Venue News & Notes: America’s Team Missing A Sponsor

When the Dallas Cowboys play their
first game in Arlington
later this year, team owner Jerry Jones might have a temporary name for his
stadium and a lot less cash than he expected. A naming rights deal to
add hundreds of millions of dollars to his bottom line hasn’t materialized, and
sports business professionals said Jones might not find a sponsor this year unless he’s willing to
offer a deep discount. Even optimistic naming rights consultants are saying
that a blockbuster deal is probably off the table in this year of economic
turmoil.

City Commissioners in Miami, Florida met for some 7.5 hours this week discussing a new 37,000 seat, $515 million stadium for the Florida Marlins
to be built on the former site of the now demolished Orange Bowl. Under the
plan being discussed, the public would give $361 million towards the
construction of the new facility.

It seems the Oakland Raiders are quietly making their own
stadium plans. Raiders chief executive Amy Trask looks at the 42-year-old
Coliseum and sees the hope of stadium development where a glamorous stadium
can one day replace one of the most dated slabs of concrete in the National
Football League. Oakland
vice mayor Ignacio De La Fuente looks at the vacant lots surrounding the
Coliseum and envisions an urban renewal center, one that is bustling with
retail stores, condos, restaurants, maybe even an ESPN Sports Zone.

Oddsmakers have long put Chicago in lead position for the 2016 Olympics. But the
city will have to persuade the International Olympic Committee to take a lot on
faith if it is to land the Summer Games. The city says it can raise about $1
billion more than its rivals to pay for Games operations. It says it can rely
on private donors and the sale of naming rights to bring in hundreds of
millions of dollars to build sports facilities.

The new multipurpose arena going up in downtown Toledo so far
is named after Lucas
County, a sign of the
times. Companies that a few years ago eagerly emptied their vaults for the
privilege of flashing their names across new baseball parks and sports arenas
are feeling the hard times just like everybody else. However, Joseph Napoli,
president of the Walleye hockey club and the arena2 football Bullfrogs, is
upbeat.

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