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

[Firstime Caller]

Who Stinks Now Field sponsored by the Billy Goat Tavern

Sad to see the possibility of naming rights even raised, but that's hysterical.

 

[Chef]

Since Cuban may end up with them, how does American Airlines Field sound?

Ugh.

 

[ondeadline]

Also, is he really going to sell just the team and not Wrigley Field, too?

Zell has said that he is selling both, but separately.

 

[BTExpress]

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

Outrage over stadium naming rights has long passed me by.

It just doesn't make any difference.

Anybody going to a game will say "Hey, I'm going to Wrigley tomorrow" anyway.

And even though it was named after a person, let's face it: 99.999% of people know it only as a brand name of chewing gum. Thus, Wrigley was the first corporate name on a stadium. It just doesn't sound corporate because you grew up with it.

 

[ondeadline]

And it hasn't changed names every three years like most stadiums with corporate names, thus plenty of tradition behind the name.

 

[buckweaver]

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

And even though it was named after a person, let's face it: 99.999% of people know it only as a brand name of chewing gum. Thus, Wrigley was the first corporate name on a stadium. It just doesn't sound corporate because you grew up with it.

Nope, that would be Fenway Park.

Commonly thought to be named after the Fens, the part of town where it was built. Actually named after the Fenway Realty Company, which was managed by the father of John Taylor, Red Sox owner from 1904-11. Fenway Realty Company had bought all the land in the Fens area, including the land that the stadium now stands on, and sold the property to the team for $300,000. Taylor sold the team, used the sale money to build the stadium, and rented it out to the new owners for a tidy profit. And all that land owned by the Taylors' real estate company just so happened to increase in value.

 

[steveu]

Some names on ballparks sound so cool. Like The Great American Ballpark, for example. What a great sounding name for a facility.

Until you realize the Reds CEO and owner used to be Carl Lindner, head of Great American Insurance.

Yeesh.

 

[ondeadline]

<a href="http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/?p=12441">Zell apparently wants the Wrigley family to pay to keep the name on the field.</a>

 

[Starman]

<a href="http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/?p=12441">Zell apparently wants the Wrigley family to pay to keep the name on the field.</a>

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

The Wrigley Company is a recognized leader in the confectionery field and the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of chewing gum, with global sales of more than $4.0 billion. The Company markets its world-famous brands in more than 180 countries.

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


If not, change it back to Weeghman Park.

 

[DanOregon]

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.

 

[ondeadline]

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.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

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

We own the 08s.

 

[steveu]

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, 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)...

 

[Ruth-Gehrig]

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

 

[Beef03]

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.

 

[Bob Cook]

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, 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)...

Nope. South Siders call it Sox Park.

 

[Jeff Wallner]

BILLY GOAT TAVERN PARK

 

[goalmouth]

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

 

[DisembodiedOwlHead]

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?

 

[Bob Cook]

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.