NFL

Chicago Hotel Welcomes Packer Fans

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports

It might be a little risky to wear your green and yellow and styrofoam cheese head hat on the streets of Chicago next weekend but one hotel is embracing the Green Bay Packer faithful before the big game. The Omni Chicago Hotel on Michigan Avenue is offering the "Green Bay Bundle" package. The two-night offer will give Green Bay devotees their second night stay free of charge should Green Bay triumph over Chicago in the NFC championship game and also includes a $50 food and beverage credit to use during their stay. Bill Bennett, director of sales and marketing for the Omni Chicago Hotel, Windy City native and die hard Chicago fan, has even agreed to don a Green Bay jersey and "cheesehead" hat if Green Bay wins and personally congratulate Green Bay supporters who check-out of the hotel on Monday, January 24. The "Green Bay Bundle" package is available on January 21, 22 and 23 only and the rate is $179 per night with a free second night should Green Bay win.

In another football-related package, the Liberty hotel in Boston is offering a "Go and Gloat Weekend" in Boston. Starting at just $310, visitors can book the "Big House Breakfast Package," which includes overnight luxury accommodations and breakfast for two in the hotel's signature restaurant CLINK or through In-room dining.

Tags: Chicago Bears, green bay packers, hotel deals, nfc championship, nfc championship game, nfl

Bears-Packers Rivalry Spikes Ticket Prices

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Tickets for next Sunday's much-anticipated NFC championship game at Chicago's Soldier Field may rival the Super Bowl in price. The reason of course is the heated rivalry between the Bears and Wisconsin's Green Bay Packers. In the long-standing Midwestern battle royal this is only the second time that the teams have met in the playoffs.

The Chicago Tribune reports that even the worst seats in the frosty upper outreaches of the stadium are selling for around $500 a seat on the secondary market. At StubHub.com seats range from $446 to $20,000 a ticket for the second row. The pricer tickets are generally in the United Club. Local brokers told the Tribune they haven't seen this kind of demand for tickets since the glory days of the Chicago Bulls back in the 1990s. SeatGeek.com shows average seats around $500 from various sources. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Packers blog says that when the Packers competed against the Giants in the NFC game in at Lambeau Field prices averaged over $700 each.

Tags: chicago bears, green bay packers, nfc, nfc playoff, nfc playoffs, nfl, Sports tickets

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Nick Buoniconti in Coral Gables, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Sports

It's football season and today we are looking at the rather fancy home of one of the greats of the game. Nick Buoniconti is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and was a legendary linebacker playing for both the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins as well as Notre Dame. He is also a former host for HBO's "Inside the NFL" and is part of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a group he joined after his son suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in a football game.

Buoniconti and his wife Lynn bought today's home in Coral Gables, Florida back in 2005 for $1.98 million. They renovated the home planning to move their from their home at the Grand Bay Residences in Key Biscayne, Florida but as they told the Wall Street Journal, they decided they couldn't leave the water. The Coral Gables home has views of the 16th green of the Riviera Country Club golf course. The home features inlaid parquet floors in a cross hatch pattern, wood-burning fireplace, grand salon, formal dining room, library/sitting room, a gourmey kitchen with an adjacent prep kitchen and butler's pantry and a master bedroom with a sitting area. The grounds includes a plunge swimming pool and guest house. It has had a recent price reduction to $3.475 million and is listed with Audrey Ross of EWM Realtors.

Gallery: Nick Buoniconti in Coral Gables

Tags: coral gables, estate of the day, florida real estate, nfl, nick buoniconti, sports stars homes

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Luxist Giveaway: NFL Breast Cancer Awareness Cufflinks

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Sports

Real men wear pink, especially when it's in support of breast cancer awareness. Now you can wear the pink ribbon and show the world that you are a football fan as well. Cufflinks.com, the world's largest retailer of cufflinks has teamed up with the NFL for their Crucial Catch Campaign benefiting the American Cancer Society and produced officially licensed NFL Breast Cancer Awareness Cufflinks from their most popular NFL team cufflinks. The NFL, its clubs and players support the fight against breast cancer with "A Crucial Catch", in partnership with the American Cancer Society, to draw attention to the importance of annual screenings for women who are over the age of 40. Throughout October, NFL games will feature players, coaches and referees wearing pink game apparel to raise awareness for the campaign, as well as on-field pink ribbon stencils and special K-balls and pink coins. Apparel worn at games by players and coaches and special K-balls and pink coins will auctioned off at NFL Auction (www.NFLAuction.NFL.com), with proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society and team charities.

