Jose Cuervo Offers $1 Million For Spot Near Hollywood Sign

The makers of Jose Cuervo have offered the city of Los Angeles $1 million to place the words "Cuervo Nation" beneath the city's best-known landmark, the Hollywood sign, for one year.

The offer came as the city announced last month that it was studying selling its naming rights and other ways to market itself to help plug a projected $250 million budget shortfall. The city said it was considering accepting offers for an official drink.

Jose Cuervo, owned by Diageo Plc., would also like to have Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican holiday, designated as the city's official holiday and margaritas made with Cuervo named the official drink for people age 21 and over.

Numerous other cities are looking at similar ways to bring in much needed funds. New York City last year signed a five-year deal worth $166 million giving Snapple exclusivity as the city's beverage vendor.

The Hollywood sign sits atop Mount Lee, Los Angeles's tallest peak. The sign, visible from all parts of Hollywood, measures 450 feet long, its letters are 45 feet high. It was erected in 1923 as an advertising sign for a real estate development in Beachwood Canyon, the Sign originally read "Hollywoodland."

Cuervo Nation is named for a tiny Caribbean island purchased by the tequila maker in the 1990s.