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Companies in S.A. are suite on baseball(San Antonio Express-News (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 31--The prime attraction remains in Florida. The stadium is in the dreaming stage. The first game, at best, is at least three years away. Still, about half of the luxury suites for a proposed stadium in San Antonio that would serve as a home for Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins already have potential tenants. County Judge Nelson Wolff, District Attorney Susan Reed and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce have secured nearly three dozen tentative commitments from individuals and local businesses to rent suites in a new stadium, according to a list prepared by the chamber and obtained by the San Antonio Express-News. That would represent about half of the 65 or so suites the Marlins, who are considering moving to San Antonio, say they would expect to be included in a new stadium. The cost to rent a suite would run between $100,000 and $200,000 a season, depending on location. "We wanted to show the Marlins there is interest," Wolff said Thursday of the list. "That's a very good response. Somewhere down the line, we can work on season-ticket issues." The list numbers 34 and includes such San Antonio Fortune 500 citizens as telecom giant AT&T Inc., broadcast and billboard firm Clear Channel Communications Inc., oil refiner and marketer Valero Energy Corp. and Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Texas. On the medium side are insurance companies such as Argonaut Group and Southwest Business Corp. and banks such as Frost, Falcon and IBC. And smaller companies from law firms to business insurance firms that rely on building client relationships also have expressed interest in part ownership of suites. Marc Ganis, a sports marketing expert and relocation consultant, called the response a positive signal for the Marlins. "It shows San Antonio as a community is willing to step up and do a lot of the baseball team's work to add certainty to their revenue stream if they come to San Antonio," Ganis said. "It's another important step in demonstrating to the Marlins they are wanted in San Antonio." Wolff and other local officials plan to use the list when they meet today with business leaders to drum up additional support for their drive to lure the Marlins. Wolff, Mayor Phil Hardberger and other leaders will present the list to the Marlins on Monday when the team opens the season against the Astros in Houston. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has invited the San Antonio contingent, including Reed and members of Commissioners Court, to attend as his guests. Wolff is offering the Marlins $200 million in tax revenue toward a new stadium the team estimates would cost $310 million, not including a retractable roof or the cost to buy the land. The money, pending voter approval, would come from extending hotel and rental-car taxes now paying for the AT&T Center. The Marlins told Wolff two weeks ago that the team and Major League Baseball wouldn't respond to Wolff's proposal until they determine whether San Antonio, already home to the NBA's Spurs, is a viable market for baseball. But an official with MLB said Thursday that baseball wouldn't do a study until the Marlins say they are interested in negotiating a memorandum of understanding with Bexar County. "We are waiting for advice from them on what they want to do next," MLB vice president John McHale said. Asked if MLB believes San Antonio could support two major-league franchises, McHale said: "You are close, if not there. But that's as far as I can go." The Marlins repeatedly have said they want to stay in South Florida. But stadium talks have stalled, leading the team to explore relocation options. While the Marlins ponder options, Wolff and other local leaders have been rounding up community support. That effort includes recruiting potential suite holders, because suite sales are an important revenue stream for professional teams. "Think about the cost of the suite, the cost of the drinks and food," said Charlie Amato, co-founder of Southwest Business Corp. and a Spurs shareholder. "It's a significant investment." But well worth it, Amato said. "We have had so much success with our suite at the AT&T Center as far as entertaining clients goes," Amato said. "We don't consider our suite an expense. We consider it an investment. We manage it well, and it pays dividends for us. "It's a great way to entertain people. They let their hair down and relax, and before you know it, you've sold them something." Others on the chamber list agreed. George Scofield, partner in charge of the San Antonio office of Fulbright & Jaworski, said the law firm's 65 lawyers use sports as an important business tool. "We have a lot of sports fans who are attorneys, we're good corporate citizens, and suites are good client development tools," Scofield said. Scofield said it may be more difficult to fill a suite for 81 home games a year for baseball compared to 41 Spurs home games, but that just means more of the benefits will trickle down to firm employees. Jim Plummer, a partner in the firm, called sporting events "an excellent opportunity to spend two or three hours with a client." Plummer was bond counsel to the county in arranging the financing that paid for the AT&T Center. Jimmy Day, managing partner of DPR Investments, has business franchises of Aaron Rents and car rental stores of J.D. Byrider Systems in small towns throughout Texas. Sports suites from the Spurs to Major League Baseball, Day said, are useful for entertaining clients, suppliers, employees, his bankers and even his children. "Our managers come into San Antonio from stores all over like Big Spring, El Campo, Beeville," Day said. "When they come in, it's a real treat for them to go to a Spurs game, and I figure the same thing would be true of baseball." While many people on Wolff's list are firms that wouldn't buy a suite on their own, most of those businesses are networked with other firms that will split up the suite costs and game days, Day said. "Nelson is a pretty smart guy. If he says he has 32 suites lined up, he probably does," Day said. "I've been in contact with the judge back and forth since he started pursuing the Marlins," said Gordon Hartman, former owner of Hartman Homes who now manages his own charitable foundation. Hartman said the pricing structure of both suites and tickets for baseball are good for those that can't afford pricier suites or season tickets with the Spurs. Hartman said he can even see using a baseball stadium suite to treat area children with developmental disabilities -- those helped by his foundation -- to a game. John Pugel, national director of theaters and concessions for Denver firm Vistar Corp., said a baseball stadium suite is a good place to do business outside the office. "When you can bring value to a customer in not just the pricing of the product, it's a huge difference in business," said Pugel, who makes his home in San Antonio. He said he learned the value of sports to build client and supplier relationships in previous positions with both Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Vistar is a major seller of concession items to theaters and sports venues including Yankee Stadium and the Seattle Mariners Safeco Field. "I hope we would be able to do concession business and do some advertising inside the stadium if they come," Pugel said. Reed, the Bexar County District Attorney, said she is encouraged by the response from the business community. "I think the level of interest is high," Reed said. "There is a recognition that baseball can sell in San Antonio." By Tom Orsborn and Travis Poling BASEBALL STADIUM SUITES According to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the following businesses and individuals have expressed an interest in renting luxury suites in a new stadium should the Florida Marlins relocate to San Antonio: -Clear Channel Communications Inc. -AT&T Inc. -Valero Energy Corp. -Southwest Business Corp. -McCombs Enterprises Inc. -TETCO -American City Vista -Ancira Enterprises Inc. -Hartman Homes -Fulbright & Jaworski -The Scooter Store -Unintech Consulting Engineers Inc. -Maloney Law Firm -Falcon Bank -Middleman Construction -DPR Investments -Frontier Enterprises -Argonaut Group -Brake Check -Kell-Munoz Architects -Vistar -Project Control -David Starr & Associates -Medallion Homes -George Becknell -Holly Hills Inc. -Eichlitz, Dennis, Wray & Westheimer Agency Inc. -IBC Bank -Law Offices of Frank Herrera -Reyes Industries -Hill Granados Retail Partners -Frost Bank -Kinetic Concepts Inc. -Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Texas |