• by Karl Greenberg , April 15, 2008

Clear Channel Branded Cities, a division of Clear Channel Outdoor, has signed a three-year contract with kitchen-appliance maker Dacor to be the official appliance maker for CCBC's Westgate City Center, a mixed-use development in Glendale, Ariz.

Dacor will provide appliances for 580 condominiums to be built there; the company will have marketing opportunities at Westgate around events like New Year's Eve, and such sports events as NCAA games, professional football, and auto racing. Westgate City Center is in Glendale, near the University of Phoenix stadium, the venue for Super Bowl XLII.

The partnership puts Dacor in a 10-story, 181 condominium Art Deco building called The Majestic, and allows the company to host several culinary shows each year in conjunction with other Westgate events. The company will also have a long-term signage position in the planned shopping/living center's high traffic area. Dacor will also be able to use the condo model space for VIP events.

Westgate, a joint venture of CCBC and developer Ellman Companies broke ground in 2006. The mixed-use community is also near Jobing.com Arena, a Renaissance Hotel, and a convention center.

Dan Jasper, Clear Channel VP/business development, says the development - with some 30 media signs and a full-motion 1,500 foot LED screen -- also has something else media buyers for consumer brands might like: a regular slate of professional, college, bowl and spring training sports. Last year automaker Nissan signed on as official automobile of Westgate.

"When you consider the NHL, the Cardinals, NFL, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, in the third year of a 30-year contract, a national playoff every four years, the sports thing is huge," says Jasper, who says next year the nearby arena, which hosted this year's Final Four, will hold the Western Regional finals of NCAA tournament. "You start to build a case where the tent-pole events, as well as spring training activity, are happening there on regular intervals." Westgate is projected to attract approximately 26 million visitors annually.

Westgate, which Jasper says should be completed around 2012, will ultimately comprise some 8 million square feet of retail, entertainment, restaurants, residential and office space. There will be some 2,200 condominiums, lofts, flats and apartments and five hotels. The estimated cost is $1.5 billion.