The final matchup is set! The rosters are final. Now the entire world waits with baited breath for the National Football League’s biggest game. It’s only one week until the NFL Pro Bowl! What’s that? Oh, yeah, no one cares. Well there is ONE other football game left this season. So in honor of the upcoming Super Bowl XLVI between the Giants and Patriots, a rematch of 2007’s Super Bowl, here’s a look at those companies connected to the upcoming Super Bowl cities.
Procter & Gamble (PG)
Procter & Gamble bought the Gillette brand in 2007, the brand that gave the name to the stadium where the Patriots play their home games. The razor company was based in Boston, MA, and Procter & Gamble has opted to keep the name through 2031 because of the brand’s local history. The stadium was originally CMGI Field until the dot-com bust gave Gillette the chance to buy naming rights. CMGI, Inc. has since changed its name and is now ModusLink Global Solutions (MLNK).
Kraft Foods (KFT)
Kraft Foods bears the same name as Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots. This is, however, largely a coincidence as Robert Kraft has no real connection to the food company, founded by Canadian-American cheese maker James L. Kraft in 1909. Robert Kraft, though, is an extremely successful businessman who is the Chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group, LLC., a privately held holding company. However, surely the good people at Kraft must be pulling for success of the team owned by a guy with their name, right?
Wynn Resorts (WYNN)
Well, this was at least a near miss. Steve Wynn was making plans to enter a partnership to build a casino and resort in Foxborough, a town of just over 16,000 people. However, on December 27th the town’s selectmen voted down the casino plans 3-2 after public pressure to block plans.
Loews Corporation (L)
In 1991, an ailing Tim Mara, the founder of the New York Football Giants, sold half of his team to Bob Tisch for $80 million. Bob and his brother Laurence were New York hotel entrepreneurs who purchased the Loews theater chain from MGM in 1959 after an antitrust ruling forced the studios to divest themselves from the theater business. While Loews theaters is now defunct, Loews Corporation lives on as a holding company with assets in oil and gas drilling and members of the Tisch family still prominent on the board and holding the position of CEO.
Financials
New York is, apparently, some sort of center for financial companies and equities trading, with major investment banks like Goldman Sachs (GS) and JP Morgan (JPM) making their home in the city. However, Boston is also a major financial center in its own right, with hedge funds like the Baupost Group and the Turan Corporation centered there.
Read Next