The cufflinks are rhodium plated base metal and enamel with a pink ribbon and your team logo. The teams available are the NY Giants, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. They sell for $60 and 10% of the proceeds are donated to breast cancer research. Cufflinks.com is letting Luxist give one pair away to a reader chosen at random. To enter let us know which team you'd want to sport on your wrists.

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before September 27, 2010 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive one pair of NFL Breast Cancer Awareness cufflinks valued at $60.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.

See complete giveaway rules here.

This contest is now closed. Thank you for your participation.

Tags: a crucial catch, breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, CuffLinks, luxist giveaway, nfl

NFL Player Mark Brunell Files Chapter 11

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Another sports player is facing financial trouble. This time it's quarterback Mark Brunell, who won a Super Bowl last season as a backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. Brunell was paid nearly $52 million during his past 10 years in the NFL but filed bankruptcy on Friday. Brunell has been a three-time Pro Bowl pick but he hasn't been so successful off the field; he's facing multiple lawsuits over failed real estate and business loans. He was involved in a partnership called Champion LLC that included other NFL players Joel Smeenge and Todd Fordham (Smeenge has previously filed for bankruptcy). Brunell invested in Florida real estate including a project in Jacksonville Beach that had a $2.2 million loan made by CNL Bank in 2005. CNL began foreclosure proceedings on the property last year after accusing the partners of defaulting on the loan.

According to the Florida Times-Union, Brunell also invested in several other failed real estate projects in Michigan and Michigan-based Select Bank won a $1.1 million judgment against Brunell and his partners. Brunell has tried to keep up with the payments on his own but was no longer able to do so. "The timing of the group's real estate acquisitions at the height of the real estate market, in hindsight, clearly was not good," Brunell said in a statement e-mailed to the Times-Union. Brunell is currently a free agent and has not signed with another NFL team.

Brunell, who used to play for the Jaguars, has been active in the Jacksonville community, and created the Brunell Family Foundation in 1997 to raise funds for critically ill children and their families.The organization has raised nearly $800,000 to benefit charitable causes.

Professional athletes face a lot of choices when it comes to spending their money. Often real estate looks like a stable place to put one's money and see it grow rapidly but many athletes have faced trouble as the real estate market floundered and developments went belly-up.

Tags: bankruptcy, chapter 11, mark brunell, nfl

Jets Uncorked, A Toast To Next Season

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Sports

We're still a few months from football season but New York Jets fans can plan for next season by pre-ordering a new commemorative wine, a 2008 cabernet sauvignon called Jets Uncorked. The wine was created as part of the effort to celebrate the new Meadowlands Stadium. The wine was made at the Girard Winery in Yountville, California. The wine was created by winemaker Marco DiGiulio and is described as having ripe flavors of red cherries, currants and berries with supple tannins, a touch of oak and a long spicy finish. Around 8,000 cases were made and the wine will be served in some local restaurants come September and is available on the Jets website for August delivery. The label includes a drawing of an actual play run by the Jets in a game. The wine is available for $27.99 for 750 ml, a 1.5 l liter magnum is $56.99.

[via the AP]

Tags: football night in america, girard winery, meadowlands, meadowlands stadium, new york jets, nfl

Suit Maker Inks NFL Deal

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Sports, Men's Style

The Joseph Abboud brand may have a factory in Massachusetts but the suit maker has entered into a three-year partnership with Patriots rivals the New York Giants. JA Apparel, maker of Joseph Abboud suits, will be the team's partner for designer clothing. Giants rookies will get pre-season training about dressing for success and and a luxury suite at the Giants billion-dollar stadium will be used to promote the merchandise. A kick-off event featuring players and coaches is planned for later this year.

Abboud suits are already worn by many coaches in the NBA and in major league baseball. JA Apparel already has an existing deal to suit most NFL coaches off-field. it's all part of the Abboud strategy to showcase the brand as an all-American suit maker and connect with the public by any means necessary. Case in point, the picture at right shows New York City's Naked Cowboy getting clothed at the Joesph Abboud factory sale last year.

Tags: abboud suits, giants, joseph abboud, new york giants, nfl

NFL Offers On Field Access For Super Bowl Fans

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Once the Super Bowl is over the field is always a flurry of activity with players milling about and TV crews doing interviews. The postgame experience is usually reserved for participants but now fans can get access if they are willing to pay. NFL On Location is selling 700 spots for the "Exclusive Postgame On-Field Experience" after Super Bowl XLIV on February 7 at Dolphin Stadium. There are three premium package levels, white, gold and platinum which offer the experience. The packages include hotel accommodations, parties, parking and souvenirs and start at $5,749 depending on the seat location. $9,799 gets you a single luxury hotel room and a stadium seat in the lower level prime sidelines between the 20s. USA Today reports that after the game the fans will be let onto the field in groups. Each person will get around 30 minutes on the field as players celebrate and go through interviews.

