Yet Another Sports Arena Goes Corporate

Here in the New York region, much ado is being made about Citibank's recent purchase of the naming rights to the Mets’ new baseball stadium for a hefty price tag of more than $20 million a year for at least 20 years.

As I listened to a man-on-the-street spot on the radio this morning, I found out that New Yorkers opinions on the future Citi Field were mostly negative. I wondered whether the banking conglomerate wasn’t hurting its brand by offending diehard fans with forsaking the original Shea Stadium name.

Of course, stadium-naming rights are nothing new, and as much as sports fans have lamented the big-business home-field takeover, in time they’ve become accustomed to calling their arenas the Staples Center or Invesco Field (though I can’t imagine the Houston Astros feel very masculine playing at Minute Maid Park).

Still, as with any marketing strategy, the “product” has to actually deliver if Citibank is to get positive brand reinforcement from its investment. Fans have complained that the current Shea Stadium needs upgrading, and Citibank has stated it will showcase its new payment technologies that could speed up lines. If the stadium caters to its fans with better visibility and shorter beer lines then they’ll be quicker to trade in Shea Stadium for the newer and better Citi Field. But if the new digs provide no added value for visitors, they'll view the rebranding as yet another way Corporate America is using America's favorite past time as just a giant billboard.

Read here for more on products and companies that were badly and brilliantly named.

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Are there sports arena's or sporting events that allow fans to use the filed or facilities?
The Winter Olympics does with Lake Placid, NY and Park City, Utah where the bobsled tracks, ski mountain, speedskating tracks, etc are open to the public for admission and you can actually go bobsledding on the same track where the 1980 Olympics took place. You can even skate in the same ice arena where the "Miracle on Ice" took place. Are there any other sports arena's or sporting events that do this I'm unaware of?

[Ron Hayes]

The Mets are certainly the winner in this deal. Fans will continue to pour into the stadium as long as the Mets are there and especially if they are winning. Citigroup, on the other hand, needs to walk a fine line. If they execute this correctly, pointing out not only the benefits but the pride factor of the Mets being worth an additional $20 million a year, they also stand to win big. Execution is the key and part of that strategy should definitely involve the fans.