NEWS

WARWICK — The New England Patriots’ team colors may be blue, silver and red, but the state Airport Corporation is hoping that when it comes to flying, the team’s fans will think T.F. Green. That’s because the corporation board on Wednesday unanimously approved entering into an agreement that calls for Green to be designated the Patriots’ official airport, in exchange for the corporation waiving the approximately $1 million in annual fees it would have charged for housing two team jets in Rhode Island. Patriots officials could not be reached for comment. The team has two red, white and blue Boeing 767 jets with “PATRIOTS” emblazoned on each side of the fuselages and five Lombardi trophies painted on the tails. One is parked at Green in Warwick. The other, a backup, is parked at Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown. Green is about a 35-mile drive from the team’s Gillette Stadium headquarters. Airport Corporation CEO and President Iftikhar Ahmad said the agreement means Green will be able to tout the connection with the NFL team in its marketing. Specific uses in individual advertising efforts would have to be discussed with the Patriots first, he said. Brian Schattle, the corporation’s senior vice president for finance and commercial enterprise, told the corporation board that the airport’s “catchment area” — the eastern Connecticut-Rhode Island-southeastern Massachusetts zone from which it draws travelers — “perfectly aligns” with the area where fan interest in the Patriots is strongest. Ahmad said the connection with the Patriots was valuable beyond people interested in who wins football games. Besides having a successful team on the field, he said, the Patriots are perceived in New England as a smart and successful business and being chosen by that kind of a high-profile organization would rub off on Green. All NFL teams run joint marketing programs with a companies ranging from national corporations to local businesses. Among the businesses Green will join on the roster of Patriots “partners,” are Uber, the team’s official ride-sharing partner; Carmax, its official used car dealer; JetBlue — which recently announced it is adding flights at Green — as its airline partner; and Bob’s Furniture. Keith B. Murray, a marketing professor at Bryant University in Smithfield, said $1 million in sacrificed revenue may sound like a large number, but it represents about 1.9 percent of the airport’s annual budget. And since T. F. Green’s main strategy is luring travelers from Logan Airport in Boston, Murray said, the Patriots’ endorsement could help not only because they chose Green, but because they didn’t chose Logan. “It seems a test worth taking,” Murray said. “Particularly with Green’s proximity to Logan, it could have a halo effect.” http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170929/tf-green-signs-deal-to-be...