We can all agree that there are simply too many damn bowl games, and that a huge chunk of them only exist so that sports networks can bilk a few hundred thousand dollars out of a presenting sponsor while subjecting us all to the CarsAndCarParts.com New Jersey Turnpike Bowl, or whatever. And so it is extremely satisfying to discover that ESPN just got hoodwinked by selling the New Mexico Bowl’s naming rights to an alleged scammer’s nonexistent company.
The Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday that ESPN has cut ties with DreamHouse, an alleged film production company based in Albuquerque that had been announced as the title sponsor for the New Mexico Bowl on Oct. 1. Yesterday’s announcement followed a series of reports from Enchantment Sports and the Albuquerque Journal revealing that not only is DreamHouse not registered as an official business with the city, it doesn’t even seem to have a working office space. From the Journal:
An Oct. 1 press release from ESPN said DreamHouse has a 25,000-square-foot post-production studio. And the sponsorship was announced outside the Aperture Center at Mesa Del Sol, where ESPN officials and Martinez said DreamHouse’s post-production studio was located.
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.
The Journal was following up on a few stories published by Enchantment Sports, in which people who know DreamHouse CEO Eric Martinez described him as a scam artist:
Numerous people contacted for this story said he is a relentless self promoter who lies about nearly everything he says he does.
“[Martinez has] gone from claiming he’s an Olympic boxer to a music manager, to the number one Latino actor in the country, to owning a magazine, to being a producer, to a director, to a filmmaker,” said [Steven Michael] Quezada, one of the state’s top actors who had a recurring role in “Breaking Bad” and won an award from the Screen Actors Guild.
ESPN’s partnership with DreamHouse was supposed to be for four years, and when it was announced outside of DreamHouse’s fake office, New Mexico Bowl Director Jeff Siembieda said, “I think you know what the film industry is doing for our state. It’s a hub for our economy, and DreamHouse is a big part of that. This partnership is right.” Very embarrassing for that guy!