dan Marino Foundation all declined to comment Tuesday. But don't be surprised if RRA's logo is no longer included as part of the Panthers' game presentation.

The Florida Marlins are the only one of the four major pro sports team in South Florida that doesn’t have any sort of partnership with RRA or Rothstein-connected company.

In January, attendees at a VIP party before the BCS National Championship Game received a football-shaped luggage tag featuring the BCS and RRA logos.

On Monday, Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown broadcast his weekly radio show, “The Ronnie Brown Show,’” on WQAM-560 AM from Bova Prime in Fort Lauderdale, just as he's done all season.

Last month, Rothstein announced the formation of RRA Sports & Entertainment, a division to handle marketing and endorsement deals for athletes. Its first clients are Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder and junior tennis player Sachia Vickery.

Rothstein is also a member of the corporate marketing committee of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee, but so far has been missing in action, host committee chairman Rodney Barreto said Tuesday.

“I did have lunch with him to discuss the Super Bowl and if he wanted to get involved with us. He’s involved with a lot of great charities. He agreed,” said Barreto, who met with Rothstein a few months ago.

“He’s attended no meetings, participated with no referrals or anything to date. As far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t done anything with our committee yet. I wish he would have,” Barreto said adding he thought someone of Rothstein’s stature and connections could help the host committee.

“He was a force, don’t kid yourself,” Barreto said. “It was brought to my attention, why don’t we consider having him help open doors for us, to help find potential sponsors. It didn’t work out.”

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A little delayed on this, but I’ve been getting my thoughts together since the news last week that renowned architect Frank Gehry’s design (see left) for the Nets’ new arena in Brooklyn was being tossed aside for a less expensive one by Ellerbe Beckett (see below right).

Economics were cited as the reason – the Ellerbe Beckett version is to cost about $200 million less than Gehry’s $1 billion glass-walled arena that is part of the Atlantic Yards development. Kansas City-based Ellerbe Beckett has designed stadiums and arenas, including Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and BankAtlantic Center, the Sunrise home of the Panthers.

According to a New York Times story last week: “Officials who have seen the design say that while it resembles Conseco Fieldhouse it also bears a likeness to an ‘airplane hangar.’”

Say what you will about South Florida’s two arenas -- and plenty of fans have. I hear routinely how much fans love BankAtlantic Center for its ease of parking, wide concourses, comfort and carpeting. I’ve heard the Heat’s AmericanAirlines Arena is too stark, looks unfinished, isn’t as cozy.

But if we’re comparing architecture, AmericanAirlines Arena, designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica with Heinlein Schrock Stearns Architecture + Design, says Miami. It’s sleek and different and wouldn’t be deemed to look like an “airplane hangar.” By contrast, BankAtlantic Center could be described as a bunker in the swamp.

Clearly, this isn’t the time showy. But the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project has been delayed for years. Now Nets owner and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner is rushing to begin arena construction by year’s end so he can take advantage of tax-exempt financing.

You may think Gehry’s design was unrealistic to begin with – as one local team official expressed to me earlier this week – but it was ground-breaking and unique. It might not have changed arena design forever, but it would have become a showplace, a symbol of Brooklyn and the Nets.

Consider this: the past two decades have been spent replacing outdated stadiums and arenas that didn’t have revenue-generating premium seats and club seats. Dual-purpose (baseball and football) concrete doughnut stadiums have been replaced by ballparks with unique features. Of course, even those have become cookie cutter, as some teams have chosen to duplicate the red brick, green steel design.

But those that chose to be different have successfully built sports venues that represent their communities, ones for which fans can immediately identify their place. Think PNC Park overlooking the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh; the old brick warehouse that’s part of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore; and, even American Airlines Arena, overlooking Biscayne Bay.

Isn’t making progress correcting bad decisions of the past? Do we want to regret a decision that was made based on economics? Miami Arena, anyone? The pink elephant was obsolete when it opened in 1988, lost its tenants and was demolished last year.

