I wonder why a local utility would find a jersey sponsorship to be appealing. Perhaps I'm missing something, but it's not exactly a big, free market when it comes to choosing an electric or gas utility provider. I mean, you can choose to source electricity from another supplier, for example, but it's still AEP that you deal with in the end. Or so it seems to me. I've explored choosing another supplier, but it's never made much financial sense to do so. Columbia Gas and AEP have, essentially, regulated monopolies in this area. What would they gain by a jersey sponsorship?
That's a fair point but I would guess their marketing has less to do with "where do I get my electricity from" and more to with "I would like to choose electricity to power my home/stove/industrial building/car/water heater et al" than other forms of energy.
I’ve often wondered this myself. Glad that big companies like Columbia Gas are willing to spend dough in the community, but not sure what they really gain for having, as an example, the “AEP Power Pavilion” named after them at Huntington Park. They are sort of a monopoly, as Minnman alluded.
My cynical older brother who spent 40 years in corporate law used to say it was all about selling stock, not product. But call it corporate good will or call it community mindedness or.whatever, everybody has a vested interest in burnishing their corporate image.
If Columbia Gas doesn't sponsor the team in some way, I will be lowering my thermostat this winter and all subsequent winters by 2 degrees. I hope you all join me in this and we'll show those greedy corporate bastards. /s
I would doubt they will be jersey sponsor (I could be wrong). But stadium naming might be possible. But as stated above, it is often about being good corporate citizen, and it's about building brand, of which being public traded co is also about attracting investors.
I think the real question is whether, if Columbia Gas does sponsor the stadium, you'll turn your thermostat UP five degrees out of gratitude.
Absolutely true. I mean, AEP was one of the leading financial supporters of the Scioto Mile project (in the $5-10M range). Columbia Gas gave somewhere between $500K-$1M. A stadium naming deal falls into that same kind of category.
Absolutely! 75 degrees in the winter, 105 in the summer. I still shave my head with Barbasol cream (with aloe). I support the team sponsors when I can. It comes back to what you said earlier, it's not about getting customers necessarily. But image, awareness, share price, etc. I don't get why public utilities or healthcare providers become sponsors at this level otherwise. The folks that support the team can't really chose to use their services. I much prefer sponsors like Pepsi, Barbasol, Marlboro and Tide. Products that I can chose to use and would if they sponsored my team. When my indoor squad was sponsored by Rooster's we spent a lot of money there. I'm still a Barbasol customer. I priced Mapfe insurance but it just didn't work out. I am locked in to my health insurance provider, so if Ohio Health winds up on our jersey I can't switch.
So hypothetically speaking....if they end up stadium naming rights... what do we then call it...The Gas House (thinking that wouldn't be socially acceptable)? The Furnace? Turn up the heat!
My cynical old man, who is coming up on 40 years as a financial advisor, says that a company putting their name on a stadium is the first of the death knells. Something about the hubris involved and pride coming before the fall. I somewhat call bullshit on this particular theory of his (though the older I get the more right he is about most things), and I hope he's wrong because my company recently - within the past year or so - signed a 25-year deal to put our name on an NBA arena. And then bought our biggest competitor who sponsors both a NASCAR race and team. That's a lot of hubris, if you ask my old man.
This begs an interesting question (Just seeing if you’re paying attention, Timon!) of what would happen if the Crew’s owners’ “other” team plays in First Energy Stadium, and AEP wants to buy naming rights to the new Crew stadium. I’m assuming “nothing” since the energy companies are not in direct competition.
Even if they were, I'm not sure it's an issue. Different leagues and sports. Heck hasn't MLS had some competitors sponsoring them?
A cat food sponsor would be ideal. Blue Buffalo Stadium Kibbles and Bits Stadium Fancy Cat.. Tiki Cat (my favorite) ...
I just looked at the construction cam. I'm kind of surprised how deep they are digging.... Not that I know anything about construction.
As a metaphor of how deep they'll be trying to dig into my wallet. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the new season ticket prices.
It sort of seems like, from the renderings, that you'll enter the concourse between the lower and upper concourse and the field would be down