Lingerie Bowl invites Manross to suit up

The lingerie uniforms were not reserved for just the model players, cheerleaders and referees on hand Wednesday for a staged Lingerie Bowl V media event.

Creator and promoter Mitch Mortaza, who wants to bring his show to Scottsdale starting in September and then in the days leading up to the Feb. 3 Super Bowl game in Glendale, held up a yellow lingerie uniform that he said was being reserved as an invitation for Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross to join the game.

Manross, 60, made unflattering remarks about the event to the Tribune last week and has opposed the city’s two topless clubs — one of which is partially owned by Lingerie Bowl color commentator and adult-film mogul Jenna Jameson.

The mayor’s views on such risqué issues are again being used as promotion. Upset by the name of a trendy Mexican restaurant moving into Scottsdale, Manross last spring called the owner of the Pink Taco and asked him to change the name, a request that kicked off a flurry of local promotion and national attention.

Manross did not return a call Wednesday, but when asked last week about the Lingerie Bowl said: “Why don’t we talk about important things. Compared to all the stuff that happens in this community, it’s nothing, it’s not even worth paying attention to.”

Mortaza, who said he sent a floral bouquet to Manross and said he wants to buy her dinner and martinis, will be seeking the city’s approval to hold the three-day “Lingerie Bowl Village Experience” on closed downtown streets.

Scottsdale, however, has told Lingerie Bowl officials that any special event application will be placed on hold until the city receives the plans for the Arizona Super Bowl XLII Host Committee. Unlike the host committee, the Lingerie Bowl is not sanctioned by the National Football League.

“We’re not giving the host committee carte blanche, but we want to make sure the community needs are met first,” said Madeline Clemann, Scottsdale manager of downtown transportation services. “There are limited resources and a lot of competition, so we want to make sure we dovetail everything real carefully.”

Clemann said she doesn’t expect to hear from the host committee for a couple of months. A media inquiry sent to the host committee Wednesday was not answered.

The Lingerie Bowl is planning four days of events, including the Lingerie Bowl Experience Village, a fantasy player draft and a party on the eve of the Super Bowl. The Village Experience is expected to feature musicians and DJs along with autograph and photo sessions with the female players who will also be competing in football challenges. Lingerie Bowl V, “The Ultimate Catfight,” will be played at a yet-to-be-disclosed stadium during halftime of Super Bowl XLII.

The first three Lingerie Bowls were played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There was not a game this year, which Mortaza said occurred because of the switch from a pay-per-view to a cable contract. The game will be televised on an undisclosed cable television station next year.

But first, Mortaza said the Lingerie Bowl will “take over the city of Scottsdale starting as early as September” by having a presence at Scottsdale sports bars during regular season “NFL Sunday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football” games, including appearances from celebrities affiliated with the game. In addition to Jameson, the game will feature former NFL players Jim McMahon and Brian Bosworth as coaches and William “The Refrigerator” Perry, who will be available for one play for either team inside the 5-yard line.

Mortaza, owner of Los Angeles-based Horizon Productions, said following Wednesday’s event at Veterans Memorial Coliseum — where the captains from the four-team “Lingerie Football League” teams were introduced and struck poses for photographers — that he is in talks to bring Pink Taco into the mix and cross-promote with the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction.

“They are on the radar,” he said.

Jason Rose, a public relations consultant who represents Pink Taco and Barrett-Jackson, said “we are in a listening mode.”