Nicolai Ouroussoff, the New York Times architecture critic, called the scuttling of Gehry’s design "a shameful betrayal of the public trust, one that should enrage all those who care about this city." Read Ouroussoff's thoughtful piece here.

During the SportsBusiness Journal’s conference on sports facilities and franchises this week, Nets officials defended their decision, according to the Associated Press.

“Unfortunately the world we live in today is very different than what it was three or four years ago when we hired Frank," Nets chief executive Brett Yormark said Wednesday according to the piece. "The world is more simplistic. It's not as grand and glitzy. And I'm not sure that design would have been appropriate right now, as much as we all loved it. I think the design that we have now is very appropriate. It speaks to Brooklyn."

I’m not so sure.

What do you think?

Follow me on Twitter: @sarahtalalay

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The Heat unveiled its MiamiMediaMesh LED marquee Wednesday night with great fanfare. The 3,400-square foot stainless steel mesh screen covers a dozen window panels on AmericanAirlines Arena’s west façade – so it’s hard to miss.

I described it in today’s story as being like a curtain, but it’s really more like a screen since it’s attached to the arena. (See photos by the Heat's Omar Vega). But at just ¾ inch thick and 70 percent transparent, it doesn’t block your view from inside the arena, and you almost don’t know it’s there, if it’s not turned on.

When it is on – arena officials plan a 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. schedule – it’s the size of 320 50-inch plasma TVs blasting game and concert footage, sponsor advertising messages and even the public’s Twitter and email messages. Send Tweets to @MiamiMediaMesh or emails to MiamiMediaMesh@heat.com for possible display.

“One of the things we’ve never had here is a true marquee and almost as soon as we opened we started talking about how we might really get one,” Heat President of Business Operations Eric Woolworth said. “We’ve been through many versions of what we thought might work or what’s been done elsewhere. Because of some of the limitations of our site, because we’ve got a rounded building, we wanted to do it right.”

A couple of Heat employees saw the technology at a trade show about three years ago. The Heat’s marquee is the first use of the technology developed by a German company and installed and operated by Boston-based A2aMEDIA on a sports arena in the United States. A2aMEDIA is talking with other sports venues, as well as hotels, office buildings, retail centers, casinos and other large-scale buildings that are seen by lots of people.

The Heat’s arena, for example, gets 1.4 million visitors at its events each year, 65,000 cars traveling by each day on Biscayne Boulevard and more than 3.8 million cruise passengers passing through the nearby Port of Miami.

Although the Heat isn’t saying how much the marquee cost, it does expect to cover its expenses from the advertising dollars. Already, American Airlines, Bacardi, the Miccosukee Resort & Gaming and Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler are among several advertisers already signed up to place their messages on the marquee.

Martha Pantin, an American Airlines spokeswoman, said the airline plans to put up shortened commercials and other messages.

“We think it gives us great visibility,” Pantin said. “For us AmericanAirlines Arena is one of our crown jewels and this makes the crown a little bit sparklier.”

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Since R. Allen Stanford was charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission in February, his Stanford Financial Group’s numerous sponsorships with local sports venues have begun to disappear.

Stanford’s name was blacked out – well, greened over – at Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne prior to the start of the Sony Ericsson Open last month. Those with sharp eyes could see where the company’s name had been on the stadium court walls.

And thanks to my colleague, Heat beat writer Ira Winderman, for noticing the VIP lobby at AmericanAirlines Arena no longer bears the company’s signage. The lobby has been stripped of the Stanford logos, which have been replaced with just generic Heat logos. Heat President of Business Operations Eric Woolworth told Ira a missed payment led to cancellation of the deal, which he said had an additional year to run.

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Got time to sit around? The Heat is reprising one of its popular promotions to win playoff tickets: "48 Hours of Intense Heat."

