Huntington Bank Field

[CWCWCW]

I didn't know the Browns are getting a new stadium called Huntington Bank Field.
Any chance this will affect the naming rights for our Huntington Bank Stadium?
For me, the name has never fit since TCF was no longer used. Even their green colors do not fit.
I think there is still over 10 years on the contract. Would they be willing to sell the rights to a local presence? Is that allowable?
My perfect scenario would be for Dairy Queen to step up. Dilly Bar Dan could christen the stadium.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

They own the rights until 2030, with an option to extend to 2040. I doubt they care that they aren't local.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Start working on General Mills or Cargill right now.

 

[gophmeister]

Would US Bank be interested in naming rights?

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Dairy Queen needs to step up and create the Blizzard Bowl!

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

I didn't know the Browns are getting a new stadium called Huntington Bank Field.
Any chance this will affect the naming rights for our Huntington Bank Stadium?
For me, the name has never fit since TCF was no longer used. Even their green colors do not fit.
I think there is still over 10 years on the contract. Would they be willing to sell the rights to a local presence? Is that allowable?
My perfect scenario would be for Dairy Queen to step up. Dilly Bar Dan could christen the stadium.

It's a shame we couldn't have called our new stadium Bierman Memorial Stadium from the beginning.

 

[GopherGrit]

Huntington is headquartered in Columbus. Makes perfect sense they'd be the lead sponsor on the new Browns stadium.

They purchased TCF, which was obviously based here, and that's why they even have the rights in the first place, as well as why you now see Huntington bank branches around the Cities when they were never here before.


Similarly to why Wells Fargo has such a big presence in the TC, even though it is based in San Francisco. They purchased Norwest which was TC.

Used to be some big banking based in the Cities. Still have Thrivent

 

[WindyCityGopher]

I didn't know the Browns are getting a new stadium called Huntington Bank Field.
Any chance this will affect the naming rights for our Huntington Bank Stadium?
For me, the name has never fit since TCF was no longer used. Even their green colors do not fit.
I think there is still over 10 years on the contract. Would they be willing to sell the rights to a local presence? Is that allowable?
My perfect scenario would be for Dairy Queen to step up. Dilly Bar Dan could christen the stadium.

The Browns’ CURRENT stadium was named Huntington Bank Field last year, so that clearly hasn’t impacted our stadium’s name.

 

[MNVCGUY]

The Browns’ CURRENT stadium was named Huntington Bank Field last year, so that clearly hasn’t impacted our stadium’s name.

Yeah....The companies buy the naming rights for advertising....they want multiple stadiums out there with their name on it.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

I feel like a lot of companies are sitting out the stadium naming rights game right now.

Grand Casino Arena would be an example of major companies not wanting to pay the cash for it.

 

[Ewert86PC]

Yeah....The companies buy the naming rights for advertising....they want multiple stadiums out there with their name on it.

IIRC there are four or five Allianz Fields worldwide.

 

[Ski-U-Ham]

The Browns’ CURRENT stadium was named Huntington Bank Field last year, so that clearly hasn’t impacted our stadium’s name.

Yeah....The companies buy the naming rights for advertising....they want multiple stadiums out there with their name on it.

IIRC there are four or five Allianz Fields worldwide.

Mercedes Benz had the Superdome and the Georgia dome recently. I think the Superdome is now sponsored by Caesars.

 

[swede2]

Huntington is headquartered in Columbus. Makes perfect sense they'd be the lead sponsor on the new Browns stadium.

They purchased TCF, which was obviously based here, and that's why they even have the rights in the first place, as well as why you now see Huntington bank branches around the Cities when they were never here before.


Similarly to why Wells Fargo has such a big presence in the TC, even though it is based in San Francisco. They purchased Norwest which was TC.

Used to be some big banking based in the Cities. Still have Thrivent

Not to nitpick but NW and WF was a merger "of equals" with NW leadership surviving hut like nearly all such transactions involving MN based organizations, the HQ moved out of state.

