Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel Snags NASCAR-

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 08:34:10 -0400

Monday, June 16

Nextel deal to be announced Thursday
ESPN.com news services

Winston is on the way out and Nextel will be next.

ESPN.com has confirmed various reports that NASCAR has reached an agreement with
Nextel for the Virginia-based wireless communication services company to become
title sponsor of NASCAR's top racing series. ESPN's Mike Massaro reported two
weeks ago on ESPN Radio that Nextel was being considered as a replacement for
Winston.

Unnamed sources have told ESPN and ESPN.com that the deal was in fact done --
though an additional source said there are still a few details to be ironed out --
and that NASCAR will make the announcement at a 10 a.m. ET news conference
Thursday in New York's Times Square.

A Nextel spokesperson said Monday, however, that it is the company policy not to
comment on prospective marketing agreements until they are finalized and would not
confirm that the deal was done or that there is a press conference scheduled.

NASCAR has been searching for a new title sponsor since RJR acknowledged in
February -- following an ESPN.com report -- that it planned to withdraw its
sponsorship after the 2003 season. RJR last year signed a five-year extension of
its contract to sponsor stock-car racing's top series. But RJR officials confirmed
that, because of uncertainty in the tobacco industry, they had told NASCAR it
should find a new title sponsor for the series if it could.

It is believed that RJR may continue its sponsorship of The Winston, NASCAR's
annual all-star event.

NASCAR's top series has been known as Winston Cup since 1971. UPS, Coca-Cola and
McDonald's were rumored to be early candidates to replace RJR's Winston brand,
though there are reports, including one in the Winston-Salem Journal, that other
companies, including Visa, were also in the running.

The news of RJR's intention to pull out of NASCAR made waves at Daytona in
February, but NASCAR officials, believing finding a replacement would not be
difficult, didn't seem overly concerned.

"In a hypothetical world, if the need (to find a new sponsor) ever came, we think
it's a pretty good property," said NASCAR vice president of corporate
communications Jim Hunter.

Said NASCAR's chief operating officer George Pyne: "I'd say it's a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone out there."

It is not known how much the sponsorship will cost Nextel, but estimates as to how
much RJR spent on its NASCAR sponsorship range from $15 million to $60 million
annually, with the actual number likely being toward the middle or higher end of
that range. The amount Nextel will pay NASCAR likely would in part depend on the
new name of the series. "NASCAR Nextel Cup," for example, would command a larger
fee than "NASCAR Cup presented by Nextel."

The sponsorship deal will easily trump the largest stadium naming rights
agreement. Reliant Energy pays approximately $10 million annually for naming
rights of Reliant Stadium, the NFL Houston Texan's home field, and the Reliant
Astrodome

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From: "sparkie_rf" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 15:28:26 -0000

> Winston is on the way out and Nextel will be next.

I was going to post this, but you beat me to it.

Something tells me that Nextel and NASCAR wouldn't do this deal 
without some kind of assurance that the SWAP deal will go thru. If 
Nextel can't get a big block of contiguous spectrum they will fall 
behind there peers, and thus NASCAR will have partnered with a loser.

The France family rules with an IRON fist, Timmy better be on his 
best behavior.

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 15:37:28 -0400

> The France family rules with an IRON fist, Timmy better be on his

I bet Timmy will pull one of his "shenanigans" with in the first year, but the
NASCAR boys have a LT4BS (Low Tolerance For Bull****) and will run him back to VA.
Can you see Timmy talking Capex and ARPU to the NASCAR crowd?