From the Sports Business Daily
“THE DAILY STAT
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TOP FIVE U.S. PRO SPORTS NAMING-RIGHTS DEALS IN TERMS OF TOTAL VALUE
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TEAM
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STADIUM
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TERMS
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|---|---|---|
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Texans
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Reliant Stadium
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30 years, $300M^
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Redskins
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FedEx Field
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27 years, $250M
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Mavericks/Stars
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American Airlines Center
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30 years, $195M
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Hawks/Thrashers
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Philips Arena
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20 years, $185M
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Astros
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Minute Maid Park
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28 years, $170M
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| ^ Includes naming rights to Reliant Astrodome and Reliant Arena | ||
| Note: The Mets are set to unveil CitiField as the name of their new ballpark after signing what is expected to be the most expensive naming-rights agreement in history | ||
| (THE DAILY)” | ||
With this kind of money in naming rights deals, it is a mark of George Steinbrenner’s surprising restraint that the Yankees don’t play at New York Life Stadium. Many fans complain stadium names; whether its bemoaning the replacement of Boston Garden with the TD Banknorth Garden (with the FleetCenter in between) or disgust at the multitude of names given to stadiums and ballparks (the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco 49ers all have changed stadium names in the last eighteen months), fans are increasingly annoyed at the corporatization of sports.
One thing that fans don’t seem to understand is that sports is about making money. Owners don’t buy teams because they love the sound of a dunk or the crack of a bat or feel the rush of a Hail Mary catch. They buy sports teams so they can make money. And whether its increasing prices or putting sponsorships on every single object in the arena, owners are going to do everything they can to achieve that goal. Keith Olbermann put the New York Mets on his list of Worst Persons in the World this week. While Olbermann is arguably the best personality on any of the newschannels, he falls victim to the fan’s lament that owners don’t care about the fans or the game or history or the kids (and the list could go on).
Owners aren’t supposed to care. Owners are supposed to make money. They’re not supposed to sit down wondering what they can do to appease the fans. They’re supposed to sit down wondering what they can do to get money from the fans. That’s the way it is and will always be. Sports aren’t what they were back in the days of the Polo Grounds. Sports are profitable now. This comes with the territory.
