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Sunday, May 11, 2008

The Biz of Baseball: Brown: “[Your Business] At Wrigley Field” Still Being Considered

Or as Maury sez..."Can’t find a business with this name, but what if “4 out of 5 Dentists” got deal?”

One thing that was not mentioned, possibly due to the hot-button nature of it, has been the possible selling of naming rights to The Friendly Confines. As Kurt Hunzeker and I noted in The Curse of the Ex-Wrigley Field, any company looking to purchase the secondary naming rights for Wrigley would find it nearly impossible for anyone to think of Wrigley Field as, well, anything other than “Wrigley Field”. While secondary naming deals have been able to get out from under the original name’s recognition (best example would be the short-lived Enron Field which is now Minute Maid Park), Wrigley would nearly impossible. As we wrote in Curse, “Hyatt Field? Gatorade Field? State Farm Field? Blue Cross Blue Shield Field? None of them work.”

Beyond the financial implications (based upon Hunzeker’s research, using the Mets Citigroup naming deal as a barometer, a secondary naming deal for Wrigley would run -276 percent of value based on Wrigley’s longstanding history as a name), the political realities of those immersed in the purist and traditional world that baseball, and more importantly, the Cubs hold, show that a complete renaming of Wrigley Field would create a backlash the likes of which the Cubs may have never seen before.

Repoz Posted: May 11, 2008 at 05:33 PM | 44 comment(s)
Related News: General, Business, Media, Chi Cubs

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1. Guy LeDouche Posted: May 11, 2008 at 06:26 PM (#2777022)

Guy LeDouche still calls it the "SkyDome"

Different situation with the owner of the team slapping his name on the stadium, but still.

Wrigley Field it shall remain for the great Guy LeDouche.

2. The Jerry Royster Experience Posted: May 11, 2008 at 06:47 PM (#2777026)

That would be terrible if Weeghman Park sold out their good name to some corporate sponsor.

3. Maury Brown Posted: May 11, 2008 at 07:18 PM (#2777036)

That would be terrible if Weeghman Park sold out their good name to some corporate sponsor.

Yeah, in some perverse way, the Wrigley Company has been getting a free ride for decades now. Considering that Tribune purchased the club and Wrigley Field in '81, the naming rights have been given away free of charge.

4. A Surfeit of Peaches Graham (SdeB) Posted: May 11, 2008 at 08:37 PM (#2777120)

Wrigley field is named after a person, not a company.

5. Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute Posted: May 11, 2008 at 08:44 PM (#2777132)

6. McCoy Posted: May 11, 2008 at 08:59 PM (#2777162)

Wrigley field is named after a person, not a company.
semantics

7. Andy Posted: May 11, 2008 at 08:59 PM (#2777168)

It seems to me that if the naming rights were sold, whomever buys them will have made a horrible investment. No one will refer to the park as anything but Wrigley Field, whether it is "___ at Wrigley Field" or not.

I dunno, I wouldn't put anything past those chickenshlt radio broadcasters or TV networks, although at some point they might succumb to ridicule.

And even the papers are hypocrites about this. For all the complaints about Candlestick becoming Whatever.com Park, I don't recall the news stories sticking with Candlestick for very long. Wrigley might turn out to be different, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

8. McCoy Posted: May 11, 2008 at 08:59 PM (#2777169)

9. Aspiring One-Armed Economist (6 - 4 - 3) Posted: May 11, 2008 at 09:06 PM (#2777181)

New Comiskey's officially been "US Cellular Field" for the past five years or so.

10. Pastor Toastman (PH) Posted: May 11, 2008 at 09:49 PM (#2777264)

New Comiskey's officially been "US Cellular Field" for the past five years or so.

U.S. Cellular Field has a couple things going for it:

1) The money brought in by the naming rights purchase was used to transform the park. U.S. Cellular Field is a different place than Comiskey Park, in terms of the experience.

2) The second Comiskey Park was awkwardly named in and of itself. People called it Comiskey, New Comiskey, Comiskey II, and Sox Park.

Those don't apply to Wrigley's situation.

11. hscs Posted: May 11, 2008 at 09:55 PM (#2777280)

Wrigley field is named after a person, not a company.

As is/was the William Wrigley Jr. Company, the Wrigley Building, Wrigley's Spearmint, and the other Wrigley Field. It's no less a brand name than Wal-Mart.

12. Guts Posted: May 11, 2008 at 10:05 PM (#2777292)

Let's not forget the Busch Stadia; Gussie named it after himself, and then named a beer after himself just for the free advertising.

13. Bob Dernier Ressort Posted: May 11, 2008 at 10:06 PM (#2777296)

The various Busch Stadiums have also been named after people, while Coors and Miller are named after the companies. At the end of the day the difference is pretty much zero.

Edit: and if there were a Coke Stadium, I would buy Guts a box seat ticket.

14. Aspiring One-Armed Economist (6 - 4 - 3) Posted: May 11, 2008 at 10:28 PM (#2777354)

if there were a Coke Stadium

I'm a little shocked that Selig and Company didn't find a way to name Nationals Park "Coke Stadium"... they rarely miss a chance to be racially insensitive.