 

[swede2]

I didn't know the Browns are getting a new stadium called Huntington Bank Field.
Any chance this will affect the naming rights for our Huntington Bank Stadium?
For me, the name has never fit since TCF was no longer used. Even their green colors do not fit.
I think there is still over 10 years on the contract. Would they be willing to sell the rights to a local presence? Is that allowable?
My perfect scenario would be for Dairy Queen to step up. Dilly Bar Dan could christen the stadium.

On one hand, the stadium naming rights were given away for a song. On the other, the market for naming rights seems to have dried up some.

 

[GopherGrit]

Not to nitpick but NW and WF was a merger "of equals" with NW leadership surviving hut like nearly all such transactions involving MN based organizations, the HQ moved out of state.

I'm not sure but I think Honeywell was like this too? They even kept the Honeywell name. But of course, moved out

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

I didn't know the Browns are getting a new stadium called Huntington Bank Field.
Any chance this will affect the naming rights for our Huntington Bank Stadium?
For me, the name has never fit since TCF was no longer used. Even their green colors do not fit.
I think there is still over 10 years on the contract. Would they be willing to sell the rights to a local presence? Is that allowable?
My perfect scenario would be for Dairy Queen to step up. Dilly Bar Dan could christen the stadium.

They own the rights until 2030, with an option to extend to 2040. I doubt they care that they aren't local.

In 2021, Huntington Bank declined the option to continue the naming rights agreement through 2040. The current agreement expires in 2031. I haven't seen the agreement, so I don't know what specifically it provides, but presumably any assignment of the rights under the contract requires both sides to approve. (For example, the contract surely prevents Huntington from merging with "The Ohio State Bank" and unilaterally changing the name to "The Ohio State Bank Stadium.")

That said, it would appear that Huntington might be happy to get out of the deal and the U might be able to find a better long-term partner, so something could probably be worked out if a new naming partner could be identified.

 

[tjgopher]

I didn't know the Browns are getting a new stadium called Huntington Bank Field.

This is the Browns' CURRENT stadium name.

My perfect scenario would be for Dairy Queen to step up. Dilly Bar Dan could christen the stadium.

Dairy Queen bailed on the Gophers years ago when they let the DQ Club name go to Cambria. If they didn't want to pay a little bit of money for the Club Room, doubtful they would want to pay a big bit of money for the stadium name.

 

[tjgopher]

I feel like a lot of companies are sitting out the stadium naming rights game right now.

Grand Casino Arena would be an example of major companies not wanting to pay the cash for it.

Indiana just got $50 million for naming its football stadium after a bank. It covers 20 years, so not a great deal for the school it seems.

Some pro sports teams are still signing some pretty big deals.

Any word on what Grand Casino paid the Wild?

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

In 2021, Huntington Bank declined the option to continue the naming rights agreement through 2040. The current agreement expires in 2031. I haven't seen the agreement, so I don't know what specifically it provides, but presumably any assignment of the rights under the contract requires both sides to approve. (For example, the contract surely prevents Huntington from merging with "The Ohio State Bank" and unilaterally changing the name to "The Ohio State Bank Stadium.")

That said, it would appear that Huntington might be happy to get out of the deal and the U might be able to find a better long-term partner, so something could probably be worked out if a new naming partner could be identified.

Maybe.

I've seen Huntington Bank ads in relation to operating at the U lately.

I'm not sure they enthusiastically want out .... More so can just roll on as they go, maybe decide later.

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

Maybe.

I've seen Huntington Bank ads in relation to operating at the U lately.

I'm not sure they enthusiastically want out .... More so can just roll on as they go, maybe decide later.

I don't know either. Certainly there has been a benefit to Huntington as they tried to acclimate consumers in a new market to an unfamiliar name, but presumably that benefit diminishes over time as they become more established. The U was not happy with how Huntington declined the option and would seem likely to welcome the opportunity to rebid the naming rights and try to get a new name with a hopefully higher payout whether that comes in 2031 or sooner. (Huntington's option extended the agreement ten years at the same rate as the current agreement.)

 

[disco]

Huntington is headquartered in Columbus. Makes perfect sense they'd be the lead sponsor on the new Browns stadium.

They purchased TCF, which was obviously based here, and that's why they even have the rights in the first place, as well as why you now see Huntington bank branches around the Cities when they were never here before.


