FCD seek new stadium name after Pizza Hut pulls out mlssoccer.com Most of the comments on the story are very interesting. Read on. This one is funny..
You could but that probably hurts the valve of the naming rights as people will tend to simply continue to call the stadium "Person X Stadium" and ignore the sponsor. That happens all the time with stadiums that are renamed, especially when the initial name is less obtrusive.
FC Dallas isn't the only show in town. The stadium is used for a ton of youth team events, several concerts and the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
You're correct, something happened. It's been reported a couple different ways, but the Houston Business Journal indicates it was $25 million over 20 years. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/...-name-game-worth-millions-to-team.html?page=3
I will take that bet. Absolutely no way it didn't factor into the decision. If Pizza Hut felt it was getting it's money worth, this isn't on the chopping block. But much like every other type of advertising, if you aren't seeing a return, why continue to spend the money on it? Pizza Hut isn't doing great, the stadium name isn't helping pull them out of that funk. Might as well take the 15 million left on the deal and spend it elsewhere in the company. Not to mention that naming rights as a whole are a lot of fools gold for brands. It's great for brand awareness, but after awhile in a market, you need more than just that.
The low attendance presumably factors into why the team isn't featured on national TV that often which factors into how much bang for the buck Pizza Hut Park's name gets. I'm sure they were thrilled with the sponsorship when the team hosted back to back MLS Cups but not a whole lot has happened in the last 5 years.
My impression - as an outsider - was that Dallas had more than its share of afternoon games over the past couple years. And with that heat attendance suffered - at least it looked that way on TV. But I thought that the afternoon games were at the behest of Telemundo. So Pizza Hut got its name broadcast to a Spanish-speaking audience. If it turns out that having a packed stadium for TV broadcasts is important for stadium and other team sponsors, then the league will have to stop listening to Dear Leader Juergen and start the season in late March after the threat of snow.
Progress isn't always linear. This is unfortunate for Dallas and at the same time, they may end up with a better deal.
A deal as long as this, I would presume that it has a couple of opt out points for both parties. It would be odd if it didn't. Also, I agree with the very little comment on how much attendance affected this decision. This complex hosts some major youth tournaments, so you're not just getting FC Dallas with your sponsorship.
Pizza Hut never struck me as the kind of business that would benefit from the naming rights. Companies need a complete marketing strategy to go with a stadium name deal. It's much easier for the corporate types to do a stadium deal than to come up with a strategy to make it pay off -- or to do the hard work of executing the strategy. See: American Airlines Center, Dallas; American Airlines Arena, Miami; American Airlines, bankruptcy...
Yeah, and there'll be no assigned seats. All tickets would be general admission, first-come, first-served, except of course for handicapped, elderly and those traveling with small children.
What happens if I forget to check in 24 hrs in advance? Am I stuck between the creepy guy and the lady with too much aquanet, or do I get to sit by the family with two screeming kids?