Tags: football, nfl, super bowl, super bowl tickets, SuperBowl, SuperBowlTickets

Football Star Throws In New Porsche To Sell His House

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

We first looked at this home over a year ago but Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez and his wife, October are trying again to sell their Manhattan Beach, California home. Last year the home was listed at $3.999 million but now it's on the market for $3.6 million and Gonzalez has sweetened the deal by adding a new Porsche 911 Cabriolet within 10 days of the close of escrow if he receives a full-price offer.

Gonzalez bought the four-bedroom home in 2003 for $1.575 million. He tells the LA Times that he gutted the house when he bought it and fully renovated. The home's best selling feature is a huge roof deck with a barbecue area, shaded lounger and a hot tub. The home is a couple blocks from the ocean and so the deck has some truly fantastic views. Inside the home there are two living rooms, dining room, a bar and a master bedroom suite with a fireplace and patio. There is a four-car garage, the home of your new Porsche.

Gallery: Tony Gonzalez In Manhattan Beach

Tags: celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, house and car combo, HouseAndCarCombo, los angeles, LosAngeles, manhattan beach, ManhattanBeach, nfl, tony gonzalez, TonyGonzalez

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Michael Vick in Atlanta, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Former quarterback Michael Vick's infamy certainly isn't helping his real estate sales. Vick, who is currently serving a prison sentence for his role in a dog-fighting ring, can't seem to sell his Atlanta home. As the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column reports, he has cut the price of his luxury Atlanta home to $4.1 million, from $4.5 million after it has sat on the market for a year. The eight-bedroom home in the Sugarloaf Country Club in Duluth, Georgia has lake views and a grand look with two-story foyer with a curved double staircase and dome, a two-story study, a home theater, wet bar and a gymnasium. The only sign of Vickness is that big number seven set into the den floor. Vick bought for $3.78 million so even if he sells for the $4.1 million listing price he won't be making a lot of money.

Vick's even more infamous piece of real estate, the home which was the site of the dog kennels, is up for auction yet again, this time for $590,000 on December 12. Developer Wilbur Ray Todd Jr.bought the home for $450,000 from Vick last year and wanted to sell it for over $1 million originally.

As we mentioned recently, a wine collection, Vicktory Dogs, raises money for the rehabilitated dogs who live at an animal sanctuary in Utah.

UPDATE: The home was put up for auction but there were no takers and it remains on the market.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes

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Gallery: Michael Vick in Atlanta

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Tags: atlanta, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, georgia, michael vick, MichaelVick, nfl

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Alyssa Milano Designs for NFL Fans

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

Alyssa Milano has an option for female NFL fans tired of wearing oversized men's logowear but still wanting to look fashionable while supporting their team: her "TOUCH" apparel and jewelry line, available at NFL Shop.

Launched in spring 2007, TOUCH, which also includes lines for the NBA and NHL, was born out of necessity, according to Milano's Web site. When Milano, an avid baseball fan, went to games, "she wanted to wear fan gear to support her team, but found that the product mix offered in the marketplace did not address her everyday fashion needs. She felt women should be able to look stylish while cheering on their favorite team. So, she partnered with G-III Apparel Group and Major League Baseball to design and distribute a line of juniors' ladies MLB apparel." And so it began.

I just learned about the line when I saw a TV ad during a Sunday night football game; it seems the NFL partnership is fairly new. This line includes 245 products that range in price from $16.99 - $89.99.

View the gallery for some examples. Most of the products are available for multiple teams.

Gallery: Alyssa Milano Designs for NFL Fans

Touch By Alyssa Milano Oakland Raiders Women's Ruffle Vest

Touch By Alyssa Milano Minnesota Vikings Women's Short Zip Jacket

Touch By Alyssa Milano Tampa Bay Buccaneers Women's Denim Jeans

Touch By Alyssa Milano Green Bay Packers Women's Full Zip Hooded Fleece with Sherpa

Touch By Alyssa Milano New York Giants Women's Long Sleeve Top

Tags: Alyssa Milano, AlyssaMilano, apparel, clothing, fanwear, football, NFL, sports

N.F.L. Wants The World To Party At The Super Bowl

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

With people in the U.S. starting to spend less on travel and on entertainment the National Football League is seeking greener pastures when it comes to marketing the Super Bowl. Bloomberg reports that the NFL has made a big push to market corporate Super Bowl travel packages outside the U.S. The hope is that corporate clients in Canada, Japan, the U.S. and Mexico will be willing to travel to Tampa, Florida to see the game on February 1 and take part in the surrounding festivities. Packages run from around $4,600 to around $10,600 depending on tickets and parties.The NFL has a dedicated website to sell these packages and is competing against travel companies that also offer packaged sports events promotions. Of course the NFL has the upper hand when it comes to access to tickets, hotels and all the parties. The game is traditionally one of America's biggest celebrations but it remains to be seen if the rest of the world is ready to join our Super Bowl party.

