More corporate stadium names

Early rumor that in 2009 the Met's may be playing in Citibank Stadium (or one of any number of combinations of Citi, Citibank, or Citigroup with Park, Stadium, Yard, Ballpark, etc.)

The worst thing about new stadiums is that you don't have an existing name to stick to when the teams adopt these assinine corporate names. I can refer to Candlestick Park or Comiskey and everyone knows exactly what I'm referring to and it sounds right as well. Not much I can do about a place like Pacific Bell Park, or SBC or AT&T or whatever the hell it's called these days. (I briefly tried referring to it as Pacific Park.)

For all of his flaws Geroge Steinbrenner is a huge fan of the whole Yankee tradition thing so I can at least cling to the hope that the new ballpark in the Bronx will be named Yankee Stadium. That's what I'm going to call it, regardless. Or the House that George's Money Built.

It took me a good five minutes to figure out where Chase Field was.
[www.bankoneballpark.com]

I'm just pissed we didnt get the Pink Taco Stadium in Arizona.

There are two things I still don't quite understand about the new Met's's Stadium.

1. Why are they cutting seating down from 55,000 to 45,000? It might not sell out consistently, but it seems odd to me to cut that drastically.
2. Why aren't they naming it after William Shea again? Just for the cash they'll get for naming rights? Seems pretty sad to me, though not hugely surprising I guess.

Beeeej
There are two things I still don't quite understand about the new Met's's Stadium.

1. Why are they cutting seating down from 55,000 to 45,000? It might not sell out consistently, but it seems odd to me to cut that drastically.
2. Why aren't they naming it after William Shea again? Just for the cash they'll get for naming rights? Seems pretty sad to me, though not hugely surprising I guess.

Why would the Yankees cut their seating down from 57,000 to 50,000? Answer: economic. If you sell out every seat every game you can charge more on a daily basis than if there are walkup seats available. You end up making more than you could by selling the extra seats from time to time.

Also, the new ballparks tend to have wider seating rows and shorter upper decks so that probably means fewer seats.

To be honest I never knew who William Shea was until I just looked him up on Wiki. It may be sad, but I'd have been shocked if the new place were named after him. (Besides, old Shea is a dump!)

What about the idea to name it after Jackie Robinson?

It'll always be "that shithole Shea" to me.

I liked when the arena in Philly was the First Union Center. Everyone called it the F.U. Center. Now everyone simply calls it the Wacko, or even just The Center because the name has changed so much.

I think it's a fine idea to name a stadium after Jackie Robinson, but why the Met's's's' new stadium in particular? I don't think anybody views the Mets as the Queens New Brooklyn Dodgers, or at least they haven't in a long, long time.

Beeeej
I think it's a fine idea to name a stadium after Jackie Robinson, but why the Met's's's' new stadium in particular? I don't think anybody views the Mets as the Queens New Brooklyn Dodgers, or at least they haven't in a long, long time.

Agreed. It would make a lot more sense for the Dodgers to name a place after Robinson. Or the Brooklyn Cyclones even. But the Mets?

KeithK
so I can at least cling to the hope that the new ballpark in the Bronx will be named Yankee Stadium. That's what I'm going to call it, regardless. Or the House that George's Money Built.

George's money? I don't watch much regular season baseball but I still contribute to the Yankees via my cable bill - ESPN, Fox, and most importantly YES all take a slice.

I'm not holding my breath that the Yankees won't go the corporate naming route. Citibank seems like a better fit with the Yankees than the Mets but maybe we'll get Merill Lynch Field at Yankee Stadium. No dumber than LA Angels of Anaheim.

KeithK

Beeeej
I think it's a fine idea to name a stadium after Jackie Robinson, but why the Met's's's' new stadium in particular? I don't think anybody views the Mets as the Queens New Brooklyn Dodgers, or at least they haven't in a long, long time.

Agreed. It would make a lot more sense for the Dodgers to name a place after Robinson. Or the Brooklyn Cyclones even. But the Mets?

Sure, it'd be nice, but even the Brooklyn Cyclones play in a place with a corporate name.

