New Look Inside The Cell

[Buehrle>Wood]

Well, State Farm and Allstate already have stadium, so does United and Wrigley (kind of).

 

So whats left?

 

Archer Daniels Midland - Archer Field

Walgreens

Boeing

CAT

Kraft

Sears

Abbott

Deere

McDonalds

Excelon

Illinois Tool works-The tool shed?

Navistar

Baxter

Motorola -HA

Sara Lee

AON

RR Donnelly

CDW

Discover

Dover

WW Grainger

Tenneco

OfficeMax

Anixter

CPI

CF indsutries

TDS

United Stationers

Good post. Was gonna do something similar but not this large. Deer was the one that came to mind immediately. McDonald's money would be nice but would hate all the jokes and potential it has to destroy the best ballpark food in mlb.

[Jose Abreu]

rename it Wrigley Field and we'll draw 5,000,000 to the southside.

Wrigley Park so we don't get sued.

Edited March 31, 2014 by Jose Abreu

[jasonxctf]

bmo harris bank

 

bank on it.. no pun intended

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Discover Park or Discover Field wouldn't be so bad, as it sounds generic and not corporate.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I am sure this is some sort of language in the contract that if US Cellular gets acquired, liquidated, or goes out of business there can be changes to the naming rights. The thing is what US Cellular has done puts them kind of in limbo. They acquired the naming rights deal as a means for branding and exposure in Chicago, a big market for them in the early 00s. Now they have no assets or customers in Illinois after selling to Sprint. So why hold naming rights in an area where you don't and will never provide service? To me US Cellular should have sold the naming rights to Sprint along with the spectrum and customers, or negotiated a buyout with the White Sox so they could pursue a sponsor that has meaning in Chicago and Illinois.

THey are basically spending $3+ million a year and it wont get them any customers.

[harfman77]

THey are basically spending $3+ million a year and it wont get them any customers.

 

Its possible they are trying to sub-lease the rights to another group and pull a profit from it.

[Dick Allen]

Its possible they are trying to sub-lease the rights to another group and pull a profit from it.

I don't think they can do that per the contract.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Its possible they are trying to sub-lease the rights to another group and pull a profit from it.

I'm sure the Sox were smart enough v to prevent that from happening. No way they profit from it but can get out of what they are already paying.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Its possible they are trying to sub-lease the rights to another group and pull a profit from it.

I'm sure the Sox were smart enough v to prevent that from happening. No way they profit from it but can get out of what they are already paying.

[Quin]

bmo harris bank

 

bank on it.. no pun intended

 

Harris Park would be ok.

[caulfield12]

Plus Sprint already has their basketball/hockey/concerts stadium in downtown KC.

[ewokpelts]

Remember, the naming rights money is DIRECTLY TIED into a stadium bonds issue. The 68 million was expressly committed to paying the bonds issue of 2003. The language in the bonds must be satisfied. if US Cellular is the only entity that pays the bonds, then they are locked into the agreement.

 

 

that said, if the sox can work out a deal with IFSA to put the rights out to market(with potentially paying off the 68 million bond issue sooner than later), then i easily see the rights being worth 3-4 times what US Cellular paid per year.

 

the flip side is that the sox will likely be out of the cell by 2029, and the us cellular deal ends in 2026. so a deal for 12-15 years won't get as much as a 25-30 year deal.

 

 

[southsider2k5]

Remember, the naming rights money is DIRECTLY TIED into a stadium bonds issue. The 68 million was expressly committed to paying the bonds issue of 2003. The language in the bonds must be satisfied. if US Cellular is the only entity that pays the bonds, then they are locked into the agreement.

 

 

that said, if the sox can work out a deal with IFSA to put the rights out to market(with potentially paying off the 68 million bond issue sooner than later), then i easily see the rights being worth 3-4 times what US Cellular paid per year.

the flip side is that the sox will likely be out of the cell by 2029, and the us cellular deal ends in 2026. so a deal for 12-15 years won't get as much as a 25-30 year deal.

 

Things are going to have to change A LOT in Illinois for the Sox to get a new ballpark in the next 15 years. They just basically laughed in the Cubs face when they asked for dollars for a remodel. I can't see this ownership group taking on a billion dollars or so in debt to get a stadium done in the future.

[ewokpelts]

Plus Sprint already has their basketball/hockey/concerts stadium in downtown KC.

at&t has thier name on at least FIVE arenas/stadiums.

not uncommon.

 

the 2006 nba finals featured teams that played in facilities that american airlines had naming rights to.

[ewokpelts]

Things are going to have to change A LOT in Illinois for the Sox to get a new ballpark in the next 15 years. They just basically laughed in the Cubs face when they asked for dollars for a remodel. I can't see this ownership group taking on a billion dollars or so in debt to get a stadium done in the future.

2033 ASG is the 100th anniversary. I doubt the sox will be in the cell by then.

 

plus, the bonds will be paid off, and the sox will not be contractually bound to play there(lease was extended from from it's original date of 2011 to 2029 through out the course of various bond issue sand renovation projects). Sox have a lot of leverage in a negotiation.

[ptatc]

Please don't call it Comiskey Park. I hated when they named it that to begin with. First, there already WAS a Comiskey Park, it was very different, and it drove me nuts they couldn't find a new name. Second, Comiskey was all sorts of bad things, he's not the guy I'd want to evoke anyway. If you want non-corporate, call it Veeck Park.

