New partnership financial windfall for UNLV sports

Critics occasionally take shots at UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick for the way he does business. He dares any of those people to shoot holes in his latest deal.

Hamrick recently announced a partnership between the athletic department and International Sports Properties, Inc., that outsources UNLV's multi-media rights and corporate sales and sponsorship development for athletics, special events and entertainment.

The partnership guarantees UNLV athletics more than $32 million over the next 10 years.

"This is an outstanding deal for us," Hamrick said. "If it wasn't a good deal, I wouldn't do it."

Hamrick said the agreement has no downside for UNLV. It's not the total cash windfall it might appear to be, however.

The $32 million figure involves some sleight of hand. Most of that revenue already was generated through the former business model. For 24 years, the Thomas & Mack Center held corporate sales and sponsorship rights to its facility and provided needed financial support to the athletic department.

"Not all of that is new money," Hamrick said of the $32 million. "But the key is the first year we will realize between $450,000 to $500,000 additional guaranteed money to what we're currently making."

On top of the initial revenue increase, he said, $100,000 annual increases are built in.

"The guarantee is higher than what we are getting now by 20 percent," said Rhett Vertrees, UNLV associate vice president for athletics and Thomas & Mack financial services. "I believe it's beneficial.

"We're going to see an immediate influx of quality equipment and an increase in revenue."

Under the new deal, the Rebels' athletic programs will see significant facility upgrades. ISP will spend $3.5 million over 10 years on equipment improvements.

The Thomas & Mack this year will see several new features, including an overhead scoreboard, courtside signage system and an outdoor marquee on Tropicana Avenue. In 2008, Sam Boyd Stadium will get a new football auxiliary scoreboard, and Wilson Stadium will get a new baseball scoreboard.

"It is desperately needed equipment," Hamrick said, adding that basketball fans will see a "major difference inside the Thomas & Mack."

ISP has widespread influence in college athletics and has similar partnerships with more than 40 universities, including Brigham Young, Florida State, UCLA and Virginia Tech. Part of the deal's value to ISP is being able to sell the Las Vegas market.

"What they can do is bring in national advertisers that we're not able to get," Hamrick said, emphasizing that UNLV still will handle marketing of its programs and ticket sales.

Two new arena proposals are in the works in Las Vegas, potentially lessening the Thomas & Mack's marketability in the future, but Vertrees said ISP is "fully aware" of that aspect.

"It's very little risk for the university," Vertrees said.