Josh '99
Sure, it'd be nice, but even the Brooklyn Cyclones play in a place with a corporate name.

Yes, I know about the unfortunate "Keyspan Park". *sigh* We can dream.

Jeff Hopkins '82
It'll always be "that shithole Shea" to me.

I liked when the arena in Philly was the First Union Center. Everyone called it the F.U. Center. Now everyone simply calls it the Wacko, or even just The Center because the name has changed so much.

Plenty of "wackos" in the Wacko (or FU Center), most of them wearing orange wigs in the Flyers attempt to break the world record for number of people wearing wigs.

Flyers get the shut-out win... they played the Blackhawks who have not scored in over 13 periods.

Rita

Jeff Hopkins '82
It'll always be "that shithole Shea" to me.

I liked when the arena in Philly was the First Union Center. Everyone called it the F.U. Center. Now everyone simply calls it the Wacko, or even just The Center because the name has changed so much.

Plenty of "wackos" in the Wacko (or FU Center), most of them wearing orange wigs in the Flyers attempt to break the world record for number of people wearing wigs.

Flyers get the shut-out win... they played the Blackhawks who have not scored in over 13 periods.

Costumes are an annual Halloween thing there, but the wig business was new. According to VS, they had over 9000 people wearing the wigs.

I had tix, but couldn't go (sick). Glad the team didn't aggravate the illness.

Some further confirmation beyond my rumor mongering.

[www.newsday.com]

nyc94
Some further confirmation beyond my rumor mongering.

[www.newsday.com]

I'm not terribly surprised by this, but I have to say that "CitiField" is an abysmal name.

Josh '99

nyc94
Some further confirmation beyond my rumor mongering.

[www.newsday.com]

I'm not terribly surprised by this, but I have to say that "CitiField" is an abysmal name.

Let's show some perspective here. We currently have US Cellular Field, PETCO Park, Network Associates Coliseum, the BOB (well that's changing, but still). Compared to these CitiField isn't egregiously bad, IMO. (It's still horrible, of course.)

KeithK

Josh '99

nyc94
Some further confirmation beyond my rumor mongering.

[www.newsday.com]

I'm not terribly surprised by this, but I have to say that "CitiField" is an abysmal name.

Let's show some perspective here. We currently have US Cellular Field, PETCO Park, Network Associates Coliseum, the BOB (well that's changing, but still). Compared to these CitiField isn't egregiously bad, IMO. (It's still horrible, of course.)

When I first heard about this I thought it was City Field. I suspect a good portion of people outside the New York area will think the same thing if they are watching a game and only hear the name. I think they should have at least used Citibank.

nyc94

KeithK

Josh '99

nyc94
Some further confirmation beyond my rumor mongering.

[www.newsday.com]

I'm not terribly surprised by this, but I have to say that "CitiField" is an abysmal name.

Let's show some perspective here. We currently have US Cellular Field, PETCO Park, Network Associates Coliseum, the BOB (well that's changing, but still). Compared to these CitiField isn't egregiously bad, IMO. (It's still horrible, of course.)

When I first heard about this I thought it was City Field. I suspect a good portion of people outside the New York area will think the same thing if they are watching a game and only hear the name. I think they should have at least used Citibank.

It could be worse. The official moniker of Candlestick Park is now Monster Park. When I've asked friends what that referred to, I have never once had someone correctly say "Monster Cables". Usually they think it's Monster,.com or something.

KeithK

nyc94

KeithK

Josh '99

nyc94
Some further confirmation beyond my rumor mongering.

[www.newsday.com]

I'm not terribly surprised by this, but I have to say that "CitiField" is an abysmal name.

Let's show some perspective here. We currently have US Cellular Field, PETCO Park, Network Associates Coliseum, the BOB (well that's changing, but still). Compared to these CitiField isn't egregiously bad, IMO. (It's still horrible, of course.)

When I first heard about this I thought it was City Field. I suspect a good portion of people outside the New York area will think the same thing if they are watching a game and only hear the name. I think they should have at least used Citibank.

It could be worse. The official moniker of Candlestick Park is now Monster Park. When I've asked friends what that referred to, I have never once had someone correctly say "Monster Cables". Usually they think it's Monster,.com or something.

