Phoenix Suns president: Advertising on uniforms makes sense
Mar 20, 2014, 8:50 PM | Updated: 8:50 pm
The Phoenix Suns changed their uniforms prior to the 2013-14 season to great fanfare and excitement.
The next alteration to their look, however, may not be viewed with the same level of enthusiasm.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said recently that he would expect advertisements to reach uniforms in the next five years.
It’s not unlike what can be seen in the WNBA, Arena Football League or soccer clubs around the world.
A guest of the Dan Bickley Show with Vince Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday, Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said it makes complete sense.
“There’s a part of me that loves the old school part of it, but there’s also recognizing the business aspects of it,” he said.
Babby pointed to the fact that a lot of fans don’t watch sporting events live these days, instead choosing to record them for later viewing. And when that happens, commercials tend to get skipped.
“If you’re trying to get value to advertisers, one of the ways to do that is to ensure that people see their brand, so that makes a lot of sense to me,” he said. “You know what? It will bother us in the beginning and they obviously do it at other places in the world.
“It’s not a major issue with me. I think that it doesn’t affect the purity of the game or the joy of the game.”
