Tag: naming rights

Ravens, M&T Bank extend partnership for 15 years

The Ravens and M&T Bank announce they they will extend their partnership for an extra 15 years

The Baltimore Ravens are getting ready for the NFL Draft next week, but the organization is working on business dealings elsewhere for the longevity of the franchise. The team is known to have one of the best stadium experiences in the NFL, with the branding of M&T Bank being the name that is so familiar throughout all of Baltimore because of it.

On Thursday afternoon, it was announced that the Ravens and M&T Bank extended their strategic partnership, including the stadium name rights.  The agreement is for 15 years through the 2037 football season.

M&T Bank Stadium has seen its fair share of great events, playoff football, comeback wins, concerts, soccer matches, draft day events, and more, so to be able to keep the naming rights is crucial for the organization. Hopefully there are plenty more successful events in the stadium’s future.

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Look: Mercedes-Benz signage removed from Superdome

Look: Mercedes-Benz signage removed from Superdome

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Mercedes-Benz’s sponsorship contract with the Superdome expired on July 15, and the venue’s management team worked promptly to remove the German automobile manufacturer’s signage from the façade. The Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Amie Just and WDSU-New Orleans shared photos from the scene, where work crews were using cranes to unfasten Mercedes-Benz’s lettering along Poydras Street.

The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan reported earlier this summer that Caesar’s Entertainment was the frontrunner to replace Mercedes-Benz as the famed arena’s naming rights sponsor; WDSU confirmed that talks are ongoing, but a Saints spokesman told Just that there is no official deal in place while new partnerships are being explored.

Miami is the only city to host more Super Bowls (11) than New Orleans (10), but no stadium has seen more Super Bowls played on its field than the appropriately-titled Superdome (7). The next NFL title game will return to the Superdome in 2025, and there’s a good chance legendary Saints quarterback Drew Brees could be headlining the broadcast.

In the meantime, we’ll have to hurry up and wait to see which company partners with the Superdome to have its name and logo emblazoned on New Orleans’ skyline.

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Report: Chiefs could sell naming rights to field at Arrowhead Stadium

The Kansas City Chiefs apparently already have a partner in mind.

The field that the Kansas City Chiefs play on at Arrowhead Stadium could have a name during the 2020 NFL season and beyond.

According to a new report from Sports Business Journal’s Terry Lefton, the Chiefs are closing in on a deal with a current team sponsor, Government Employees Health Association (GEHA), for the naming rights of the field at Arrowhead Stadium. GEHA, the team and QB Patrick Mahomes announced a multi-year partnership back in July of 2019.

GEHA became the main sponsor of the Chiefs’ recent documentary series, “The Franchise.” Together the team and GEHA have since collaborated on a number of initiatives serving the community in Kansas City.

Why has the Kansas City organization decided to, after many years without a named field, alter their course? I think you could point no further than potential lost revenues in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This would act as another way for the team to keep earnings up during a very challenging time.

So what would the field at Arrowhead Stadium be called under this new agreement with GEHA? One could assume “GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium” would be the choice, but that remains to be seen.

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Superdome renovations, naming rights sponsor search not slowed by Covid-19

The New Orleans Saints are renovating the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and recruiting new naming-rights sponsor despite the Covid-19 coronavirus.

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The New Orleans Saints have played games inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for nearly a decade, but their home stadium will wear a different name after the 2021 season.

As first reported by Nola.com’s Jeff Nowak last year, Mercedes-Benz’s 10-year naming-rights sponsorship with the Superdome will soon expire. And the Saints are busy recruiting new partners for one of the most iconic venues in American sports.

Forbes reports that an internal memo stresses a desire for regional benefits tied to a new sponsor’s cooperation, such as a “Hurricane Preparedness Pep Rally” planned to help residents stockpile supplies before the summer storm season. The Saints are always active in their community outreach, and they clearly plan to increase those efforts once they’ve acquired more resources.

Meanwhile, the Superdome itself is having some work done under the hood. A $450 million renovation and expansion project is in the works, designed at easing congestion for fans exiting the stadium and improving behind-the-scenes logistics like new service elevators and food preparation facilities. The most noticeable change for fans watching from home might be the addition of field-level box seating near the end zones, which can be seen in other stadiums around the NFL.

That work began immediately after the LSU Tigers’ victory in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and it hasn’t been impeded by the novel coronavirus pandemic. WDSU-New Orleans reports that construction is moving ahead on schedule, with different phases of activity planned around the upcoming Saints seasons, the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, and landmark music festivals like Essence Fest.

While it’s unfortunate that many of these events have been postponed or canceled while the country’s healthcare system combats the coronavirus, this might be an opportunity for the Superdome renovations to move a little quicker with fewer stops and starts. Maybe it’ll all wrap up ahead of the stated goal: 2024’s Super Bowl LVIII, the next NFL title game hosted by New Orleans.

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