It's a new ballgame in naming rights

Harry · January 26, 2003

01/25/2003

It's still The Ballpark in Arlington.

Fans who curse corporate names on sports facilities might be happy about maintaining tradition, but the inability of the Rangers to land a naming-rights deal shows just how tricky the market has become.

"We've had some interested parties that have kicked the tires," Rangers president Mike Cramer said. "I don't think we'll announce anything in the next few months."

The embarrassment of renaming Houston's Enron Field and tight corporate advertising budgets are changing the rules of the naming-rights game, particularly for stadiums and arenas that aren't new. They're taking smaller fees, throwing in added goodies to seal the deals or holding back until times aren't as dicey.

"You're not seeing the dollars you were seeing just two or three years ago," said Ray Clark, president of Dallas' Marketing Arm, which advised clients on deals for Florida's Office Depot Center and San Antonio's SBC Center. "Within the marketing departments, there are 'must have' and 'nice to have.' The naming rights are slipping to 'nice to have.' "

The Rangers aren't the only team not making a corporate connection. The Philadelphia Phillies have a marketing company pitching the naming rights for a new stadium to open in 2004. The Golden State Warriors haven't found any takers for an arena renovated a few years ago.

The Fort Worth Brahmas, a minor-league hockey franchise, struck a deal with the city in 2001 that gave the team a window of several months to sell naming rights for the Tarrant County Convention Center.

It didn't happen. "Our deal ran out," Brahmas general manager Mike Barack said. "We're still continuing to look at it, but we'd have to go back to the city should a deal come to the table."

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The market isn't dead. Teams and companies are still getting together on naming-rights deals. The Frisco RoughRiders, a minor league affiliate of the Rangers, just named their new stadium the Dr Pepper/Seven Up Ballpark.

The San Diego Padres this week signed a 22-year, $60 million deal to name their new stadium PetCo Park after the locally based pet supply company. In June, Philadelphia-based Lincoln Financial Corp. agreed to pay $139.6 million over 20 years to name the stadium that opens next season for the hometown Eagles.

Two-thirds of the 119 teams in the four major-league sports now play in facilities with corporate names or will when their new digs are done. The deals total $3.4 billion, the Ralph Nader-affiliated League of Fans says.

"Naming rights really, really work," said consultant Jon Spoelstra, author of Marketing Outrageously, "but you have to take a company you've never heard of to see how it works."

He's talking about the likes of Qualcomm Stadium, site of Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVII. Who ever heard of Qualcomm Inc. before its name appeared on San Diego's stadium?

Companies still value the exposure of naming rights.

Teams still want a jolt of revenue.

So the game goes on.

It goes on, though, with changes on both sides. Companies are asking teams to sweeten the deals with added benefits, including tie-ins with the sponsor's products. They're also staying close to home, usually looking at facilities in cities where they have their headquarters or at least a large corporate presence.

"They're not national deals – they're local deals," said the Marketing Arm's Clark. "You've got to find real return on investment through sales. Venues have typically not been able to deliver on that proposition."

Cautious approach

Sports teams are taking a more cautious approach, not just looking for the biggest payday. After Enron and other corporate meltdowns soured a half-dozen naming-rights deals, Cramer says, the Rangers aren't going to partner with just anyone – even if they're offering top dollar.

"We're going to be very careful about the name we put on The Ballpark," he said. "We don't want to have to change the name when they go out of business."

The Rangers are willing to wait for the right deal. "We've put some impediments in our own path, but we think it's good for the ballclub and the real-estate development around The Ballpark."

The current climate is producing a new realism in the naming-rights market.

"If a team is willing to sell at the real value and the company meets its objective," Clark said, "only then will we recommend it."

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Staff writer Richard Alm reports on sports business for The Dallas Morning News. His e-mail address is ralm@dallasnews.com.

NT80 · January 26, 2003

I still believe that UNT's stadium's biggest marketing advantage is it's location by I-35. It's a giant billboard waiting for some company to slap it's name upon it. Not many college stadiums get 100,000 vehicles a day passing right by it. UNT itself is not even taking full advantage of it's fortune, we should have BIG neon GREEN lights at night lighting up NORTH TEXAS on either Fouts or the new stadium. Such a waste of great location.