Some consulting firm probably got paid a high six figure amount to conduct "research" and completely missed this.

Groundbreaking was today


From left, Mets players Jose Reyes and David Wright, Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Jeff Wilpon, the Mets' senior executive vice president.

nyc94
Groundbreaking was today

13cnd_mets.600.jpg

From left, Mets players Jose Reyes and David Wright, Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Jeff Wilpon, the Mets' senior executive vice president.

Shouldn't this be an old-school eLF "caption contest?"

Mayor Bloomberg, one of the last hold-outs, shows his age as he was grandfathered in when the City Development League established a mandatory helmet rule in 1999.

cth95
Mayor Bloomberg, one of the last hold-outs, shows his age as he was grandfathered in when the CitiDevelopment League established a mandatory helmet rule in 1999.

Fixed your post.

KeithK

nyc94

KeithK

Josh '99

nyc94
Some further confirmation beyond my rumor mongering.

[www.newsday.com]

I'm not terribly surprised by this, but I have to say that "CitiField" is an abysmal name.

Let's show some perspective here. We currently have US Cellular Field, PETCO Park, Network Associates Coliseum, the BOB (well that's changing, but still). Compared to these CitiField isn't egregiously bad, IMO. (It's still horrible, of course.)

When I first heard about this I thought it was City Field. I suspect a good portion of people outside the New York area will think the same thing if they are watching a game and only hear the name. I think they should have at least used Citibank.

It could be worse. The official moniker of Candlestick Park is now Monster Park. When I've asked friends what that referred to, I have never once had someone correctly say "Monster Cables". Usually they think it's Monster,.com or something.

I thought that was the case the whole time. Wow, Monster.com must be happy about that.

Beeeej
There are two things I still don't quite understand about the new Met's's Stadium.

1. Why are they cutting seating down from 55,000 to 45,000? It might not sell out consistently, but it seems odd to me to cut that drastically.
2. Why aren't they naming it after William Shea again? Just for the cash they'll get for naming rights? Seems pretty sad to me, though not hugely surprising I guess.

1) "Not sell out consistently", up until this year, is a gross understatement. I think they may have been slightly hurt by doing much of the stadium planning during some dark years where 4 games per year sold out. I will miss the days of being able to walk up to prett much any game and snag a $12 upper decker.

If this year's success keeps up, it'll become a damn tough ticket for the first few years of the park. I would have built it bigger, simply because if the success continues, we can easily get the 45-50K per night that the Yanks are getting now. The Mets drew more this year than the Yanks did in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and just about matched their 2002 and 2003 totals.

2) IMO, if an extra $20 million/year brings an ace pitcher or an extra bat to the lineup that's the difference between a Game 7 NLCS loss and a championship, Freddie can put whatever damn name he wants on the building. I'm sure I won't be the only one calling the place "Shea" anyway.

Beeeej
1. Why are they cutting seating down from 55,000 to 45,000? It might not sell out consistently, but it seems odd to me to cut that drastically.[/q]

The drop in seats is probably offset by an increase in luxury boxes and in ticket prices. A new stadium always leads to a pretty steep jump in the price of tickets and with a more "intimate" stadium expect the same here. Trust that the Mets were acting in their own economic interest.

[q]2. Why aren't they naming it after William Shea again? Just for the cash they'll get for naming rights? Seems pretty sad to me, though not hugely surprising I guess.

Of all the corporate names, this is my second favorite (I couldn't care less about Bank One but love that the stadium is called The BOB). CitiField, spelling and the fact that it is a brand at all aside, isn't a bad name for a stadium in the greatest city in the world.

Jordan 04
2) IMO, if an extra $20 million/year brings an ace pitcher or an extra bat to the lineup that's the difference between a Game 7 NLCS loss and a championship, Freddie can put whatever damn name he wants on the building. I'm sure I won't be the only one calling the place "Shea" anyway.

More likely the $20 million naming rights are factored into the costs of the stadium construction. The team will have much more than $20 million/year in debt service.

ugarte
for a stadium in the greatest city in the world.

