Today's sign of the apocalypse: Selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field????

http://www.wrigley.com/wrigley/products/products_index.asp

They can afford a few million bucks for the naming rights.


If not, change it back to Weeghman Park.

 

Re: Today's sign of the apocalypse: Selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field??

Ask Invesco how replacing "Mile High Stadium" turned out. I think more companies would pay $5 to $10 mil to not to have their name mar "Wrigley Field" than they those that would. You may as well cut down the ivy and blow out the bleachers.
Likewise Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. The San Francisco Giants got so fed up with their everchanging stadium name, SBC Park, Pac Bell Park, ATT Park, they just put it on a magnetic letterboard now.

 

Yeah, who the hell is going to call it anything but Wrigley Field other than the brass of the company that buys the name and, unfortunately, many media outlets.

 

And is true that the slogan the Cubs are going to use this year is:

We own the 08s.

 

Yeah, the majority of fans still call it Mile High. Just like the ones in Cleveland will still say they're going to the Jake. South Siders still call it Comiskey (or the Cell)...

 

What would Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman have to say about all of this?

 

I saw another story on this hit the wire a few days ago and it hit me just now — Up until about 6 hours ago I would have thought it the greatest of all sporting corporate sins to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field. BUT, now if I have it right, the curse of the Billy Goat was put in place to last as long as the Cubs played at Wrigley Field. You sell the naming rights and suddenly you are no longer playing at Wrigley Field. Thus one more thing to break the curse. If it brings the Cubs a World Series i am more than willing to let Wrigley Field be renamed — not that I'm superstitous or anything . . . but damn, there has to have been something keeping the Cubs from winning it all for 100 years. I mean, they're not the only franchise to have dealt with bad owners and terrible management.

 

Nope. South Siders call it Sox Park.

 

BILLY GOAT TAVERN PARK

 

I haven't read the whole thread, but for a bunch of cynical journalists we are demonstrating an awfully low threshold for irony.

 

How does this work with Wrigley being on the National Register of Historic Places? Just as there has to be some kind of process for altering/upgrading such places, doesn't there also have to be naming bylaws?

 

Re: Today's sign of the apocalypse: Selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field??

According to the stories I've seen, the name can be changed to Die In A Fire Field or whatever Sam Zell wants. But the landmark status protects the big Wrigley Field sign on the front door.