N.M. Bowl terminates naming rights deal

ESPN’s announcement comes after reports about business, personal practices of DreamHouse CEO

ALBUQUERQUE — The DreamHouse New Mexico Bowl is no more.

ESPN, which owns and operates the annual New Mexico Bowl, announced Thursday afternoon that it has terminated its naming rights deal with Albuquerque-based DreamHouse Productions, effective immediately.

The bowl’s website reflected the change less than an hour before ESPN Events went public with the news. Stripped from the site was any mention of DreamHouse and its relationship to the bowl game. Same, too, for the event’s updated logo that had depicted the production company’s name and wordmark.

“We notified DreamHouse today that we have terminated its title sponsorship agreement with the New Mexico Bowl,” said Anna Negron, a senior publicist for college sports at ESPN. “We remain focused on ensuring a quality experience for fans.”

The announcement comes in the wake of a series of media reports about the business and personal practices of DreamHouse CEO Eric Martinez. Negron did not say if there was a correlation between the reports and the termination of the naming rights deal.

DreamHouse was named the title sponsor in an Oct. 1 news conference, at which bowl director Jeff Siembieda hailed it as a “tremendous day for New Mexico and for our event, but also the state’s thriving film industry and overall economy,” he said. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Siembieda did not return a message and has previously declined all comments, referring all matters to ESPN.

Questions about DreamHouse Productions and Martinez were scrutinized earlier this month in a series of stories by the Albuquerque-based online sports site Enchantment Sports.

The event was known simply as the New Mexico Bowl from its inception in 2006 through 2010. From 2011-17, clothing manufacturer Gildan held the naming rights. There was no title sponsor on the 2018 game and the agreement with DreamHouse was said to be a multiyear deal, according to bowl spokesman James Hallinan.

This year’s game is scheduled for Dec. 21 at the University of New Mexico’s Dreamstyle Stadium.

Dreamstyle Remodeling, which has obtained naming rights to The Pit and UNM’s football stadium, has no business ties to DreamHouse Productions.