The Mets are moving to London?

nyc94

ugarte
for a stadium in the greatest city in the world.

The Mets are moving to London?

You bring shame to your moniker.

How about Cisco Field?

[news.com.com]

Isn't Bank One Ballpark now Chase Field?

Good one. I was just making something up and didn't even think about the real name.

nyc94
Isn't Bank One Ballpark now Chase Field?

Maybe, but whatever the corporate name is, I still call the stadium that the 49ers lose in "Candlestick Park". BOB will live forever.

RichH
Shouldn't this be an old-school eLF "caption contest?"

How about, "Which of us will still be in our current job when this stadium actually opens?"

nyc94

RichH
Shouldn't this be an old-school eLF "caption contest?"

How about, "Which of us will still be in our current job when this stadium actually opens?"

Heh. Well, Wright and Reyes are guaranteed. Unless they're traded, but... yeah right.

KeithK

Jordan 04
2) IMO, if an extra $20 million/year brings an ace pitcher or an extra bat to the lineup that's the difference between a Game 7 NLCS loss and a championship, Freddie can put whatever damn name he wants on the building. I'm sure I won't be the only one calling the place "Shea" anyway.

More likely the $20 million naming rights are factored into the costs of the stadium construction. The team will have much more than $20 million/year in debt service.

Allocate it wherever you wish, $20 million in extra revenue is still $20 in extra revenue.

Bottom line is that it can only help to expand the player personnel budget.

ugarte
Of all the corporate names, this is my second favorite (I couldn't care less about Bank One but love that the stadium is called The BOB). CitiField, spelling and the fact that it is a brand at all aside, isn't a bad name for a stadium in the greatest city in the world.

The BOB is, in fact, now called Chase Field. And my favorite of the corporate names is Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati (and it's a sweet park, to boot), even if it is named after an insurance company.

gtsully
And my favorite of the corporate names is Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati (and it's a sweet park, to boot), even if it is named after an insurance company.

Agreed on the Great American Ballpark. I never realized that it was a corporate name until I set foot in the place and saw some sort of insurance company ad. That's the kind of corporate name that I can live with - one that doesn't sound blatantly commercial.

KeithK

gtsully
And my favorite of the corporate names is Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati (and it's a sweet park, to boot), even if it is named after an insurance company.

Agreed on the Great American Ballpark. I never realized that it was a corporate name until I set foot in the place and saw some sort of insurance company ad. That's the kind of corporate name that I can live with - one that doesn't sound blatantly commercial.

That's probably a good sign that your company is wasting millions of dollars a year on a naming deal, at least at the major league level. I wonder what percentage of NFL fans outside of Tampa know that Raymond James is a brokerage company and not the team owner or founder.

nyc94

KeithK

gtsully
And my favorite of the corporate names is Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati (and it's a sweet park, to boot), even if it is named after an insurance company.

Agreed on the Great American Ballpark. I never realized that it was a corporate name until I set foot in the place and saw some sort of insurance company ad. That's the kind of corporate name that I can live with - one that doesn't sound blatantly commercial.

That's probably a good sign that your company is wasting millions of dollars a year on a naming deal, at least at the major league level. I wonder what percentage of NFL fans outside of Tampa know that Raymond James is a brokerage company and not the team owner or founder.

How many NFL fans listen to NPR's Marketplace, which is underwritten by RJ?

KeithK
Agreed on the Great American Ballpark. I never realized that it was a corporate name until I set foot in the place and saw some sort of insurance company ad. That's the kind of corporate name that I can live with - one that doesn't sound blatantly commercial.

I feel the same way with Frontier Field in Rochester (named after the telecommunications company). Buffalo, however, had their corporately named ballpark go from one of the best names, "Pilot Field," named after Pilot Air Freight, to one of the worst, "Dunn Tire Park."

gtsully

ugarte
Of all the corporate names, this is my second favorite (I couldn't care less about Bank One but love that the stadium is called The BOB). CitiField, spelling and the fact that it is a brand at all aside, isn't a bad name for a stadium in the greatest city in the world.