Fans interested in winning free playoff tickets and a shot at free 2009-10 lower level season tickets are invited to sit for 48 hours (yes, there will be restroom breaks and food) in front of AmericanAirlines Arena starting at 5 p.m. Thursday through 5 p.m. Saturday, just in time for the 6:30 p.m. start of Game 3 of the Heat-Atlanta Hawks first round playoffs series.

Fans who sit for at least the first four hours will win a pair of tickets to Game 4 on Monday. Those who make it through all 48 hours will win a pair of tickets to each of the Heat’s 2009 home playoff games. If more than one fan makes it through the full endurance test, the team will hold a trivia contest to determine the grand prize winner of the season tickets that also come with free concessions and parking. Other prizes will be awarded throughout the 48 hours of the contest.

The contest is limited to the first 200 fans, who are at least 18 with identification and proof of residency. Registration starts at 3 p.m. Thursday. The team will provide hot dogs and soft drinks, water, umbrellas and entertainment by the four-time NBA Dance Team contest-winning Heat Dancers, the Xtreme Team and Burnie the Heat mascot.

For more information, visit heat.com.

The last time the Heat held this contest was prior to the playoffs in 2000. A total of 172 fans entered the competition with 91 making it through the full two days. The grand prize was awarded to the winner of a trivia contest. This time, the Heat is encouraging participants to chart their progress on their Facebook and MySpace pages and via Twitter.

More MV3

Meanwhile, Goodyear Blimps are encouraging fans to vote for their favorite candidate for NBA MVP from among Heat guard Dwyane Wade, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. The blimps, which are providing aerial coverage for ESPN and TNT NBA telecasts flew over Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland and Staples Center in Los Angeles yesterday to gather votes by displaying the toll free number – 1-800-773-9614 – where fans can register their votes: 3 for Wade; 23 for James and 24 for Bryant.

Goodyear happens to have blimps in the area of each MVP candidate’s team. The Spirit of Innovation, based in Pompano Beach, is to fly over AmericanAirlines Arena from 6-10 p.m. Saturday.

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Last week, the Heat announced its home arena had received coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for making the building environmentally friendly. Now the team is taking its efforts a step further by turning its old banners into new products.

The team is partnering with RetroActif, a Pembroke Pines company that takes old banners and turns them into handbags, travel pouches and portfolio folders and sometimes sells them back to the banners’ original owners for corporate events. My colleague Doreen Hemlock wrote a piece about the company that ran last month – you can read it here. See Sun Sentinel photo of company founders Monica and Ziad Shuman with some of their products at left.

After the story ran, Heat officials saw an opportunity to recycle the team and player banners that hang from street poles at AmericanAirlines Arena.

"It's a simple equation of sports plus recycling equals fashion--and the solution is creative, chic and most importantly, it's environmentally responsible," said Lorrie-Ann Diaz, Heat director of marketing communications.

Ziad Shuman said the partnership is the company’s first with a sports team. He said he is waiting for the banners to be delivered. The company has agreed to make carry-all tote bags that will sell for $24 and letter size portfolio folders for $28. Both will be sold at the arena.

“I don’t think they’ll use banners showing faces of guys no longer there, like Shaquille O’Neal,” Shuman said.

I suggested that might be a collector’s item, but Shuman quipped: “We’d have to make a really big bag.”

The bags and folders won’t be ready in time for the playoffs, but the Heat says, look for the new products next season.

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AmericanAirlines Arena is bathed in green for tonight’s Heat-New Orleans Hornets game, in honor of the venue receiving LEED (which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The coveted designation was bestowed upon the Miami venue and Philips Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers, this week. Heat and Miami officials announced AmericanAirlines Arena’s “green” stamp of approval Tuesday morning. My colleague Doreen Hemlock, who covers “green” business, was there to capture the sentiment.

Among the green features at the arena are its roof paints and sealants that reflect the sun, instead of absorbing heat; drought-resistant plants and irrigation system; and its purchase of chilled water from a nearby plant for more than $100,000 a month rather than building a water plant that would have cost about $30 million and requires high energy to operate.

