Gophers could be playing in Hunting Bank Stadium next Fall

[Some guy]

I hope we don’t name it something corporate and tacky like Wrigley Gum Field

 

[RememberMurray]

Hold an annual auction; sell the stadium name, the team name and the team colors (Microsoft blue uniforms one year, 3M red uniforms the next year, etc.) to the highest corporate bidder, each and every year. The corporate winner of the bid gets those rights, but only for one year. The following year, it all goes up for sale again! Endless variety, endless revenue!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Hold an annual auction; sell the stadium name, the team name and the team colors to the highest corporate bidder, each and every year. Endless revenue!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I always wondered if you could get more year to year or multi year.

 

[RememberMurray]

I always wondered if you could get more year to year or multi year.

The key is to get them bidding against each other — often! And of course, I assume under current tax laws they'd be able to write it off as advertising, meaning it's a great tax dodge.

Sweet!

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

The key is to get them bidding against each other — often! And of course, I assume under current tax laws they'd be able to write it off as advertising, meaning it's a great tax dodge.

Sweet!

2020 might be a rough time to start it...

 

[Frink]

maybe it could be bought out by prominent alumni


yanni field @ The Rick Flair Wo Stadium

You can stroll along the Peter Graves concourse to the The Jello Biafra Ring of Honor.

 

[GopherRock]

The sad part was how cheap Maturi sold the naming rights for. IIRC it was for a paltry $35 mil for 20 years, which was a horrible deal even in the mid-2000s.

If you're going to sell out, SELL OUT.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

The sad part was how cheap Maturi sold the naming rights for. IIRC it was for a paltry $35 mil for 20 years, which was a horrible deal even in the mid-2000s.

If you're going to sell out, SELL OUT.

Did he turn down a better offer?

 

[SuperSenior13]

You did, in fact, build many big, shiny stadiums... assuming taxpayer dollars were involved.

But, no; so sorry... you have no say whatsoever in the naming of these buildings.

I think you and everyone else understood the ‘I’ implied the University, but good for you being so witty

 

[Some guy]

To be honest.

It should be Bruce Smith field @ sponsor name stadium

they should put the last paragraph from his Heisman Acceptance speech in the end zone next to the war memorial on the importance of football in preparing us for teamwork and toughness

Just saw a JG reference to the speech on twitter

 

[Ope3]

Yep, Faribault Shattuck's Grad, Mr.Musburger in now living in Las Vegas. He's one of the voices of VSiN, The Sports Betting Network. Co-founded by his son, and agent Brian Musburger. They have a big glass walled booth on the floor of South Point Casino in Las Vegas. Just off the Sportsbook and right next to their Sports Lounge.

We've watched them build the booth and seen Brent broadcast from there a few times.

Corporate naming rights go back a long ways. So does nepotism and betting on sports.

I think he actually lives in a condo at South Point, at least he did previously. I have stayed at SP several times, pre-pandemic he was very accommodating, chatting with guests/fans and posing for selfies.

 

[tjgopher]

You nailed it. And there is no bottom. It will get worse and worse.

Eventually, it will be greed that kills big-time sports. People will get tired of the constant, blatant, in-your-face commercialization... and simply lose interest.

It's pointless to root for the home town team when it seems like the team belongs to the corporate sponsors rather than the community/university.

It is very annoying, no question. I'm not arguing that.

It used to be way worse in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Entire networks were named for sponsors, Games of the Week were named for sponsors, beer companies, cigarette companies, razor blade companies, booze, lumber, etc. Go back and listen to a Twins game in the early 60s or the NBC Radio Game of the Week in the 60s. Check out any old picture of a baseball stadium in the 40s, 50s, and 60s and the corporate signage is WAY WORSE than it is even today (believe it or not.)

At some point, things "cleared out" in the 70s and 80s with simply green outfield fences and non-cluttered broadcasts. But, things began to reappear in the late 90s and beyond. And, it is saturated to say the least today.

Maybe there will be another correction, as it appeared to be in the 70s and 80s. It could be forced as people will lose interest in things, as you mentioned.

 

[howeda7]

Brent is in Vegas as part of some type of gambling organization. He's also the radio voice of the Raiders.

I knew about the gambling thing. Interesting they still let him to do radio given that. I guess it's all legal there so...

 

[howeda7]

That's the way...of the world.
I supposed I will get used to it...eventually. It can't be any more annoying than a radio broadcast of a Gopher game...
"That's a Mr. Plow Golden Gopher first down!".
"Mo into the Case/IH red zone!"
"That sack brought to you by Utz...Utz Are Better Than Nuts!”

People often talk about the good old days. Entire TV shows used to be named after their sponsor in the 50's. This isn't new.

 

[howeda7]

I always wondered if you could get more year to year or multi year.

But after the down years you're stuck being "My Pillow Stadium" for like $100K....

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

But after the down years you're stuck being "My Pillow Stadium" for like $100K....

Oh I think much like the concept that you don't just drop the ticket price until the stadium is full... you don't just take anyone's money. Gotta maintain that price.

 

[RememberMurray]

People often talk about the good old days. Entire TV shows used to be named after their sponsor in the 50's. This isn't new.

It isn't new? When it comes to the original topic at hand — names on stadiums — it's, well pretty new. At least around here it is:

Names of previous Viking stadiums: Metropolitan Stadium, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Name of previous NHL (North Stars) hockey arena: Metropolitan Sports Center.

Names of previous Gopher football stadiums: Memorial Stadium, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Name of previous Twins stadium: Metropolitan Stadium, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Gopher hockey: Mariucci Arena.

Gopher basketball: Williams Arena.

Maybe I need to clarify my take; I'm not talking about signage in the stadiums, or ads on TV broadcasts of games, or names of old TV shows. I was under the impression that we were talking about names of stadiums. If that's what we're talking about, then, yeah... kind of a newer trend, I'm afraid, to sell naming rights every few years to the highest bidder.

That's for anyone who's really fascinated with the "nothing new" angle. Or the "always had advertising" take.

 

[#2Gopher]

Interview in today's Minneapolis Paper

Q What will the new signage look like?

A It won’t align as seamlessly with the Gophers colors as TCF’s red and yellow trademark. Huntington’s signature color is green, and its logo is a green and white hexagon with a stylized H.

Fans will see it inside and outside the stadium. The amended agreement added corporate logos on the field and out-of-bounds area. That brought an additional $8.5 million payment, which went toward construction of the Athletes Village.