Chapter 407: Tampa Fidelity Stadium

After celebrating New Year's Eve on the Black Pearl, Arthur and his friends returned to the seaside villa at Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica.

But because Winona Ryder needed to return to the set of My Best Friend's Wedding, she left first.

"The performance of Galaxy last year was really good, with Forrest Gump and Disney's The Lion King leading the Golden Globe nominations," Jennifer Aniston said, holding the list of Golden Globe nominations, and sat next to Arthur.

Arthur glanced at the list. Three of the nominees for Best Motion Picture - Drama were produced by Galaxy, including Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, and Legends of the Fall.

In the Best Television Series - Drama category, two of the nominations were from Galaxy Television: The X-Files Season 2 and ER Season 1!

"Pulp Fiction was a big surprise, grossing over $100 million in North America, and its international release is promising too," Jennifer Aniston said, leaning into Arthur's embrace with a radiant smile.

Pulp Fiction pulled in over $60 million during its first round of release and added another $40 million during the awards season expansion.

Arthur smiled and reached into Jennifer Aniston's embrace, feeling the softness. "You know how much Pulp Fiction was talked about last year. The word-of-mouth spread quickly, and Quentin Tarantino's reputation skyrocketed domestically."

Jennifer Aniston nodded. "Indeed, it was excellent. And Legends of the Fall was also impressive, with $66 million in North America and $94 million internationally, totaling $160 million worldwide. But Jodie Foster's The Daughter of the Earth performed worse, just breaking the $30 million mark currently."

Arthur was noncommittal. "Jodie Foster's commercial appeal isn't strong. She's famous, and the international market is more important than the North American one. Let's wait and see how the international release goes."

The Daughter of the Earth was Jodie Foster's first production, and she was also the lead actress. It premiered last November.

"Hmm," Jennifer Aniston said as she lifted her head and kissed Arthur. "Arthur, Brad Pitt is almost becoming your go-to male actor. You seem to have high hopes for him?"

"Yeah, he's impressive. His performances in Se7en and Legends of the Fall were eye-catching," Arthur said, specifically looking at Jennifer Aniston in his arms and smiling. "Moreover, he's handsome, comparable to young male stars like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp!"

In addition, Interview with the Vampire, which premiered around the same time as The Daughter of the Earth, also grossed over $100 million.

Brad Pitt is now indisputably a top-tier male star.

Monica Bellucci mentioned Universal's sci-fi movie 12 Monkeys, which planned to cast Brad Pitt in a supporting role.

But now, Brad Pitt definitely wouldn't waste his time on such roles!

"Arthur, you're not willing to be an actor, otherwise you wouldn't be worse off," Jennifer Aniston, who knew Brad Pitt well, said. "You're already a screenwriter and handsome with good skills."

Arthur smiled. "I know how my acting skills are. Besides, someone like me is destined for the top circles. Why waste time acting?"

"Alright, get ready. We're heading to Florida for a few days," Arthur patted Jennifer Aniston in his arms.

...

Arthur's NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had finalized an agreement with the Tampa city government to build a new stadium.

To prevent Arthur from relocating the Buccaneers, the Tampa city government had to fund the construction of a dedicated stadium for the Buccaneers!

The Buccaneers didn't make the playoffs this year, and the Super Bowl at the end of the month would be held at the Miami Dolphins' home, Joe Robbie Stadium.

Early in the morning at Miami's South Beach, in a suite at the Fontainebleau Hotel, Arthur lay comfortably in bed.

Soon after, Jennifer Aniston emerged from under the blanket, gasping for air, and grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth.

"Aren't you supposed to talk about the new stadium project in Tampa? You've already stayed in Miami for two days," Jennifer Aniston said, lying in Arthur's arms, feeling puzzled.

"Well, it's almost done. Things are mostly settled over there. It should be finalized tonight," Arthur said, stroking the woman's curves.

"Our Buccaneers team will cover 20% of the new stadium construction costs, and I found Fidelity Investments to buy the naming rights. The rest will be funded by the Tampa city government!"

"Oh, I thought you were going to fund the new stadium construction yourself again?" Jennifer Aniston blinked. "Well, I'm getting ready to return to the set. The workload for Friends is quite tight right now."

"Okay..."

...

In the following days, the Tampa Tribune announced that the Tampa city government and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would jointly build a new dedicated football stadium in the northwest region of Tampa!

The new stadium's budget was $200 million, with the Buccaneers covering $40 million, and Fidelity Investments contributing $60 million in exchange for 22 years of naming rights. The remaining half would be funded by the Tampa city government.

The new stadium thus was named Fidelity Stadium.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers owned 30% of Fidelity Stadium's shares, while the Tampa city government held 70%.

The new stadium was scheduled to break ground in the later half of this year!

In the office at the Tampa City Hall, Mayor John Sykes looked helplessly at Arthur. "Another $100 million expense."

Arthur smiled and sipped his coffee. "Mayor, rest assured. The Buccaneers' current mediocre performance doesn't boost the city's economy. Once the new stadium is completed, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will definitely perform up to expectations. You can look at my NBA team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and my NHL team, the Los Angeles Kings. They're doing well now!"

John Sykes shrugged. "I hope everything goes as you plan. Since you purchased the Buccaneers, you'll have to increase some investment here, right?"

"Tampa is a tourist city. I'll bring more films here for shooting," Arthur replied.

"That would be great. A few years ago, Edward Scissorhands brought a lot of tourists to the nearby town of Lutz," John Sykes said, gesturing towards Arthur. "At that time, we will definitely give you a satisfactory tax exemption!"

Tampa indeed did not have many special attractions and landmarks. With the famous Miami next door, anyone would choose Miami if they had to.

So, shooting some exterior scenes in Tampa as a backup wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Alright, John, it's a good thing I bought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Glazer family had bought them, the city government would have spent more money. I not only covered 20% of the new stadium's construction costs but also brought in $60 million in naming sponsorship! Raymond James Financial Group, which has been wanting to sponsor, offers a maximum annual sponsorship fee of $2 million, not comparable to Fidelity Group!"

Otherwise, the new stadium's name would have been Raymond James Stadium...

*****

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