Corporate stadium name deals go nuts: "Minute Maid Park"

The BBQ Pit
1

The Houston Astros play in a stadium formerly known as “Enron Field,” but obviously had to change it.

So now it’s called “Minute Maid Park.” The stadium’s new logo is an orange baseball.

MINUTE MAID PARK. And you thought “3Com Park” and “Cinergy Field” were bad; now we have Minute Maid Park. Oh, my aching balls. Can you imagine being an athlete having to play in a stadium called “Minute Maid Park”? Or being a fan arguing over who has the nicest ballpark:

YANKEES FAN: Yankee Stadium is the best. It’s a majestic temple of baseball.
ORIOLES FAN: Camden Yards is the best, a modern stadium with all the amenities and a classic style.
ASTROS FAN: I like Minute Maid Park! Drink your orange juice! Vitamin C is good for you!

Holy moly. This has gone too far.

2

VENDOR: Orange juice! Get your fresh-squeezed OJ right here! Grapefruit juice! Screwdrivers and Salty Dogs for mom and dad!

3

I guess “Swiss Miss” couldn’t put the financing together.

How long before some smug funnyguy on ESPN makes a “juiced ball” comment?

4

Yeah that’s pretty bad. I get sick of them naming venues after the corporate sponsor. In Dallas we have an outdoor ampitheatre that for years was called the Starplex. Then Mr Corporation came in & dubbed it the Coca-Cola Starplex. A couple of years ago Coke apparently got outbid because now it’s called the Smirnoff Music Centre. :rolleyes:

Everyone I know now just calls it the Vodkaplex.

5

Hah. I see your silly stadium name and I raise you the name for my the new stand at my club (Oldham, English Football League Second Division) – the Pukka Pies Stand.

6

ampitheatre=amphitheater

preview preview preview!

7

Yikes. When I posted in another thread about the Playtex Super Bowl, I’m pretty sure I was only kidding.

Life imitates art.

8

I started a snicker thread on this earlier this afternoon… I didn’t think it worthy of a rant; it’s too ridiculous.

Zev Steinhardt

9

Interestingly, when there’s a kid’s show at Smirnoff MC (Blue’s Clues Live, etc), they rename it the Music Center at Fair Park (or something like that).

10

Near Chicago (in Tinley Park IIRC) what used to be called the World Music Theater is now the Tweeter Center; Tweeter being a tv/electonics store. When I first heard about the name change all I could think was “when are they going to add the Woofer?”

11

What about the Orange Bowl? I never hear juice jokes being made about that stadium.

12

Not only did the Canadiens stop playing at the Forum…

but they made it into a movie theatre, named the Pepsi Forum.

Maurice Richard is spinning in his grave.

13

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!

shoot me

14

I don’t understand the propblem. A huge opportunity exists to make millions of dollars off something as insignificant as the name of a building.

If Cadbury came calling, wanting to name Oakland Arena “The Cadbury Egg” and offered $10 million to do so, then I would vote against any politician that tried to stop it.

15

Local morning DJ’s Mark and Brian (local to SoCal; but also syndicated to other markets) were riffing on this this morning. Their best potential venue name was “Hello Kitty Stadium”.

16

Course the Cubs will soon be referring to it as Minute Laid Park cuz they usually find themselves fucked there pretty quickly. :slight_smile:

17

The Orange Bowl in Miami was so named (afaik) because Florida is a major producer of oranges not because of some corporation named Orange.

18

Not to mention that the Orange Bowl isn’t a stadium, it’s an event. (Prior to 1935 it was called the Palm Festival.) It’s currently played at Miami’s Pro Player Stadium.

19

I’d rather not think of Palm Festivals as a spectator sport.

20

Also, this is the second stadium named after an orange juice company. Tropicana Field would be the other.