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‘Shea Stadium’ to Rebuild as ‘Citi Field’

The new stadium of the New York Mets, which will open in the spring of 2009, will be named Citi Field after sponsor Citigroup, which has agreed to pay more than $20 million a year for at least 20 years, according to published estimates.

If estimates prove correct, the Citigroup deal, formally announced yesterday, is the most lucrative in the U.S. for naming rights, reports The New York Times.

Experts wonder whether Mets fans will balk at the name. The current ballpark, Shea Stadium, is named after a lawyer who helped bring professional baseball back to New York after two New York teams hightailed it for the West Coast.

Andy Sernovitz, CEO of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, is quoted as saying, “The risk of word-of-mouth backlash, especially among die-hard loyals, is significant.”

Other experts, such as David Bialek, president at the ANC Sports Marketing division of ANC Sports Enterprises in Purchase, N.Y., think it’s a good match. “Because it’s New York, and because Citigroup is such an enormous business in the New York area, it’s a perfect marriage,” he told the Times, adding that fans are accustomed to this type of commercialization.

Perhaps in preparation to a backlash, the Mets website is playing up the fact that the stadium will “prominently pay homage to the spirit of the Brooklyn Dodgers - not only with its granite and limestone facade, but also with an exquisite rotunda area that will pay tribute to Jackie Robinson.”
The naming comes at a time when Citigroup is looking to unify its image. The company announced last week that it is paying $34 million for the naming-rights to Boston’s Wang Center for the Performing Arts. It also owns naming rights to minor league baseball stadiums on Long Island, N.Y. and in Midland, Texas.

The Mets will become the first major New York team in the big four sports (hockey, baseball, football, basketball) market to name its stadium after a marketer. The New York Yankees, which will also open a stadium in 2009, say they plan to reuse the Yankee Stadium name.