Crains New York - August 6, 2012 - (Page 11)

REPORT ALFRED KELLY JR. BUSINESS OF SPORTS INSIDE The List New York area’s professional sports teams PAGE 13 ‘If I had a wish, it would be to simply know what the weather will be’ —Alfred Kelly Jr., CEO, NY/NY Super Bowl Host Committee, Page 14 Crunch time for ’14 Super Bowl host Exec talks plans for event that’ll fill 20,000 hotel rooms BY LISA FICKENSCHER Super Bowl 2014 may be more than 500 days away, but Alfred Kelly Jr., chief executive of the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee,is focused on the next several months, when he and his staff will winnow their list of hotels, restaurants and meeting spaces that are being considered as venues for the mega-event, which is expected to generate $550 million in regional economic activity. What has the host committee accomplished so far? FIRST RALLY! After years of hibernation, Spongetech’s stock takes off. Many buyers are members of an orthodox synagogue in Queens. SECOND RALLY! All the advertising at ballparks and football stadiums pays off as Spongetech rises again. 25¢ 20 15 newscom 10 SPONGEWORTHY: Spongetech signs a licensing agreement with Nickelodeon to sell SpongeBob sponges. 0.6¢ 0.6¢ 5 0 ’07 D J F M A M J J A S O N ’08 D J F M A M J J A S O N D ’09 J F M A M J J A S O N D ’10 J F M A M Has the committee selected venues for the dozens of official Super Bowl parties and for the weeklong NFL Experience? We’ve looked at more than 100 places, including some that See Q&A on Page 14 See RISE AND FALL on Page 14 THE END! CEO Michael Metter (right) and COO Steven Moskowitz are arrested and charged with faking 99% of Spongetech’s sales. Six of the seven people charged have pleaded guilty. Mr. Metter maintains his innocence. August 6, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 11 ny post We’ve made a lot of decisions, but not the sexy ones, like who gets hired for the music and entertainment. Fourteen months ago, I was the only one hired, and now we have 25 full-time employees, an advertising agency, a public relations firm and two offices, and we just launched our website, www.nynjsuperbowl.com. It has a countdown clock and will tell people about the events and how to become a volunteer. We also have [blocked] 20,000 hotel rooms on both sides of the Hudson River for the teams and their entourages. Rise and fall of the Spongetech scam How stadium ads for soap-filled products helped fuel penny-stock pump and dump BY AARON ELSTEIN In late 2009, Madison Square Garden executives were getting fed up with one of the most prominent sponsors at New York Knicks and Rangers games. Spongetech Delivery Systems Inc., a small, publicly traded company that had emerged from nowhere months earlier, was chronically late paying for the ads it bought near the arena’s basketball hoop and other key locations. One exasperated MSG sales manager showed up at Spongetech’s offices on West 33rd Street on the morning of Dec. 4 to collect in person after his repeated messages went unreturned. Spongetech’s chief operating officer, Steven Moskowitz, gave him a check for $360,000 and then quickly left the office,saying he had another obligation. The MSG executive noticed the check wasn’t written from Spongetech’s account. He raced to a garage where Mr. Moskowitz was waiting for his car and demanded he pay up, pronto, according to an affidavit filed in New York state court. Mr. Moskowitz told him to come back to the office in a while. A few hours later, the MSG representative watched as the COO wrote another $360,000 check. In a response filed in court, Mr. Moskowitz acknowledged that his first check contained a “typographical error.”But he insisted the check was never intended to pay Spongetech’s bill. Rather, it was for an amount owed to MSG by another company he helped run. http://www.nynjsuperbowl.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - August 6, 2012

Crains New York - August 6, 2012
Contents
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Opinion
Greg David
From Around the City
Report: Business of Sports
Classifieds
Small Business
Real Estate Deals
Helluva Town
Source Lunch
Out and About

Crains New York - August 6, 2012