- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Economic Development
The Los Angeles Clippers basketball team and the tribally owned Pechanga Resort Casino are expanding on a two-year old collaboration, with Pechanga becoming a founding partner of the Clippers’ new Intuit Dome arena.
As part of the collaboration, the Clippers and Pechanga Resort Casino will host fan and community events each year in the Intuit Dome and other locations. For example, the Clippers’ open practice is set to take place on the Pechanga Indian Reservation this October.
“We are excited to partner and support the Clippers as they open their new home, Intuit Dome,” Ken Perez, president of Pechanga Development Corporation, said a statement. “This partnership expands the Pechanga brand and presence in Southern California sports and entertainment while making our communities better and stronger.”
The new arrangement builds on a partnership established in October 2022, when the Clippers named the Pechanga Casino Resort as the team’s exclusive tribal casino. The initial partnership included community events, Clippers watch parties, in-game promotions, digital and social media advertising, and hospitality elements, according to a prior Tribal Business News story.
Collaborations between casinos and professional sports teams — especially men’s and women’s professional basketball teams — have become increasingly commonplace in recent years. Casinos have sponsored NBA teams to the tune of $1.4 billion per season between 2021 and 2023, according to a report by trade publication Dunkest.com. The report attributes the growth to the rise of sports betting and a strong connection between such sponsorships and growing brand recognition and trust.
Many partnerships include placing casino branding on team uniforms and in arenas or playing fields. For example, there are Emerald Queen Casino patches on the uniforms of the Seattle Sounders Football Club thanks to a partnership with the Puyallup Tribe.
In some instances, tribes have gone beyond sponsorships to acquire professional sports teams. In 2003, the Mohegan Tribe became the first Native American tribe to own a professional sports franchise when it bought the Orlando Miracle, a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise founded in 1988. The tribe renamed the team the Connecticut Sun and relocated them to the tribe’s ancestral homelands in Uncasville, Conn., where it plays its games at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Mohegan Tribe also later acquired the New England Black Wolves, a National Lacrosse League team.
In California, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation are co-owners of the San Diego Football Club, the Guardian reports.
Sometimes the goal is more about education than economic development. Some teams, in bids to keep or make amends for Native American mascots, have partnered with local tribes to bolster cultural education and charity efforts.
According to a February 2023 story in the Guardian, Triple-A baseball team the Indianapolis Indians partnered with the Miami Nation of Indians after refusing to change their nickname amid mounting concern over its racial connotations. Through that agreement, the team will support Miami scholarships, offer fan education opportunities, and recognize Miami veterans at their home field, Victory Field.
In other cases, even teams with non-Native mascots have partnered with local tribes to offer visibility and education. In 2023, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe partnered with the Seattle Mariners to incorporate tribal art and murals into T-Mobile Park, and offer tribal foods to homestand game attendees. The organizations also hosted baseball and softball camps in underserved areas.
Community service is a part of the Pechanga/Clippers partnership, too. LA Clippers and Intuit Dome Chief Commercial Officer Scott Sonnenberg said the expanded partnership will lead to further philanthropic efforts across the Pechanga Indian Reservation and throughout Southern California. For example, Pechanga Resort Casino will sponsor the Clippers’ annual “Feed The Community” event this year, per the Pechanga press release.
“It has long been a priority for the Clippers organization to use our platform to make a meaningful difference and moving into our new home Intuit Dome has allowed us to create a space that brings even more people together,” said Sonnenberg. “We’re very happy to have Pechanga as an Intuit Dome Founding Partner and the exclusive tribal casino of the LA Clippers as we continue programs and events that improve the lives of our neighbors.”
