The New Meadowlands, Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs and Winners OTW have combined for the first time to surpass the $1 million mark in corporate sponsorships for the 2013 season.
That figure represents a 500% increase over the past three years.
“This is a major milestone that shows that harness racing is still an attractive partner to businesses both large and small, locally and nationally,” said Jason Hall, Regional Director of Sponsorship Sales.
Hall was hired three years ago after spending 10 years selling sponsorships in professional baseball. At the time, Tioga and Vernon had $200,000 in sponsorship revenue. The Meadowlands wasn’t selling corporate sponsorships at all and Winners OTW Bayonne had yet to be built.
“I never would’ve believed in my wildest dreams that we’d be able to increase our sponsorship revenue by 500% in only three years,” said Jason Settlemoir, General Manager of New Meadowlands Racetrack, “especially with only a two-person department. This is a tremendous achievement.”
Hall and Settlemoir believe that their model is one that can be duplicated at other harness tracks around the country. Partnering with corporate sponsors produces a potentially lucrative revenue stream at a time when the industry is working to develop a long-term, sustainable economic model.
“We’ve developed a strategy that adds substantial additional revenue to the company’s bottom line in addition to the traditional revenue derived from wagering,” said Hall.
(Meadowlands)