The BOB is, in fact, now called Chase Field. And my favorite of the corporate names is Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati (and it's a sweet park, to boot), even if it is named after an insurance company.

In the same category is the old Great Western Forum in LA. And I heard the name "Franklin Quest Field" (home of the AAA Salt Lake Buzz) a bunch of times before I learned it was a department store.

If you accept that corporate names are a given these days, speaking as a diehard Mets fan, I sort of don't mind "CitiField." Short of a MetLife sponsored "Met [field/stadium/park]," it's a reasonable option.

As Jordan said, the park is whatever you want to call it.

I remember when the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls built their arenas in the mid 90's. Respectively, they were named "The Delta Center," and "The United Center." And until I saw a blimp fly-by of the roofs, I had no idea they were named after the airlines. Some names work okay. The Verizon Center, on the other hand, leaves little to the imagination.

Lowell '99
If you accept that corporate names are a given these days, speaking as a diehard Mets fan, I sort of don't mind "CitiField." Short of a MetLife sponsored "Met [field/stadium/park]," it's a reasonable option.

I mean, it could be worse, yeah, but I just think it sounds like "CitiField, a subsidiary of CitiBank" rather than "CitiBank Field, a stadium sponsored by CitiBank." I know that isn't clear, really, but that's the best I can do, I think.

What about Wrigley Field? What sell outs.

Willy '06
What about Wrigley Field? What sell outs.

Technically, Wrigley Field is named for William Wrigley, Jr. who was the team owner when the stadium was renamed in 1926 from Cubs Field.

[chicago.cubs.mlb.com]

I think he was joking.

Beeeej
I think he was joking.

I considered that but you never know. If my trivia is correct, Anheuser Busch wanted to rename Sportsman's Park as Budweiser Park (or Stadium) in 1953 and the league said no. They settled on Busch Stadium.

nyc94

Beeeej
I think he was joking.

I considered that but you never know. If my trivia is correct, Anheuser Busch wanted to rename Sportsman's Park as Budweiser Park (or Stadium) in 1953 and the league said no. They settled on Busch Stadium.

...and then promptly introduced Busch beer in order to get the brand name tie in. Still, Busch Stadium sounds better than Budwieser Stadium/Park and you can plausibly forget that it's a product name.

KeithK

nyc94

Beeeej
I think he was joking.

I considered that but you never know. If my trivia is correct, Anheuser Busch wanted to rename Sportsman's Park as Budweiser Park (or Stadium) in 1953 and the league said no. They settled on Busch Stadium.

...and then promptly introduced Busch beer in order to get the brand name tie in. Still, Busch Stadium sounds better than Budwieser Stadium/Park and you can plausibly forget that it's a product name.

And I'm less bothered by the Busch Beer tie in because the company owned the team. If Citibank wants to buy the Mets I wouldn't care what they called the stadium - or the team. We could move towards the Japanese practice of naming the teams for the owners rather than the cities.

Like the Red Bulls?

Japanese ball parks have kneepad-wearing beer girls (their term) from competing breweries who strap mini-kegs to their backs and come right to your aisle. It's not exactly a tea ceremony they perform, but it's more than just some guy flippig the lid off a platic bottle of Bud and dumping the contents into a plastic cup.

billhoward
Japanese ball parks have kneepad-wearing beer girls (their term) from competing breweries who strap mini-kegs to their backs and come right to your aisle. It's not exactly a tea ceremony they perform, but it's more than just some guy flippig the lid off a platic bottle of Bud and dumping the contents into a plastic cup.

They also hand out stuffed animals to any player who hits a home run and don't cheer at all except in designated fan sections. Not sure we want to go the way of Nihon-no beisubaru.

This year's ECAC finals will take place at the Times Union Arena, not the Pepsi Arena as in recent years.

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/your_news/capital_region/default.asp?ArID=200726

[elf.elynah.com]

jnachod
This year's ECAC finals will take place at the Times Union Arena, not the Pepsi Arena as in recent years.

This year's tourney will take place at the Knickerbocker arena, same it has for several years now.

KeithK

jnachod
This year's ECAC finals will take place at the Times Union Arena, not the Pepsi Arena as in recent years.

