Now that Verizon has purchased MCI, will the “phone booth” become the Verizon Center? Both of the names are less than inspiring and I’m not a big fan of stadium naming rights… but curious nonetheless.

Wow, you are on top of things with this buy out newly announced! This DCist just switched from Verizon landline service to MCI because they were cheaper and now it appears we get Verizon back again. **grumble** Well, actually we think we are going all cell all the time, but we digress.

DCist likes a little life in our city and we feel that MCI Center and Verizon Center are equally dull names. We are hoping that the auctioning of daily naming rights for charity will take off nationally to add a little excitement to our lives. Ah, the GoldenPalace.com Center, yesterday it was Terriers Center, what will it be tomorrow? See, Boston knows how to have some fun. Adding a little D.C. flavor, we envision the Vote Yes on Social Security Center or maybe the Taxation Without Representation Center gracing our fair city.

To answer your query we went straight to the source and put in a call to Washington Sports and Entertainment, which owns the MCI Center, as well as the Wizards, Mystics and George Mason University’s Patriot Center. It appears that naming rights belong to MCI. So, where MCI’s contracts go, so do the MCI Center’s naming rights. Verizon would be able to change the name to Verizon Center or anything they desired. DCist notes, however, that changing logos and branding is a tough job (see example of Washington … err … Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport). Currently there is no “Verizon Center” in the country, but there is a Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Ind. and a Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H.

What would you re-name the MCI Center?

(Image from www.evancorp.com)