Source

Tags: football, nfl, super bowl, SuperBowl

The Economy Of Sports

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

So far most of the news I've heard about sports teams in this economy has been pretty positive. New stadiums are still being built and luxury suites are being filled. But Gary West writing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a piece that points out that sports are going through their own cost-cutting measures. Attendance is down at professional baseball games. The NCAA is curbing spending on postseason travel and the Grand Prix du Canada, the only Formula One race in North America is struggling to find funding. And layoffs have even come to the NBA which is cutting their work force by 9%.

More than ever professional sports depend on revenue from advertising, sponsorships and naming rights but with many corporations in trouble those opportunities are drying up. As the Dallas Morning News reports the Cowboys have a new $1.1 billion stadium expected to be completed by next June and they are looking for a naming-rights deal that could be worth hundreds of millions. There are less and less companies now that would be interested in a deal of this magnitude.

And Nascar, which has risen to be one of the most popular sports in the U.S. is really feeling the pinch. General Motors, Chrysler, Sears Holdings and Chevron will cut or drop sponsorships next season. Perhaps more than any other sport this economy has a dramatic effect because it takes so much money to compete. Dario Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner, was forced out of the series by a lack of sponsors and teams from names like Petty, Waltrip and Earnhardt may enter 2009 with unfunded cars. Nascar may even have trouble filling up their 43-car fields because so many teams have had trouble finding sponsors.

Certainly professional sports aren't going anywhere. Watching sports has always offered distraction and succor in tough times. Cheering for our teams lets us experience both joy and defeat in a way that doesn't impact our daily living. But in a time when companies are forced to cut back, sports teams, which are businesses too, will be forced to readjust. Some franchises may have to close. Teams that have relied on lucrative corporate suites deals may have to focus more on getting regular customers into seats.

Source

Tags: nascar, nba, nfl, sports

Is Tom Brady's Time Warner Center Apartment Overpriced?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

For years it has seemed like golden boy quarterback Tom Brady couldn't fail. Championships, check, endorsement deals, check, gorgeous girlfriend; check, great real estate deals, check and maybe recheck. Brady did well in Boston when it comes to real estate, converting a townhouse into condos he sold at a profit but he can't seem to unload his ultra fancy New York pad in the Time Warner Center. It's not for lack of trying. As the New York Post's Gimme Shelter column reports it was listed for $16.5 million back in February 2007 with the Corcoran Group. Then, as my colleague Jared Paul Stern mentioned, it popped back on the market this July for $18.29 million listed with new broker, Prudential Douglas Elliman. Now at its current listing price of $17.75 million it still seems overpriced. Certainly other celebrities and non-celebrities have sold at a profit there. Ricky Martin bought it in 2004 for $6.8 million and sold it in September 2006 for $9.75 million. Brady's apartment was listed at $14.5 million when he bought in 2006 which may have been closer to the market's peak.

Brady's apartment is a three-bedroom, three-bath home on one of the highest floors of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Condominium at Time Warner Center. It's full of well designed furniture and has details such as black lacquered doors, ebony finished walnut wood floors, Venetian plastering and of course it boasts beautiful views of the city. Given the current real estate climate though, Brady may want to price it in the $15 million range and get out now while he still can.

Gallery: Tom Brady at Time Warner Center

Tags: celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, new york city, NewYorkCity, nfl, time warner center, TimeWarnerCenter, tom brady, TomBrady

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The Quarterback in Laguna, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

I spent some time last week in the oceanside town of Laguna Beach, California so I was particularly interested to see this property for sale. Laguna Beach is a town full of hills and canyons which lends itself to homes with truly amazing vistas of the sea. The LA Times Hot Property column reports that today's estate belongs to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. Palmer's home is a four-bedroom Mediterranean perched on a hilltop with beautiful views out over the ocean, the town and an open canyon. Like many hillside homes, this one has a bunch of levels. The top level has an entry deck, oceanview front office and a two-car garage. The home also includes a gourmet kitchen, formal dining room, living room, a full-floor master bedroom suite which has a cedar-lined walk-in closet, an office, sitting area and master bath. The lowest level has two two bedrooms with a large balcony. Big Time Listings reports that Palmer also owns a home in Del Mar, California and a five-bedroom home in Cincinnati. This home is listed at $2.949 million.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

Gallery: The Quarterback in Laguna