Sports Authority Inc. can’t sell or transfer its Mile High Stadium naming rights or its team sponsorship without written consent, the Denver Broncos said in a bankruptcy court filing.
Like the , which owns Mile High, the Broncos hope to keep Sports Authority from auctioning off the contracts.
In a filing made late Friday, lawyers for PDB Sports Ltd., which does business as the Broncos, and Stadium Management Company LLC, which manages the stadium, said the bankrupt retailer doesn’t have the team’s consent to sell or assign its sponsorship agreement. The agreement includes a non-exclusive license to use the team’s trademarked logo in places such as the Sports Authority website, advertising and in-store signs, as well as elements of the stadium naming rights deal.
Sports Authority’s are among hundreds of contracts that could be assigned or sold in the , according to .
The Broncos’ objection, made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware late Friday, was , when the team and stadium manager took issue with Sports Authority’s claim that anyone buying the sponsorship deal would need to pay only $1.053 million to “cure” the contract.
“Pursuant to paragraph 15 of the sponsorship agreement, no party may assign the sponsorship agreement or any of its rights or obligations under the sponsorship agreement without the prior written consent of the other parties,” attorneys for the Broncos wrote in Friday’s filing.
On Sunday, Englewood-based Sports Authority filed for court approval to hire AccuVal to appraise intellectual property including trademarks, trade names, sponsorships and naming rights.
Lawyers for the company wrote that they do not believe past appraisals of the intellectual property assets are accurate. Appraising the intellectual property, they wrote, will allow Sports Authority and its advisors “to accurately evaluate any bids … and to make informed decisions regarding the rejection of contracts related to intellectual property.”
The Metropolitan Football Stadium District . The district said it wanted the ability to veto a deal based on specific criteria, including violation of NFL policies.
Sports Authority’s graduated annual payments of $6 million to $9 million for the naming rights are split between the Metropolitan Football Stadium District and the Broncos.
Some Sports Authority’s leases, contracts and other assets are scheduled to be auctioned Monday. Other sales efforts are expected to be sold through the end of May.
Liquidators and competitors such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Modell’s Inc. submitted bids, , citing unnamed sources. The sources call the bids from Dick’s and Modell’s “disappointing.” An analyst .
Sports Authority officials could not be reached for comment.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace
