Nextel agrees to sponsor LV monorail station

Monday, Nov. 17, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

Nextel Communications Inc. is pressing to be one of the most recognized name brands in the world, following its sponsorship of the NASCAR auto racing title with a deal to put its name on the high-profile monorail station at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Nextel, a Fortune 300 wireless communications company serving 293 of the top 300 U.S. markets, also will sponsor a four-car monorail train. Reston, Va.-based Nextel and the Las Vegas Monorail Co. will announce the sponsorship agreement in an event at the station Tuesday morning.

Nextel is the third corporate sponsor to sign on with the monorail and the first to sponsor one of the seven stations on the 3.8-mile route.

Representatives of Nextel and Las Vegas Monorail would not confirm what the communications company is paying for the sponsorship, but published sources said it is paying $50 million over 12 years for the station deal.

The monorail track is complete and trains are being tested along the length of the route, from the Sahara hotel-casino on the north to the MGM Grand hotel-casino on the south. The system is scheduled to begin passenger service in the first quarter of 2004.

Nextel will turn the Convention Center monorail station, located above Desert Inn Road at Paradise Road, into a giant advertisement for the company. The company will use 15,000 square feet of the station as "an immersive, themed environment highlighting the industry's latest digital wireless communications solutions," said a statement on the sponsorship.

The company is enthused that its brand will be visible to millions of business travelers, since the Convention Center station is expected to be one of the line's busiest.

"This station gives customers and prospects a chance to experience the Nextel brand in both a hands-on and visible way," said Mark Schweitzer, senior vice president of marketing at Nextel. "We're very excited about the opportunity this brings to Nextel to spread our message as the premier business communications tool for business doers. We're equally proud to partner with the Las Vegas Monorail Co. and the Las Vegas Convention Center to execute this powerful branding, sales and service concept."

The station will be manned with Nextel employees to talk about company products and there will be interactive displays providing information about phones, wireless data technology and business applications.

The station also will have a lounge, concierge services, a Nextel business theater, an open-air balcony with views of the Strip and access to the convention center and the monorail trains.

"Nextel's commitment to Las Vegas further substantiates that our city offers much more than just the weekend getaway," said Manny Cortez, president and chief executive of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "Las Vegas is a viable and thriving convention and meeting destination, complete with groundbreaking technology for leisure and business travelers alike."

While Nextel did not say how much it is paying, the president and chief executive of the company marketing the sponsorships for the monorail company confirmed that Nextel has a 12-year term on the deal.

Patrick Pharris, who heads Promethean Partners, Las Vegas, also said train sponsorships run $1 million a year and station sponsorships, $2 million a year, but that the Convention Center station has an undisclosed price premium because of its location.

The Los Angeles Times reported the Convention Center sponsorship is $4 million a year and that Nextel would kick in an additional $16 million to pay for a station pavilion, which includes a retail store, a business center and a 30-seat theater.

The monorail deal is the second major sponsorship Nextel announced this year. The wireless communications provider announced in June it would replace Winston as the title brand of NASCAR's championship series next year.

Nextel will pay $700 million over the next decade to be associated with America's top auto racing circuit. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and its Winston cigarette brand has held that sponsorship since 1971. The last Winston Cup race occurred in Homestead, Fla., last week and the first Nextel Cup race kicks off with the Daytona 500 in Florida in February.

The first company to sponsor one of the Las Vegas Monorail trains was Monster Beverage Co., a subsidiary of Corona, Calif.-based Hansen Natural Corp. Monster signed a 10-year deal to publicize its line of energy drinks and has designed a sleek black train wrap to deliver its message.

Motorola Inc., a Schaumburg, Ill.-based technology company observing its 75th anniversary this year, was announced as the second corporation to agree to a train sponsorship.

Pharris said negotiations are continuing with three other companies -- Coca-Cola Co., Bacardi and General Motors Corp. -- for other station and train naming deals.

When the privately funded $650 million transportation system opens next year, passengers will pay an average of $2.50 to $3 per ride. The Las Vegas system is the first public monorail system to be built in the United States since 1971.

It is being built by Granite Construction Inc., Watsonville, Calif., and Bombardier Inc., Montreal. Those companies also have been contracted to build an extension of the monorail north to downtown Las Vegas.