15. csi: bedford falls Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:03 PM (#2777438)

I'm shocked by all the anti-semantism on this site.

16. Jeff K. Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:13 PM (#2777474)

Let's not forget the Busch Stadia; Gussie named it after himself, and then named a beer after himself just for the free advertising.

Busch the stadium predates Busch the beer? Color me shocked.

17. Jeff K. Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:22 PM (#2777495)

And given that I just saw Goldberg from Mighty Ducks in a commercial, where does buying a team and naming them after the fictitious team in one of your movies, which will become a franchise, fit into all of this?

18. SoSHially Unacceptable Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:25 PM (#2777496)

As is/was the William Wrigley Jr. Company, the Wrigley Building, Wrigley's Spearmint, and the other Wrigley Field. It's no less a brand name than Wal-Mart.

I don't think so. There are probably some people who have no idea the two are connected. Moreover, I think folks are far more likely to hear Wrigley Field and make no connection to the chewing gum. That's a lot more difficult to do with U.S. Cellular Field or Minute Maid Park. Those two are more ungainly names for a baseball stadium, but better names for brand awareness.

19. Jeff K. Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:32 PM (#2777499)

Moreover, I think folks are far more likely to hear Wrigley Field and make no connection to the chewing gum.

Really? I mean, I take your point in this, that when you hear "US Cellular Field" or "Minute Maid Park", you're not likely to think they're named after Jim US Cellular, but I can't really imagine not thinking Wrigley is Wrigley. How many Wrigleys do you know?

20. A Surfeit of Peaches Graham (SdeB) Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:33 PM (#2777500)

As is/was the William Wrigley Jr. Company, the Wrigley Building, Wrigley's Spearmint, and the other Wrigley Field. It's no less a brand name than Wal-Mart.

The lesson being:

If some company wants to buy the rights to call themselves Wrigley: OK

If some company wants to but the rights to name the stadium after themselves: Not OK.

21. SoSHially Unacceptable Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:46 PM (#2777503)

Really? I mean, I take your point in this, that when you hear "US Cellular Field" or "Minute Maid Park", you're not likely to think they're named after Jim US Cellular, but I can't really imagine not thinking Wrigley is Wrigley. How many Wrigleys do you know?

I'm not saying most people wouldn't make the connection if they took the time to think about the origins of the park's name. I'm saying more people don't take the time to think about where the name came from, and therefore miss the connection. That simply can't happen with a park named after an unmistakable brand name. (I can say from experience that it can happen with more vague brand names. I didn't realize the United and Delta centers were named after the airlines, since they happened in the infancy of the modern naming rights, until Phoenix opened up the America West Arena).

22. hscs Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:48 PM (#2777504)

There are probably some people who have no idea the two are connected.

Sure, but the Wrigley name probably carried more weight when it was getting slapped on everything in the 1920s.

23. hscs Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:51 PM (#2777506)

If some company wants to but the rights to name the stadium after themselves: Not OK.

As long as my DNA isn't getting patented, and no one sends me junk mail, I'm perfectly OK with a company doing whatever the hell they want to.

24. Jeff K. Posted: May 11, 2008 at 11:53 PM (#2777507)

I can say from experience that it can happen with more vague brand names. I didn't realize the United and Delta centers were named after the airlines, since they happened in the infancy of the modern naming rights, until Phoenix opened up the America West Arena

Okay, good point. I was the same about the United Center. I had no idea it was named after United Airlines.

25. Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute Posted: May 12, 2008 at 01:11 AM (#2777517)

And even the papers are hypocrites about this. For all the complaints about Candlestick becoming Whatever.com Park, I don't recall the news stories sticking with Candlestick for very long. Wrigley might turn out to be different, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

How many lay folk refer to the Rangers park as Ameriquest Field or the Indians park as Progressive Field? Not too many, I'd guess, which is the main point.

From the point of view of the sponsors, having the media refer to the park as "___ at Wrigley Field" won't have nearly the bang for the buck as having the public know it by that name. In the case of Wrigley, that may never happen; at the very least, it will be several years of a lousy investment before it begins to gain positive name recognition.

26. Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute Posted: May 12, 2008 at 01:14 AM (#2777518)

I don't think so. There are probably some people who have no idea the two are connected. Moreover, I think folks are far more likely to hear Wrigley Field and make no connection to the chewing gum.

I agree.

Furthermore, the fact that the company is named Wrigley and the stadium is named Wrigley is coincidental. AFAIK, there is no evidence that the name of the park was changed to connect with the gum company at all. It's like Carnegie Hall -- I don't believe anyone really thinks that Carnegie Steel owned "naming rights." The concept didn't exist. Both were named after one guy.

27. Never eat the calamari at a bris Posted: May 12, 2008 at 05:01 AM (#2777546)

Let's not forget the Busch Stadia; Gussie named it after himself

I thought he named it after his wife....