 

But they'll likely find another sponsor, as US Cellular will undoubtedly want to bow out if they can.

True, but without him there is no American League or Chicago White Sox organization. He did alot for the game of baseball both as an owner and a player.

[harfman77]

Things are going to have to change A LOT in Illinois for the Sox to get a new ballpark in the next 15 years. They just basically laughed in the Cubs face when they asked for dollars for a remodel. I can't see this ownership group taking on a billion dollars or so in debt to get a stadium done in the future.

 

I would not be surprised if there are some other areas in the region using ninja tactics to try and attract a team to their city, and as part of the deal, throw in some pretty sweet public funding. It is probably heresy, but the Sox are probably one of five teams that would benefit most from re-location.

[southsider2k5]

I would not be surprised if there are some other areas in the region using ninja tactics to try and attract a team to their city, and as part of the deal, throw in some pretty sweet public funding. It is probably heresy, but the Sox are probably one of five teams that would benefit most from re-location.

 

I am not convinced that a really good market is left though.

[southsider2k5]

2033 ASG is the 100th anniversary. I doubt the sox will be in the cell by then.

 

plus, the bonds will be paid off, and the sox will not be contractually bound to play there(lease was extended from from it's original date of 2011 to 2029 through out the course of various bond issue sand renovation projects). Sox have a lot of leverage in a negotiation.

 

They can have all of the leverage they want. If they laughed at the Cubs, I doubt they take the Sox request any more seriously.

[NorthSideSox72]

This is where I don't care whether or not I'm a Sox fan. Putting any large amount of money into new stadiums for sports teams is inevitably a giant waste of taxpayer money for states and municipalities. I don't want them doing it for the Sox or anyone else again. The lessons have been learned.

 

Now, I'm fine with little things, or them doing the things only government can do - helping alter traffic/street patterns, zoning permits, help with licensing and other permints, making those processes work for them. No problems there, even though it costs some money (just not very much) to do the little things. Even some creative restructuring of tax and other obligations for a few years to make the transition work OK. Beyond that? Go do it yourself.

 

[harfman77]

I am not convinced that a really good market is left though.

 

I think it comes down to TV deals. Where could the Sox go and provide a ton of inventory for a regional sports network, which has led to huge TV contracts for teams like the Rangers. Attendance is important, but the TV deals are where the real money is now.

 

There are three markets suitable to support professional teams that have no baseball teams in the region, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Oklahoma, and Fox Sports Carolinas. You can throw Oklahoma City out because of TV market size, but Charlotte and Indianapolis would seem to be players for any team looking to re-locate and receive a financial windfall.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/home/page/fsn

[southsider2k5]

I think it comes down to TV deals. Where could the Sox go and provide a ton of inventory for a regional sports network, which has led to huge TV contracts for teams like the Rangers. Attendance is important, but the TV deals are where the real money is now.

 

There are three markets suitable to support professional teams that have no baseball teams in the region, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Oklahoma, and Fox Sports Carolinas. You can throw Oklahoma City out because of TV market size, but Charlotte and Indianapolis would seem to be players for any team looking to re-locate and receive a financial windfall.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/home/page/fsn

 

Except if they leave Chicago, the destroy the value of their 20% ownership of CSN.

[harfman77]

This is where I don't care whether or not I'm a Sox fan. Putting any large amount of money into new stadiums for sports teams is inevitably a giant waste of taxpayer money for states and municipalities. I don't want them doing it for the Sox or anyone else again. The lessons have been learned.

 

Now, I'm fine with little things, or them doing the things only government can do - helping alter traffic/street patterns, zoning permits, help with licensing and other permints, making those processes work for them. No problems there, even though it costs some money (just not very much) to do the little things. Even some creative restructuring of tax and other obligations for a few years to make the transition work OK. Beyond that? Go do it yourself.

 

I would agree for the most part, but I do think driving a portion of the local hotel taxes to stadiums is a wise investment for a community. I do not believe in sales/property tax assessments on the general population to benefit billionaire owners getting a discount.

[Dick Allen]

I think it comes down to TV deals. Where could the Sox go and provide a ton of inventory for a regional sports network, which has led to huge TV contracts for teams like the Rangers. Attendance is important, but the TV deals are where the real money is now.

 

There are three markets suitable to support professional teams that have no baseball teams in the region, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Oklahoma, and Fox Sports Carolinas. You can throw Oklahoma City out because of TV market size, but Charlotte and Indianapolis would seem to be players for any team looking to re-locate and receive a financial windfall.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/home/page/fsn

The Sox are tied to their contracts now. When they are not tied to their contracts, and that day will come before they ever have a chance to flee, it's hard to imagine they can't do better financially in Chicago than in Charlotte or Indy. Maybe Tampa Bay makes sense to move to one of those places or Oakland, but the only place the Sox would move if it's out of the city is into the suburbs.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Dick Allen

[harfman77]

Except if they leave Chicago, the destroy the value of their 20% ownership of CSN.

 

CSN would still have all the Cubs, Bulls, and Black Hawk games, so the network would not be worthless. They could liquidate that ownership stake at any time and not take a financial hit, and odds are they would get a financial stake in whatever new network picked them up.