So far there have been no reports of the crisis in U.S. financial markets affecting arena naming-rights deals — yet. But the bigger impact may be on a secondary level if firms scale back or eliminate spending on things like luxury boxes, future naming rights and season tickets.
So far there have been no reports of the crisis in U.S. financial markets affecting arena naming-rights deals — yet. But the bigger impact may be on a secondary level if firms scale back or eliminate spending on things like luxury boxes, future naming rights and season tickets.
There are plenty of arenas who naming rights are controlled by financial firms — Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Scottrade Center in St. Louis, RBC Center in Raleigh, BankAtlantic Center in Florida, TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, HSBC Arena in Buffalo — but there’s been no indication that the financial crisis is causing any of these financial institutions to pull back on naming-rights deal. Indeed, the management of Madison Square Garden announced today that the WaMu Theater — the smaller facility part of the MSG complex — would not be affected, at least in the short term, by the collapse and ultimate sale of Washington Mutual.
So that’s good news, at least for now. The larger issue is what will happen with spending on a secondary level. Most arena pros can tell you banks are big buyers of other services, such as luxury boxes, season tickets, and other advertising. While this spending isn’t at the level of naming rights, it’s certainly significant — and its loss could have a serious impact on arena and franchise revenues in coming years.