Sorry.

Best Regards

John

P.S. I don't mind Minute Maid Park since it spawned a pretty good nickname ... The Juice Box. The Tribe still plays at the Jake AFAIC and it's still TBiA in Texas. Personally, when they renamed the Skydome they should have used it as a chance to honour a great Canadian sports figure--Conn Smythe. The Conn-Dome would be perfect considering the Jays' offense are playing like they can't get their lumber unwrapped.

28. Runyak Huntz Posted: May 12, 2008 at 08:26 AM (#2777557)

I can second that at one point, despite using the Airline often, I hadn't made the mental connect between America West Arena and America West the Airline.

29. Lastings' gigantic wooden cross (Orinoco) Posted: May 12, 2008 at 09:05 AM (#2777570)

I didn't know Great American was named after the insurance company. I didn't know there was a Great American insurance company until I checked the Reds page on wikipedia.

30. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: May 12, 2008 at 09:58 AM (#2777599)

I didn't know Great American was named after the insurance company. I didn't know there was a Great American insurance company until I checked the Reds page on wikipedia.

Their evil plan is working! "Ned? Ned Ryerson?"

31. Hack Wilson Posted: May 12, 2008 at 10:10 AM (#2777606)

Needle Nose Ned?

Great name for a ballpark.

32. The Polish Sausage Racer Posted: May 12, 2008 at 03:46 PM (#2777949)

I still call Comiskey Comiskey and so does everyone I know in real life. Still a crappy place to see a ball game under any name, though.

33. bunyon Posted: May 12, 2008 at 03:59 PM (#2777965)

I think the lesson is that advertising doesn't work nearly as well as advertisers tell you it does.

34. Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute Posted: May 12, 2008 at 04:15 PM (#2777985)

I think the lesson is that advertising doesn't work nearly as well as advertisers tell you it does.

To me, the lesson is that if you want to get in on the naming rights, you should do it before/as the stadium is being built. Renaming an existing park is pretty costly for the name-recognition you're looking for.

35. Rodder Posted: May 12, 2008 at 04:25 PM (#2777990)

I had no idea until this weekend that the basketball arena in Orlando is now known as Amway Arena. Is that the worst stadium name in sports?

36. Nasty Nate Posted: May 12, 2008 at 04:30 PM (#2777992)

Do businesses buy naming rights to a stadium in hopes that their increased brand name strength will attract a bigger business to buy them? All these banks merge and change names all the time, which would otherwise make all those millions spent on branding a defunct name a waste.

37. JJ1986 Posted: May 12, 2008 at 04:34 PM (#2777994)

I didn't realize they had renamed Jacobs Field until like two weeks ago when I was watching an Indians game. I then forgot all about that until I read this thread.

38. tribefan Posted: May 12, 2008 at 04:39 PM (#2777999)

Do businesses buy naming rights to a stadium in hopes that their increased brand name strength will attract a bigger business to buy them?

It's really not very much money for the types of businesses that buy them. For example, Progressive will pay $58M over 16 years, that's nothing to a company that size (their 2007 revenues were over 14B). Insurance companies and banks provide pretty fungible services, so getting the name out is really all they have.

39. walt williams bobblehead Posted: May 12, 2008 at 04:40 PM (#2778000)

The Wrigley Co. is being taken over by Mars Co. I bet if they bought the naming rights and changed it from "Wrigley Field" to "Mars" it would catch on.

40. Bob Dernier Ressort Posted: May 12, 2008 at 05:01 PM (#2778029)

Amway Arena. Is that the worst stadium name in sports?

I dunno. "Pengrowth Saddledome" has to be in the running. Really there are a lot of candidates.

How many of the old civic/community stadium names are left? Soldier Field is the only one I can think of that has a non-profit community-oriented name, unless that's been renamed lately too. HHH and RFK are still going too, though barely ...

41. The Jerry Royster Experience Posted: May 12, 2008 at 05:08 PM (#2778039)

Soldier Field is the only one I can think of that has a non-profit community-oriented name, unless that's been renamed lately too.

IIRC, they were on the verge of selling the naming rights (to help offset the cost of the recent renovations), but after 9/11, they didn't think it would be politically viable.

42. SouthSideRyan(roots for dreck) Posted: May 12, 2008 at 05:38 PM (#2778061)

The Bears were "Bank One presents the Chicago Bears" for about a season though. It was a disaster.

43. B.J. & The Tear Posted: May 12, 2008 at 05:38 PM (#2778062)

Everyone I know calls US Cellular "the Cell," which is pretty appropriate, given the fact that it is ugly, box-like, and 18 out of 20 times I go there, cold and dank...

44. Boots Day Posted: May 12, 2008 at 05:51 PM (#2778071)

I heard the name Great Western Forum for about ten years before I realized it was named for a bank. I think the lesson is, these things work if they're plausible as a real stadium name. Great American Ballpark works; PSINet stadium doesn't.

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The Biz of Baseball: Brown: “[Your Business] At Wrigley Field” Still Being Considered

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