ESPN drops New Mexico Bowl sponsor after news outlets' investigations
The New Mexico Bowl does not have a sponsor after media investigations raised questions about the business legitimacy of the company that had agreed to sponsor the game.
The bowl said Thursday that DreamHouse Productions would no longer be the sponsor of the game. DreamHouse was announced as the game’s sponsor on Oct. 1. The decision to drop the company came after Enchantment Sports first looked into the company. The Albuquerque Journal published a story Wednesday about the company, which is allegedly a film production group.
The game is owned and operated by ESPN.
“We notified DreamHouse today that we have terminated its title sponsorship agreement with the New Mexico Bowl,” an ESPN statement said. “We remain focused on ensuring a quality experience for fans.”
The Journal’s story noted that ESPN’s statement announcing the game made mention of a 25,000-square-foot studio owned by the company. So the Journal went to find it. And couldn’t.
But this week, there were no signs of DreamHouse at the Aperture Center. The three-story building is mostly vacant, except for a cafe and a construction business.
Martinez said in an interview earlier this month with an Arkansas television station that the company’s space was next to the Netflix production hub at Mesa Del Sol. But when asked about DreamHouse at the Netflix gate this week, a security guard said he didn’t know of the firm, adding, “That’s a new one to me.”
The Journal also found judgments against the company’s CEO, Eric Martinez, and multiple people told Enchantment Sports about Martinez’s alleged proclivity to not pay people for projects. From Enchantment Sports’ story on Oct. 11:
“I wish the bowl game luck, and I wish DreamHouse success,” said film maker Mando Hernandez, who said he worked on projects for Martinez three times but was only paid for one.
“But all I know is that if you’re involved with Eric Martinez, the guy is going to (screw) someone over. I don’t know how, I don’t know when. But rest assured, the guy’s gonna (screw) someone over. This time, it sounds like it’s the New Mexico Bowl.”
The 2019 New Mexico Bowl is set for Dec. 21 and will likely feature teams from the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA. The game, which was first played in 2006, was sponsored by Gildan from 2011-17. There was no sponsor of the game in 2018 and it looks like it’ll stay that way in 2019.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports
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