March 29, 2005
(Insert Corporation Here) Field at RFK Stadium
In a little over three weeks, the Washington Nationals will take to the soon-to-be-completed baseball diamond at RFK Stadium for their first home game in over three decades.
Following the trend of most major league sports facilities in the country, District officials have been anxiously searching for a corporate sponsor willing to shell out anywhere from $1.5 to $2 million a year until 2008 for the naming rights to the stadium -- a notable change for a facility built in 1961, known simply as the D.C. Stadium, and dedicated to slain presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy in 1969.
Corporations don't seem to be lining up to take the bait, though -- the Post reports today that as of yesterday's deadline, no corporations had officially submitted offers, though three to five were planning on doing so today or tomorrow. D.C. Councilman Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) claimed last week to have seen documents identifying Verizon or Citibank as potential sponsors, though city spokespeople and company representantives have remained quiet on those prospects.
Naming stadiums after corporations has often torn communities into two distinct camps -- those who claim that corporate names dilute the local appeal of the sports teams and those who note that such naming concessions often help fund the construction, operation, and maintenance of expensive sports facilities. What was once the exception is now the norm, though -- in 1988, only three naming-rights deals worth a total of $25 million existed, compared to the 66 deals worth $3.6 billion that exist today.
D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and officials from the D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission have sought to assuage criticism of the plan by noting that some of the revenues from the naming rights will benefit the city's youth and recreation facilities, and Williams claimed last week that Ethel Kennedy, RFK's widow, gave the name-change her blessing. The W.Times noted otherwise, quoting Frank Mankowitz, Kennedy's former press secretary:
"I don't think this is going to be received very well. The Kennedy family is very proud of this name. I'm not happy about this."
The MCI Center, as DCist noted recently, may soon be receiving its own name change.
DCist is scrounging together what little it has on hand to put in a bid for the naming rights. After all, DCist.com Field at RFK Stadium has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?
The image above is of Houston's infamous Enron Field, which was renamed Minute Maid Park in mid-2002 after Enron's spectacular collapse into bankruptcy in December 2001.
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I view stadium renamings as one of those necessary evils. Sports, as much as we must wish they're not, are a business.
But, I love the gall of them claiming that they money will go to 'schools' and 'children.'
During the negotiations, one of the things MLB promised DC was to give back to the community. Now, they're soliciting money directly for that, instead of dipping into their own pockets. Regardless of how it's earmarked, that just means it's $2MM less they'll have to pay.
What a deal!