Similarly to why Wells Fargo has such a big presence in the TC, even though it is based in San Francisco. They purchased Norwest which was TC.

Used to be some big banking based in the Cities. Still have Thrivent

Norwest was the main partner in the WF tranaction, but they kept the Wells name and San Francisco HQ because they were iconic. Still have big operations here and in Iowa.

 

[disco]

It's a shame we couldn't have called our new stadium Bierman Memorial Stadium from the beginning.

How does that generate any revenue?

 

[tjgopher]

How does that generate any revenue?

Maybe he was thinking naming rights .

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[forever a gopher]

Used to be some big banking based in the Cities. Still have Thrivent

Still do. USBank is headquartered here, no.5 largest banks in the US. As others have said, WF still has a large presence here as well, and they’re no.4.

 

[WindyCityGopher]

I don't know either. Certainly there has been a benefit to Huntington as they tried to acclimate consumers in a new market to an unfamiliar name, but presumably that benefit diminishes over time as they become more established. The U was not happy with how Huntington declined the option and would seem likely to welcome the opportunity to rebid the naming rights and try to get a new name with a hopefully higher payout whether that comes in 2031 or sooner. (Huntington's option extended the agreement ten years at the same rate as the current agreement.)

If, during contract negotiations, you agree to include an opt-out clause for the other party, you have no business being unhappy if they elect to exercise it.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

If, during contract negotiations, you agree to include an opt-out clause for the other party, you have no business being unhappy if they elect to exercise it.

Agreed.

Also even if true that someone was unhappy. If the next round comes and Huntington offers the most, you take that offer anyhow.

 

[tjgopher]

If, during contract negotiations, you agree to include an opt-out clause for the other party, you have no business being unhappy if they elect to exercise it.

Why would the U be unhappy?

If Huntington wants out of this deal, the U should allow that to happen yesterday.

Go secure a real naming rights deal with difference-making money. The current deal is a bargain for one side and it isn't the U.

Huntington Bank is paying less than $2m/year in naming rights now and the extension was not an increase at all. It did include a one-time $4m payout at the start of the extension. It was declined by the bank.

There is little doubt the U could get more than $2m/year in today's market. Indiana (in a smaller market) just got $2.5/million from a much smaller bank than Huntington.

Heck, Huntington Bank is paying over $7 million/year for the Browns stadium.

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

If, during contract negotiations, you agree to include an opt-out clause for the other party, you have no business being unhappy if they elect to exercise it.

Of course not, that wasn't really the issue. I can't say too much, but the parties agreed to extend the option date by a year to give Huntington more time to deal with issues related to being new in the market and the ongoing pandemic. The TCF people who had been working with the U were gone and it doesn't seem that there was much communication from the new folks at Huntington. Huntington apparently let the option lapse without a courtesy call or any explanation. That doesn't breach the contract, but it's also not the way you treat people if you care about an ongoing relationship.

Also even if true that someone was unhappy. If the next round comes and Huntington offers the most, you take that offer anyhow.

Sure, if they have the best offer the U would be forced to seriously consider that. I haven't spoken to a single person who expects Huntington to be a serious participant in future negotiations.

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

Why would the U be unhappy?

If Huntington wants out of this deal, the U should allow that to happen yesterday.

Go secure a real naming rights deal with difference-making money. The current deal is a bargain for one side and it isn't the U.

Huntington Bank is paying less than $2m/year in naming rights now and the extension was not an increase at all. It did include a one-time $4m payout at the start of the extension. It was declined by the bank.

There is little doubt the U could get more than $2m/year in today's market. Indiana (in a smaller market) just got $2.5/million from a much smaller bank than Huntington.

Heck, Huntington Bank is paying over $7 million/year for the Browns stadium.

I don't think that you can compare an NFL stadium deal to the University of Minnesota, but I would like to think that they could do better much better than what they are getting from Huntington and your IU example is a good one. I am not sure, however, that everyone at the U is convinced of that.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Sure, if they have the best offer the U would be forced to seriously consider that. I haven't spoken to a single person who expects Huntington to be a serious participant in future negotiations.

Who are the serious participants that we can expect at this point?