As you know by now, the Tribune company is contemplating whether to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field.
I’m of two minds on this topic.
On the one hand, it’s been Wrigley Field for as long as anyone alive can remember. Deciding to rename it now is idiotic. It would be like renaming Comiskey Park something like U.S. Cellular Park. No one would stand for it. It is a travesty. Wrigley is Wrigley. It isn’t a name that can be sold off. Everyone knows it as Wrigley and will continue calling it Wrigley. So, this whole selling naming rights just doesn’t work.
But on the other hand, Wrigley Field has always been a pitching point for a corporation. Seriously, Wrigley is a corporation and they have just had the naming rights on the park forever. So, what would be the difference if they replaced one company with another?
The end result is that regardless of whether the naming rights to Wrigley get sold or not, Wrigley will always be called Wrigley. So, any company thinking about purchasing the naming rights should be hesitant. First, they won’t be recognized as the true name of the park (it’s freakin’ Wrigley). Second, some people are going to be so upset about the renaming that they will hold a grudge against the new company.
Honestly, I still call the White Sox’ home park, “New Comiskey.” Comiskey is just what I’ve always known. I remember the last year of the Old Comiskey. With the slogan, “Someday, you’ll say you were there.”
Corporate naming rights only work when opening a new field. Seriously, I still think of the Astro’s ballpark as “Enron Field.” They were the corporate sponser when it open. That’s the way it will stay for me. Renaming doesn’t work.
February 28, 2008 at 8:50 pm |
there is alot more to the rape of wrigley and the cubs by the new owner of the trib. selling the name, in this case, can mean wrigley field can lose it’s landmark status. which could me alot of things like tearing it down and moving it brick by brick out to naperville or schaumberg or drastically reenovating the structure. zel, the trib owner, wants to squeeze every cent out of the club. that is why the team was not sold over the winter, to cash in on everything before selling the team to the illinois sport coalition, who is also part owners in the white sox. wouldn’t put it pass this guy to sell items, from scoreboard spots to wrigley urinals, on ebay. i need to go free-base some roids.