When Brett Yormark got Barclays to agree to a 20-year sponsorship of the Nets Brooklyn arena in 2007, it was a milestone in the team’s move to Brooklyn. The $20 million a year committed by Barclays was the first revenue the Nets could project for its billion dollar arena, crucial for attracting bondholders.
Since then, Yormark has been able to set up naming rights deals for the IZOD Center, the High Point Stadium at Rutgers, the Ford Amphitheater on Coney Island, the HSS Training Center in Industry City and most recently, the Nassau Coliseum presented by New York Community Bank. Now, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Mikhail Prokhorov’s parent company, has formed a partnership with an Atlanta company, Cooper Holdings, to market naming rights deals for other teams’ venues.
The partnership is yet another indication that Prokhorov and his ONEXIM Sports and Entertainment group will continue to invest in the sports and sports venue businesses.
Known as Entitle, the partnership launches with two clients that have retained it to sell naming rights to major league facilities, according to Sports Business Journal. Yormark refused to identify them to protect client confidentiality. The new firm plans to pursue business both domestically and internationally.