| Major League
Baseball Naming Rights By Bill Miller
Editor's Note: The following is
part I in an ongoing series that will examine the sale
of naming rights in various segments of the sports
industry. Our first installment is Major League
Baseball...
Major League Baseball has over half of its
teams (17/30) playing in facilities named for corporate
sponsors or individuals who are paying for that right.
This 56.6% ratio puts MLB well-behind the
NHL and NBA in terms of teams playing in
corporately-named facilities. The league is just ahead
of
the NFL which has 56.2% of its franchises playing in
named buildings.
Of those seventeen "named" facilities,
sixteen are baseball-specific stadiums. The remaining
arrangement sees the Oakland Athletics sharing Network
Associates Coliseum with the NFL's Oakland Raiders.
This number actually grows to eighteen
if the Florida Marlins are included in this group. The
Marlins share Pro Player Stadium with the NFL's Miami
Dolphins in the stadium that was named for the
now-defunct apparel maker. While the agreement is no
longer in place, the name remains. For purposes of this
analysis, since the deal has been terminated, the
Marlins are not counted in the named stadium group.
Of the seventeen-named stadiums, the
sponsor categories break down as follows:
-
Five financial institutions;
-
Five beverage-related companies;
-
Two insurance companies;
-
Two communications companies;
-
One retailer;
-
One computer software maker; and
-
One individual.
The biggest naming rights agreement
in MLB is an agreement between Minute Maid and the
Houston Astros for Minute Maid Park. The 28-year
arrangement is worth a reported $170 million and also
contains a pouring rights agreement for the
beverage company.
|
Facility |
Key Tenants |
Term |
Total |
|
Ameriquest Field in Arlington |
Texas Rangers |
30 |
$75,000,000 |
|
Bank One Ballpark |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
30 |
$66,000,000 |
|
Busch Stadium |
St. Louis Cardinals |
20 |
n/a |
|
Citizens Bank Park |
Philadelphia Phillies |
25 |
$95,000,000 |
|
Comerica Park |
Detroit Tigers |
30 |
$66,000,000 |
|
Coors Field |
Colorado Rockies |
Inf. |
$15,000,000 |
|
Great American Ballpark |
Cincinnati Reds |
30 |
$75,000,000 |
|
Jacobs Field |
Cleveland Indians |
7 |
$6,300,000 |
|
Miller Park |
Milwaukee Brewers |
20 |
$41,200,000 |
|
Minute Maid Field |
Houston Astros |
28 |
$170,000,000 |
|
Network Associates Coliseum |
Oakland Athletics & Raiders |
10 |
$13,000,000 |
|
Petco Field |
San Diego Padres |
22 |
$60,000,000 |
|
PNC Park |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
20 |
$30,000,000 |
|
Safeco Field |
Seattle Mariners |
20 |
$40,000,000 |
|
SBC Park |
San Francisco Giants |
24 |
$53,000,000 |
|
Tropicana Field |
Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
30 |
$33,100,000 |
|
U.S. Cellular Field |
Chicago White Sox |
20 |
$68,000,000 |
The average MLB naming rights
agreement runs for approximately 21.5 years with 20-year
terms being more common in recently signed arrangements.
The average value is approximately $2.45 million per
year.
Updated 10/05/2004
Bill Miller is Executive Vice President at The Leib Group, LLC in Mequon, Wisconsin. He is a regular
contributor to Naming Rights Online and can be reached
at bmiller@namingrightsonline.com. |
