Putnam scores Patriots deal, Fidelity out - Ingles

Putnam Investments has joined Gillette Stadium’s exclusive marketing club, taking over a prime Patriots naming-rights deal that Hub financial rival Fidelity Investments left on the field.

Starting this season, Putnam will sponsor the Foxboro football arena’s club-level section — known for its 6,000 red-padded seats, luxury concourse and premium concessions. Financial terms of the long-term deal were not disclosed.

“The game-day branding is enormous,” said Putnam chief Bob Reynolds. “What the Patriots stand for and what the Kraft family has built over the years — their performance and execution and teamwork — to be able to co-brand with them is very exciting for us.”

Fidelity says it did not fumble the deal to its crosstown mutual-fund competitor. The company, led by billionaire Ned Johnson, reached the end of its 10-year contract with the Pats and opted to walk.

“Over the course of a decade, we enjoyed a strong and productive relationship with the Patriots,” said Fidelity spokeswoman Anne Crowley. “But the clubhouse was rather unique for Fidelity. We don’t have major facilities named after us in sports stadiums across the country.”

Reynolds, who became Putnam CEO in 2008 after working at Fidelity for 24 years, stiff-armed the notion that he was scoring points against his corporate alma mater.

“That was not it for us,” said Reynolds, who was involved with Fidelity’s deal with the Pats. “Any company could have been in there.”

Fidelity was unfazed that a former top executive scooped up the clubhouse rights. “I think it’s irrelevant and not a concern to us,” Crowley said. “Once we decided not to continue that sponsorship level, we understood that there would be many other firms interested.”

Besides new signs, the rechristened Putnam Club will usher in new technology such as high-def screens displaying game information and undisclosed social media features.

“The club’s going to have a very different feel to it,” said Patriots president Jonathan Kraft, son of owner Robert Kraft. “I think you’ll see it evolve every year.”

Putnam sponsors PGA golf and Olympic skiing, but the football game plan fits with Reynolds’ history. The West Virginia native was a finalist for NFL commissioner in 2006, and he grew up a Steelers fan before switching his allegiance to the Pats.

A longtime Pats season ticket holder, Reynolds will now be able to drive down “Putnam Way” into Gillette’s parking lots and sit with his company’s logo beaming out at a captive audience of 68,000 fans.

“I’m always excited for the Patriots, but this year I’m even more excited,” he said. (source Boston Herald)