What’s in a name? It’s all in a name. Everything at every entertainment venue is for sale (with the exception of a select few--but we’ll get into that in a bit). The fact is, everything now offered at a sports venue is state of the art with the sole purpose of creating an ideal entertainment experience. This allows owners to market their team’s assets including sponsorship, naming rights and stadium deals. How did they make money years ago when they just sold tickets and hot dogs? Stadiums were once named for heroes and legends of the past, whereas now naming rights go to the marketers committed enough to engage in the ultimate partnership.
The cost to build a stadium exceeds the billion dollar mark. Owners and teams are finding ways to make the big price tags worthwhile by maximizing selling space in addition to naming rights. You can be sure your actual seat or even the toilet stall will soon be branded. With the rising costs of building a stadium, you can bet naming rights fees will go to record levels as well. Just this year, the New York Mets sold their new stadium’s name for $400 million over 20 years; a new record. In theory, at $20 million per year, the cost of stadium construction is already half-covered. Don’t worry, that record will be broken before next year by the NY Giants/NY Jets new stadium. It is currently expected to fetch $25-$30 million per year. Who knows what the new Dallas Cowboys stadium’s rights will sell for?
The new deals being signed in the marketplace are designed as such elaborate partnerships between brands and teams that the corporations themselves are embedded in the building. Car companies having whole sections branded with cars on display. Beer and spirits companies owning every consumption and purchasing area they can. Some teams now sell the name of the building and then separately package the entry gates and areas where fans enter. The time is soon coming when every piece of potential real estate will be sold with a branded name; it’s time that marketers and venues fully admit it and prepare for it.
