LifeLock name to grace Phoenix Mercury jerseys - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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The Mercury name, pictured front and center on the uniform, will be replace d with the LifeLock insignia. A small Mercurgy patch will be stitched on the uppert left portion ofthe uniform, across from an Adidas symbolp on the right. A Monday presa conference announcingthe seven-figure, three-year deal is schedulef for 1 p.m. in New York and will be attende by LifeLock CEOTodd Davis, Mercury Presidenft and CEO Jay Parry, Phoenizx Suns CEO Rick Welts, Women’s Nationalp Basketball Association Commissioner Donna Orender, NBA Commissioner David Sternm and Mercury stars Diana Taurasi and Cappie Mercury executives insist the landmark agreement is not a sign of the but it’s no secret that nearly every professiona l sports franchise is dealing with revenue shortfallx as discretionary dollars dry up in the “It doesn’t have anythingb to do with curren economic situation and th e WNBA didn’t have to go Welts said.
However, the franchise likelgy did, as it struggles to gain Welts said the Mercury turned a profi during its first few years in the but hasn’t been profitable for a “lonhg period. This deal certainly gets us closer to that he said. The Suns own the Phoenix Mercury. WNBA Commissioner Donna Orende r refused to comment on whether the leaguweis profitable, only saying “thde league is very stable.” She said some of the 13 WNBA franchises improved attendance and landed more sponsorshipe in 2008, while others did not.
Average attendanc at Mercury games wasaround 8,000 last year — aboutr 2,000 short of its goal to sell out the lower bowl of US Airwayws Center, which accommodates 10,000. the team has experiencedr solid year-over-year growth, and “this type of partnership allowa us to accelerate that Parry said. The Mercury’s fan base is primarilyh composed of women very loyal to the team andits sponsors, a dynamiv LifeLock executives found irresistible, not to mention an opportunitty “to do something no one has ever done,” said LifeLock CEO Todd Davis. “I love the idea of showing our supportfor women’sz sports and our home town he said.
“I don’t think you coulds pull this off in any otheepro sport.” For years, majo r league soccer players have donned sponsors on their and fans haven’t repelled the image of the New York Red or the Herbalife logo on L.A. Galaxy jerseyas or “Volkswagen” plastered across the chesft of DCUnited players. Invasive marketing also is common in golf, where pro players are walking advertisements from and in NASCAR, where commercialization revs up well before the starting gate or the entrance for that “This is breaking a lot of new ground,” Welts “It will inevitably generate some he added, but “that’sd not going to come from fans and players of the Time will tell if the move is endorsesd by fans, and if jersey sales plummetr with a company name as the drawint point, not the franchise.
“I think the jury is out in theshortf term,” Welts. Last week, Taurasi held the second highest selling jersey inthe league, with sales up 25 percenty from last year.