November 28, 2006

Nationals to corporate America: Your name here

The Washington Nationals are about to put the naming rights for their new stadium up for sale, with an expected asking price between $4 million and $10 million a year, according to the Washington Post. And when I say "their" new stadium, I of course mean the one that will belong to the city of Washington, D.C., which, like New York City, will own the building but won't get squat from the sale of its name.

This shouldn't be news to anyone, but apparently it is to the folks at DCist, who note:

It's not so much that we should be surprised that the stadium may be named after a corporation - it's that the District won't see a penny of the money that the chosen corporation splashes all over the publicly financed $611 million project. Reads the article:

The District government is building the Nationals a new stadium in Southeast Washington, and the facility is scheduled to open in April 2008. Under the agreement that Major League Baseball reached with the District, the ballclub is entitled to all of the revenue from the naming rights to the stadium.

The provision was opposed by some local politicians, who said the city should receive any naming rights revenue. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), the stadium's main backer, said the naming rights were an important incentive for persuading baseball to locate a franchise in Washington and attract a buyer.

Apparently a fully funded stadium isn't incentive enough these days. Hmph.

Apparently not.