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The Principal Family Fun Fest Arrives at Jordan Creek Town Center on June 15, 2006; Fans Can See the Most Extensive Traveling Baseball Festival in History

The Principal Family Fun Fest Arrives at Jordan Creek Town Center on June 15, 2006; Fans Can See the Most Extensive Traveling Baseball Festival in History

Published 06-14-06

Submitted by Principal Financial Group, Inc.

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 2006--A one-of-a-kind baseball tour is coming back to Des Moines and making its first ever stop at the Jordan Creek Town Center on Thursday, June 15. Sponsored by the Principal Financial Group(R) and produced by Entertainment & Sports International (ESI), the 4,000 square foot Principal Family Fun Fest will begin at 5:00 p.m. and will run until 8:00 p.m. The Jordan Creek Town Center is located at 101 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines. On Friday, June 16th the Principal Family Fun Fest will stop at Principal Park, prior to the I-Cubs baseball game, gates will open at 4:05 p.m.

The Principal Family Fun Fest is the most extensive traveling baseb all festival in history and features more than 20 baseball themed attractions including a minor league baseball museum, Xbox 360 Home Run Derby video game trailer, and a fan festival midway with batting and pitching cages, bungee runs, a huge side-by-side giant slide, baseball bounce houses, and lots more interactive fun for baseball fans of all ages. This is the third year The Principal has brought the baseball festival to Des Moines.

"We're especially delighted to treat our hometown to the Principal Family Fun Fest. The response in Des Moines has been phenomenal; there is always a tremendous turnout when the Principal Family Fun Fest arrives in Des Moines. We are delighted to sponsor such a terrific event, which is part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the community that has given us so much in terms of valued employees and customers," said Dan Houston, executive vice president of retirement and investor services for the Principal Financial Group.

The Principal Family Fun Fest has been in existence since 2004 and has attracted over half a million fans, appearing at more than 100 ball parks. In 2006 it will visit 20 new teams, including this year's visit to Des Moines. The Principal Family Fun Fest is made available to teams at no cost to fans courtesy of the Principal Financial Group, a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services.

"The response to the 2005 tour was overwhelming," said ESI co-president Bert Gould. "Teams are eager to schedule a Principal Family Fun Fest event at their ballpark and in 2006 we once again had more offers for dates than we could satisfy."

The minor league baseball museum is a favorite tour attraction that features over 100 years of minor league baseball historical artifacts including a rare autographed photo of Joe DiMaggio in his 1934 San Francisco Seals uniform, a Kansas City Blues team photo featuring a minor league Mickey Mantle and a baseball signed by Paul Hopkins who as a rookie pitched record breaking home run #59 to Babe Ruth in 1927. The museum also features a unique video presentation produced specially for ESI's Principal Family Fun Fest by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Another favorite is the Xbox Home Run Derby video game arcade trailer which has been completely redesigned for 2006. This year the trailer will feature the hot new Xbox 360 game system, the hottest seller of the 2005 holiday season. Microsoft Xbox and Best Buy, the "Official Retailer of Family Fun", will co-sponsor the Home Run Derby trailer which will feature large HD TV flat panel screens for enhanced game play and for the first time, in addition to baseball video games, fans will also be able to experience racing and other exciting non-sports games. Xbox and Best Buy will also offer collectible "Gamer's Bracelets" at the trailer as part of a cooperative fundraising effort for Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

LIFE Magazine will also join the tour in 2006 with two exciting new attractions. Since 1936, LIFE has featured some of baseball's greatest players on the cover of its fabled publication and now visitors to the Principal Family Fun Fest will be able to visit an exhibit that shows the entire collection of covers along with background and commentary. Also new, will be the "Future Legends" attraction where fans can have a digital photo of themselves put on the cover of a free souvenir copy of LIFE Magazine.

For more information about the Principal Family Fun Fest, go to www.principal.com/funfest.

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group(R) (The Principal (R))(1) is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies and national network of financial professionals. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $205.3 billion in assets under management(2) and serves some 16.0 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

About Entertainment & Sports International

Entertainment & Sports International (ESI) is a partnership of two experienced sports and entertainment executives who have worked with some of the best-known entertainment brands of the past two decades. From offices in New York and West Palm Beach, Fla., the company creates and produces distinctive and proprietary sports and entertainment properties and events. For more information, visit www.esimarketing.com.

(1) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.

(2) As of March 31, 2006.

Copyright Business Wire 2006

Principal Financial Group, Inc. logo

Principal Financial Group, Inc.

Principal Financial Group, Inc.

Principal Financial Group® (Nasdaq: PFG) is a global financial company with 18,500 employees1 passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, we’re helping more than 51 million customers1 plan, protect, invest, and retire, while working to support the communities where we do business, and build a diverse, inclusive workforce. Principal® is proud to be recognized as one of America’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies2, a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and a Top 10 “Best Places to Work in Money Management3.” Learn more about Principal and our commitment to building a better future at principal.com.

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