Stadium sponsorship

Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility or event, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three to 20 years. Longer terms are more common for higher profile venues such as a professional sports facility.

The distinctive characteristic for this type of naming rights is that the buyer gets a marketing property to promote products and services, promote customer retention and/or increase market share.

There are several forms of corporate sponsored names. A presenting sponsor attaches the name of the corporation or brand at the end (or, sometimes, beginning) of a generic, usually traditional, name (e.g. Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome). A title sponsor replaces the original name of the property with a corporate-sponsored one, with no reference to the previous name.

In a few cases, naming rights contracts have been terminated prematurely. Such terminations may be the result of contractual options, sponsor bankruptcy, or scandals.

Stadium naming may have shifted in recent years to promoting corporate trade names, but in earlier decades is largely traced to the family names of company founders.

The record for the highest amount paid for naming rights belongs to Citi Field (opened in 2009) and Barclays Center (opened in 2012), both located in New York City, US. Each garnered deals of $20 million per year for at least 20 years.

The New Meadowlands Stadium, shared home of the New York Giants and New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US., was expected to eclipse both deals, with experts estimating it would value $25–30 million annually. It ultimately fell short of that benchmark, with MetLife Stadium earning $17 million annually from its naming rights deal with MetLife.

On August 29, 2017, a 20-year/$800 Million dollar (CAD) sponsorship deal was reached between Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia to rename Toronto's Air Canada Centre. The home of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and NBA's Toronto Raptors will become known as "Scotiabank Arena" on July 1, 2018.

...
Wikipedia