A commodity of good names.
A Commodity of Good Names*
Fee paid by entertainment mogul David Geffen to $200 million
the University of California/Los Angeles to name
its new medical school after him
Fee paid by Las Vegas casino GoldenPalace.com for $12,000
the right to name a Virginia woman's unborn
triplets
Fee the company paid to name a previously unknown $650,000
species of monkey found in Bolivia in 2005
(Callicebus aureipalatii; "of the golden
palace")
Highest bid offered during an auction sponsored by $30,000
U.S. Marine Sergeant Cody Baker for the right to
rename him (as "FreebeeStore.com")
Fee proposed by New Berlin, Wisconsin, district $500,000
schools to buy the right to name their football
fieldhouse
To name a school conference room $25,000
To name an auditorium seat $250
Fee paid annually by Coca-Cola Corporation for $6,000,000
naming rights to Minute Maid Park (football
stadium) in Houston, Texas
Total estimated value of current major sports $4.3 billion
naming rights deals in the United States
Number of times the former Boston Garden (now the 34
TD Banknorth Garden) has been renamed for a fee
since 1993 (including, for two days, "Yankees
Suck Center")
* "I would to God thou and I knew where a commodity of good names were
to be bought." William Shakespeare, King John.
SOURCES: Geffen School: Dig In Research, Inc. GoldenPalace.com fees and
Boston Garden: Wikipedia. Cody Baker: OnTheCommons.org/David Bollier.
New Berlin schools: NPR/WUWM radio, Milwaukee. Coca-Cola: ESPN.com
Sports Business. Naming rights deals: Naming Rights Online.
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