Eric Woolworth, Heat president of business operations, said the decision to seek LEED certification was "strategic" to differentiate the arena from others and boost business.

"This is a really challenging time to attract sponsors, and this is one way to separate ourselves from the pack," he said, noting that Waste Management already has signed up as a partner in a multi-year deal. "And hopefully, it will attract entertainers and acts that want to play green venues and visitors who want to support green venues."

Costs for certification were minimal, because nearly all paperwork was handled in-house and few improvements were needed to qualify, said Kim Stone, the arena's general manager. The nearly 10-year-old building already boasted many of the electricity- and water-saving features to earn the certification, such as underground parking that produces less heat than above-ground asphalt lots.

Green has now reached the consciousness of sports teams and leagues. BankAtlantic Center has adopted environmental measures, and has explored LEED certification, but it not pursuing it at this time. The Sunrise venue that is home to the Panthers uses green cleaning products, recycles everything from cardboard to light bulbs to cell phones and is considering adding solar panels on the venue’s roof, arena officials said.

And Silver LEED certification is a requirement of the Marlins’ planned $515 million ballpark in Little Havana. Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami have agreed to contribute up to $1.75 million each toward the certification; with Major League Baseball pledging $1 million to the cost. The team would pick up any additional costs. The ballpark would become the second silver LEED certified building in the league, after the Washington Nationals’ ballpark.

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Michigan State and North Carolina will close out the 2009 NCAA tournament with the title game in Detroit tonight. But the question remains, will South Florida host a portion of the tournament again?

Despite crowds that barely broke 10,000 at 20,000-seat AmericanAirlines Arena for the March 20 and 22 first and second round games last month, South Florida officials hope to bring men’s college basketball tournament games back. Bid specifications for the first and second rounds and regionals for 2011, 2012 and 2013 are to go out shortly, NCAA officials say.

“Most certainly,” Pete Garcia, athletic director at host school FIU, said of bidding again, “because it’s not just good only for FIU, but it’s good for the entire basketball community in South Florida.”

But it wasn’t lost on the hosts that the colleges assigned to AmericanAirlines Arena held scant attraction for South Floridians, who aren’t hugely supportive of college basketball to begin with.

“You worry about the things you control, what we couldn’t control was the matchups,” Garcia said. “We did the best with the teams that got awarded to us, it’s nobody’s fault. Team like Florida didn’t get to the NCAA tournament.”

Mike Sophia, executive director of the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, said he was disappointed with ticket sales, but understood the matchups weren’t a draw.

“This year, we had first and second round and you wound up with the eight teams that may or may not sort of fit,” Sophia said. “I think Syracuse was an interesting team for us, a Big East team for us, but the rest of the group, was certainly strange.”

South Florida also lost out on the destination factor with two teams from warm weather Arizona.

“I just think now, we’ve got to look at it and I think they [the NCAA] should look at trying to make sure all the sites have some sort of geographical or national attractiveness to the teams that are playing at each site,” Sophia said.

As a result, Sophia said the host group will look at whether to apply for first and second round games (like those it hosted last month) or a regional (Sweet 16 and Elite 8), or both.

Jeanne Boyd, NCAA director of Division I Men’s Basketball, praised the hosting of the games at AmericanAirlines Arena and said a host of factors are considered for hosting in the future.

“They’ve done a very good job, the building has been very responsive,” she said.

Boyd said a thorough evaluation of everything from the experience at the arena to hotels will be taken into consideration, as well feedback from the hosts, the schools and others.

Meanwhile, the World Baseball Classic second round games at Dolphin Stadium last month didn’t draw as well as hosts had hoped – in part because the Netherlands were among the four teams, rather than the Dominican Republic. But officials were pleased with the turnout and are planning to bid for games in the next WBC in 2013, perhaps even the Finals. The Marlins hope to be hosting games in a new ballpark in Little Havana, scheduled to open in 2012.

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