This year's tourney will take place at the Knickerbocker arena, same it has for several years now.

Agree completely.

The bowls this year include these sponsors:

(Presented by) Citi
Allstate ex-Nokia
AT&T
Capital One
FedEx
Outback
Tostitos
Tostitos
Toyota



...


Rose Bowl presented by Citi
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
FedEx Orange Bowl
Allstate ex-Nokia Sugar Bowl
Capital One Bowl
Toyota Gator Bowl
AT&T Cotton Bowl
Outback Bowl
Tostitos BCS Championship

I believe that's the list of the majors. It's hard to see a national championship built around Tostitos.

Same place I saw a Rush concert in '91 when it was almost brand new.

As a side note, I went with a hometown friend who was going to RPI. It was the only time I ever visited him. He visited me a bunch of times and eventually transferred to Cornell. I think the 5:1 guy:girl ratio at RPI outweighed the fact that the bars in Troy were open until 4:00 AM.

cth95
I think the 5:1 guy:girl ratio at RPI

the fact that it was in troy wasn;t enough? Potsdam aint much... but it beats troy hands down. and our ratio is 3:1

Dpperk29

cth95
I think the 5:1 guy:girl ratio at RPI

the fact that it was in troy wasn;t enough? Potsdam aint much... but it beats troy hands down. and our ratio is 3:1

I am sure that Troy vs. Ithaca was one of a few key factors. I was half-kidding (but not totally )with that last post.

Dpperk29

cth95
I think the 5:1 guy:girl ratio at RPI

the fact that it was in troy wasn;t enough? Potsdam aint much... but it beats troy hands down. and our ratio is 3:1

It is about 3:1 at RPI now also. FWIW, it was about 43:1 in my entering class.

ursusminor

Dpperk29

cth95
I think the 5:1 guy:girl ratio at RPI

the fact that it was in troy wasn;t enough? Potsdam aint much... but it beats troy hands down. and our ratio is 3:1

It is about 3:1 at RPI now also. FWIW, it was about 43:1 in my entering class.

I should have stuck with my plan to go to vet school. Ten years ago most vet schools were up to 70% female and that has only grown from what I have heard.

I didn't see it mentioned here but it seems the deals are getting less impressive in the smaller markets. Salt Lake City's Delta Center is now the EnergySolutions Arena as of November 20, 2006. That might be cool if they were in the wind farm business but EnergySolutions processes low level nuclear waste. Proposed nicknames include the ChernoBowl, JazzMat, the Fallout Shelter, the Melta Center, and Radium Stadium.

[www.nytimes.com]

And I also missed the December 7, 2006 renaming of the Orlando Arena as the Amway Arena. Amway founder Richard DeVos owns the Orlando Magic. The arena had been the TD Waterhouse Centre.

And in case you missed it, Yankee Stadium is getting the 2008 All Star Game. No grand send offs planed for Shea as of yet.

nyc94
And I also missed the December 7, 2006 renaming of the Orlando Arena as the Amway Arena. Amway founder Richard DeVos owns the Orlando Magic. The arena had been the TD Waterhouse Centre.

"Here's the great part -- you don't have to actually buy a ticket. All you have to do is get five friends to agree to buy tickets."
- Florida Sports Broacasting Professional Who Shall Remain Nameless

Jeff Hopkins '82

KeithK

jnachod
This year's ECAC finals will take place at the Times Union Arena, not the Pepsi Arena as in recent years.

This year's tourney will take place at the Knickerbocker arena, same it has for several years now.

Agree completely.

Actually, it's the Times Union Center, not Arena. I just listened to Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette (a competitor of the Albany Times Union) discussing "Puck at the TUC".

ursusminor

Jeff Hopkins '82

KeithK

jnachod
This year's ECAC finals will take place at the Times Union Arena, not the Pepsi Arena as in recent years.

This year's tourney will take place at the Knickerbocker arena, same it has for several years now.

Agree completely.

Actually, it's the Times Union Center, not Arena. I just listened to Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette (a competitor of the Albany Times Union) discussing "Puck at the TUC".

Puck the TUC. It's the Knick.