COMPANIES PLAY THE NAME GAME AT SPORT STADIUMS.Byline: Rick Westhead Bloomberg News Staples Inc. Chairman Thomas Stemberg wanted to get his company's name in lights. The builders of a $300 million downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or arena needed money. So last month, Stemberg's office-supply retail chain signed a 20-year, $100 million contract with L.A. Arena Co. to put its name on the future home of the Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). and Lakers. It was the richest such agreement in history. The stadium naming-rights market is booming because taxpayers are balking balking, baulking see jibbing. at paying for new and refurbished arenas. Private-public partnerships are looking to selling the names of stadiums to fill the void, and are finding plenty of buyers. One analyst said 41 arenas and stadiums have naming-rights contracts and another is in negotiations. ``It's one way to control the skyrocketing cost of doing business, which can primarily be attributed to increasing player salaries,'' said Dean Bonham Bonham can refer to:
Bonham said by the turn of the century there will be at least $2 billion in North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. naming-rights contracts. For years, stadiums were built with either public money or by financing provided by wealthy owners. As construction prices increased, owners couldn't afford to pay for the projects, and taxpayers refused. In November, Pittsburgh-area voters rejected a proposal for a higher sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. to pay for two new stadiums. Other requests for public money have been turned down in Washington; Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital and the largest city of the American state of Ohio. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. ; and Minneapolis. One of the first naming-rights contracts was a 25-year, $1.5 million agreement signed in 1973 between Rich Products Corp., the Buffalo-based closely held A phrase used to describe the ownership, management, and operation of a corporation by a small group of people. In a closely held corporation, the same people often act as shareholders, directors, and officers, and no outside investors exist. maker of Coffee Rich nondairy non·dair·y adj. Containing no milk or dairy products: nondairy coffee creamer. creamer, and Erie County Erie County is the name of several counties in the United States:
Current arenas in the National Basketball Association Western Conference Eastern Conference . The trend continued in the 1990s. In 1995, Fleet Bank signed a 15-year, $30 million contract to name the FleetCenter in Boston. The contract with Westborough, Mass.-based Staples creates a new benchmark. ``Staples likes to think outside the box,'' said Daniel Binder, an analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. ``They've been the most consistent, smartest player in the industry.'' Binder said the $100 million Staples will pay for 20 years is a relative pittance pit·tance n. 1. A meager monetary allowance, wage, or remuneration. 2. A very small amount: not a pittance of remorse. for a company that has spent more than $382.4 million on advertising during the past three years. Staples Vice President Todd Krasnow refused to say how much the company expects sales to increase in the long run because of the Los Angeles arena contract. ``We've done that exercise and think the money we've invested is a very reasonable trade-off,'' Krasnow said. Most companies are experiencing similar marketing success with naming-rights contracts. Cindy Shevrovich, vice president with Joyce Julius & Associates, an Ann Arbor, Mich., company that performs sports and special events sponsorship research, said companies that name stadiums are getting bang for their buck. ``Companies are profiting from their contracts, not just with national television exposure but with exposure at the event site and merchandising,'' Shevrovich said. Not everyone has embraced the corporate-sports team relationship. ``The sea of corporate stadium contracts has been met with mixed reaction,'' Bonham said. ``At what point do fans say enough is enough, we didn't come to this sports venue to hear this?'' Some people have already voiced their opposition to the trend. Some broadcasters refer to 3Com Park, formerly Candlestick Candlestick A price chart that displays the high, low, open, and close for a security each day over a specified period of time. Park, as ``Commercialstick Park'' after 3Com Corp. agreed to a four-year, $4 million naming-rights contract for the home of the San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California that currently play in the National League West Division. New York Giants history Early days and the John McGraw era and 49ers. ``You have to absorb some of the negativity,'' said Fred Fried, executive vice president of Integrated Sports International, an East Rutherford, N.J., company that brokered the contract. Some other companies have avoided naming-rights contracts altogether. After an exploratory investigation, AT&T Corp. decided against paying about $600 million to get its name on a new stadium for the NFL's next Cleveland Browns team. ``It's not that important for us to have our name emblazoned on an edifice,'' said AT&T spokesman Burke Stinson. Stinson said AT&T prefers to buy exclusive naming-rights to events, such as the AT&T Pro-Am golf tournament, formerly the Bing Crosby Pro-Am. Some professional teams are just as wary of the relationship between corporations and professional sports teams. In 1973, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson was excited about moving into a new stadium in Erie County. His enthusiasm was tempered when he discovered that the county had signed a $1.5 million, 25-year contract to name the new stadium. ``I was upset. They wanted to come in and put signs all over the place,'' Wilson said. The contract expires in July and Wilson said the association with Rich Products will end. He said Buffalo Bills Stadium or Erie County Stadium are possibilities for a new name. ``I'm shocked at what's happened to professional sports with all this commercialization,'' Wilson said. ``I don't want to see my stadium look like a hot dog stand A hot dog stand is a food business stand that sells hot dogs, usually from an external counter on a public thoroughfare such as a road, street, mall or food court. or some Ringling Brothers Circus The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884. Ringling Brothers Circus eventually joined with the Barnum & Bailey Circus to become "Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, the Greatest Show on Earth". show.'' Even so, Wilson acknowledges he is in the minority. Using naming-rights money to help offset hefty player contracts is often worth whatever public backlash erupts. ``I see naming-rights contracts escalating much the same as we see athletes' contracts escalating,'' Bonham said. ``Every time the bar is raised, it has an impact on the next deal.'' WHAT'S IN A NAME? Among the 41 sports arenas in North America with corporate names are these California facilities. STADIUM CITY TEAM SPONSOR Arrowhead Pond Anaheim Mighty Ducks Arrowhead Water Co. Great Western Forum Inglewood Lakers, Kings Great Western Bancorp. Staples Arena x Los Angeles Lakers, Kings Staples Inc. Umax Stadium Oakland A's Raiders Umax Data Systems Inc. Arco Arena Sacramento Kings Atlantic Richfield Co. Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Padres, Chargers Qualcomm Inc. 3Com Park San Francisco Giants, 49ers 3Com Corp. PacBell Park x San Francisco Giants Pacific Bell x Yet to be built CAPTION(S): Box Box: WHAT'S IN A NAME? (See Text) |
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