DENVER – The Detroit Red Wings held a ribbon cutting for the opening of their new arena, Little Caesar’s Arena, last week. The new building replaces the old Joe Louis Arena where the Detroit Red Wings had played home games since 1979. The old arena 
was named after heavyweight champion and Detroit legend Joe Louis.
Awarding the naming rights to the pizza chain was not a surprise given the company’s former owner bought the Red Wings back in 1982. Even with the company’s local ties, the corporate naming of the arena did disappoint a few fans who started an online petition to name the new arena after Red Wing great Gordie Howe, who passed away in 2016.
Only a few major sports stadiums remain without corporate sponsors. Fenway Park in Boston, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, and Madison Square Garden in New York City, to name a few. The question companies must now ask themselves is, “is it worth the huge price tag to put our name on an event center?”
While some corporate names appear to stay around, such as Coors Field in Denver and Nationwide Arena in Minnesota, others like 3Com Park in San Francisco and the TransWorld Dome in St. Louis didn’t stand the test of time. Naming rights don’t always yield a positive return for the sponsor. Even in the Mile High City the home of the Denver Broncos has kept the name of a now bankrupt company.
Sports Authority Inc. filed for Bankruptcy in 2016. The NFL team played an entire season with the name still on their home field and looks to be playing another season at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Who can forget the infamous Enron Field? Back in 2000, the Houston Astros opened a brand new ballpark with the sponsor name from Enron. Shortly after the stadium’s opening, Enron was caught in a large scandal.
Even though Enron only owned the naming rights to the stadium, news of the company’s legal problems became associated with the Astros. Following the exposure of the company’s legal trouble, the Astros took down the Enron signage and sold the stadium naming rights to Coca Cola who renamed it Minute Maid Park.
These are only two examples of failed corporate sponsors. I’m not saying that the purchasing of naming rights will always end poorly, but having a company’s name on a stadium doesn’t hold the appeal it once did.
Advertisement placement isn’t as simple as it once seemed to be. Footing the bill for multi-million dollar deals can appear to have tremendous strain with little return for a company. With target advertising being more effective and cheaper than traditional mass broadcasting, companies are trying to find new ways to spend their advertising budget and making it harder to sell large contracts for naming rights.
Only time will tell how naming rights will change. As for right now, new stadiums and arenas are able to find corporate backing. At the end of the day, to the average fan, the name of the home town arena is just that. A name. The most important part is the product inside. How long will companies be willing to provide additional revenue? That is anyone’s guess.
Follow Richard on Twitter @coter14
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