Fairgrounds wanting to give up name
The Del Mar Fairgrounds is looking for a corporate “partner” to which they’re willing to give up naming rights. According to a press release:
Once the partner has been determined, the rights will entail the “branding” of the Fairgrounds. This will include the use of the partner’s name and logo on interior and exterior signage, as well as Fairgrounds’ marketing materials, staff uniforms etc. The Fairgrounds will continue to handle all operations of the facility, and maintain full control over the events that will potentially be garnered through this partnership.
Revenues from selling naming rights will go toward facility upgrades and ticket-price offsets.
So, who might it be? Which corporations are doing well enough in this economy to kick down some cash? Will it be a local company (the Qualcomm Fairgrounds) or national (the McDonald’s Fairgrounds? McDonald’s is doing quite well).
The Del Mar Fair people should take a lesson from these naming-rights mistakes:
* Enron Field in Houston (now known at Minute Maid Park)
* The National Car Rental Center (now the BankAtlantic Center), which prompted this line from some sports writer: “You can’t rent a car at the National Car Rental Center.”
* Monster Park in San Francisco (back to being called Candlestick Park; will remain that way thanks to a ballot measure)
* Androscoggin Bank Colisee (home of the Lewiston MAINEiacs hockey team; formerly Central Maine Civic Center)
* Every field, stadium and event center named after 1.) a dot-com or 2.) a banking institution
Raddest naming right: Bojangles’ Coliseum (Charlotte, VA) named after Bojangles’ Famous Chicken n’ Biscuits. Second raddest: Whattaburger Field (Corpus Christi, Texas).
