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PetroSun has defaulted on its financial obligations as the title sponsor of Shreveport's Independence Bowl and will have its name stripped from the game, Mayor Cedric Glover and the bowl's chairman said today.
The bowl, which has struggled to find a title sponsor in recent years, will still be played this December, Independence Bowl chairman Keith Bergeron said at a news conference today.
The city loaned the Independence Bowl approximately $500,000 before last year's game after PetroSun had not paid, the mayor's administration said. The bowl needed the bailout in order to pay its obligations.
PetroSun's chairman, Gordon LeBlanc, has made "dozens of promises" to pay but has not done so, Bergeron said.
LeBlanc said this afternoon that he would pay the money within the next few weeks and they would like to be part of the 2008 Independence Bowl. He said he was disappointed the situation had gotten to this point.
Leblanc said his company had just completed a large research-and-development program. That will freed up some money for its sponsorship obligations, he said.
The Independence Bowl Foundation filed suit today in Caddo District Court seeking approximately $800,000 it says PetroSun owes. Among that money is the half-million dollars provided by the city.
The Independence Bowl had struggled to find a title sponsor when it picked PetroSun, which is headquartered in Arizona. Bowls officials said a marketing firm approached them on behalf of PetroSun.
The Independence Bowl is played each December and features teams from the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 Conference.
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