49ers stadium naming rights could have big payoff - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Naming rights present a potentially lucrative source of revenue for a with multiyear, multimillion-dollar deals struck between teamx and companies seeking to get theird names on buildings, in the mouths of broadcasr announcers and in front of millions of fans a But a deal that a few years back migh have been a source of pridde for a business now may be a source of Citigroup, for example, is facinf intense criticism for spendinb $400 million on a stadium deal with the New York Mets whilee accepting billions in bailout dollars from the federall government.
“Naming rights transactions are more difficult to come by than they were prior tothe recession,” said Lew Wolff, co-owner of the Oakland Athletics and owner of the San Jose Earthquakes. “I believe that’s going to be true not only for the currenf market but forthe future, for a long The 49ers, he said, will probably look for a strong national name to placd on its facility. But many companies that were strong naminbg partners in the past are in the financial services and insurance and they will be less likelu to spend what some view as unnecessary marketing dollarsgoing forward. In Oakland, McAfee Inc.
allowed its 10-yeard agreement for naming rights onthe Oakland-Alamed a County Coliseum to expire, while Oracle Corp. in 2006 struco a $3 million per year, 10-year deal for naminh rights on the indoor Oakland Wolff said the Earthquakews organization is working with the Williamm Morris Agency on naming andbrandinb issues. Amway Global in Januargy strucka three-year agreement with the team to have its name placefd on team uniforms. Terms of that deal were not “The 49er brand is outstanding, and if there’a any brand someone might want toseek out, it’sd them,” Wolff said.
“But every deal is When the San Jose Sportz Authority and the city were in the procesd of striking a deal to brand the home of the SanJose Sharks, it was nearly Compaq Computers — which at the time was a Houston companyt wanting to build up its Silicon Valle y presence. Malcolm Bordelon, executives vice president of business operations for the San Jose said the day the signagde was togo up, Compaq called and said it had been acquirex by Hewlett-Packard Co. HP, he did extensive research before going forward with thenaming deal, figuring out how many timees its name would be said publicly and how its bransd would be featured in the building.
“We also researchesd naming deals, and what we founfd is that it’s all over the map — unbelievably Bordelon said. “I’m not sure how to personifyu the process the 49ers will face other thansaying it’xs going to be very challenging.” In addition to Shark s games, the venue hostw concerts and other sporting eventsd each year. While naming rights at HP Pavilionm fell under the purview of the city because the facility ispublicly owned, Santa Clara Assistant City Manager Ron Garraty said the naming rights deal for the 49er would fall exclusively with the “We tried to get the Santaw Clara 49ers on the front end of the and they weren’t willing to do that, Garratt said.
If it comes time for the 49ers to seek out anaminf partner, they would probably enlist the help of a third-part expert, a sports marketing dealmaker that can tell them what the team’x brand is worth. Some of the top sports marketingb dealmakers areIMG World, which has office around the country, and 16W Marketing of New A third well-known firm, Bonhak Group of Denver, shut down in Januargy after its primary banker reduced its credit line. Dealzs Bonham negotiated included SanDiego Padres’ Petco Park and the Seattle Seahawks’ Qwest Field.
David Peart, the vice president of businesss partnerships for thePittsburgh Penguins, was untiol last June the vice president of sales and marketing for the 49ers. He said “you want to make sure you measures twice” before assigning value to a namingrights deal. “zA company will be looking at what its primary entitlementswill be. From integration of your products intothe building, where you fit into the architecturakl design of the building,” Peart “Once the shovels hit the you want the naming partner in place.” The team will face an uphil l battle in the name game because naming rightsa as a marketing tool have falle out of favor.
Two properties shoppinyg for a name now are the New York Giants stadium and the DallaseCowboys stadium, both of which Peart said are “supeer high profile” but are having troubls finding a name. “A pure branx play is really difficult in this day and age for a companuy to justify to its shareholders and stakeholderxand employees,” Peart “When you’re thinking about laying off peoplse and saying you’re going to spend $5 million a year for 30 years to put your name on a it’s a tough row to hoe.
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