EJ Narcise, Principal of Team Services, Quoted in Milwaukee Business Journal

Team Services' principal, EJ Narcise, was quoted in Milwaukee Business Journal's article "How late in the game are the Bucks in their arena naming-rights deal?" by Rich Kirchen. See an excerpt of the article below, and find the full article here.

How late in the game are the Bucks in their arena naming-rights deal?

Feb. 20, 2018

By: Rich Kirchen

It's late in the game for the Milwaukee Bucks to negotiate a naming-rights agreement at the new arena, but experts disagree on whether that weakens the Bucks negotiating position with sponsors - and whether signing a deal needs to happen before the arena opens. 

For the record, the Bucks have no updates on their pursuit of a sponsor willing to pay $7 million or more per year for up to 20 years. President Peter Feignin's most recent public prediction came in a December 2017 SportsBusiness Journal story when he said he expects to sign an arena naming-rights deal by "early 2018". 

At the time, Feigin said the team had "two very viable finalists and we are trying to get it down to a final understanding." Feigin said both finalists were domestic companies with an international presence. 

At stake is a critical cash flow source for the Bucks as they prepare to run their new downtown arena. For the time being, the team is using the generic name Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center and announcing a series of concerts and events starting in September with comedian Kevin Hart Sept. 13.

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The closer the Bucks get to the opening date, the more flexible they may need to be on pricing and the length of the contract, Yowell said. For example, they might have to start out at less than $7 million annually and may have to agree to a shorter term of perhaps 15 years rather than 20, he said. 

"You certainly want to capitalize on the halo effect of a new building opening." said Jason Kohll of Professional Sports Partners, Houston. "Every day that passes is a day that the sponsor can't get back."

The Bucks' negotiating position could weaken if they've already run through a list of potential sponsors and failed to reach a deal, Kohll said.

"If you have to get back a second time, the demand goes down a little bit," Kohll said. Consumer-oriented sponsors are more time-sensitive than business-to-business sponsors, Kohll said.

EJ Narcise, a principal with Team Services LLC in Rockville, Md., agrees that pressure to finalize a naming-rights deal is not as tremendous as some observers might believe.

"Companies still look at (long-term) value," Narcise said.