The story I remember (from “October 1964” by David Halberstam, I think) was that Gussie Busch wanted to name the stadium “Budweiser Park” or some such, but his friends told him it was too commercially crass. He protested that there was a Wrigley Field, but they responded that it was excusable since that was the actual name of the owner. He then decided on Busch Stadium and started making Busch brand beer.
The only other one I’ve come across is YourGarden. There were several “winning” bids from New York, not accepted by management, for “Derek Jeter Center”. I could have gone along with that one, if they’d have used his middle name and put “Jeter” in unreadably tiny print. Then it would have been the Derek Sanderson Center, with the name of one of the most popular players from the last time the Bruins were Cup contenders (Jeremy Jacobs has ruined not only the franchise but Massachusetts hockey through decades of mismanagement, but that’s another story).
Yep, gets the ya-ya’s out, and you can all laugh about it afterward. Or after you’ve dug David Ortiz’s jersey out of your ballpark’s foundation.
BTW, the Yankees do suck. True fact, you could look it up.
My beloved Cincinnati Reds play in Great American Ballpark, which may fool many people into thinking its not corporate. It’s actually the name of an insurance company across the street.
This bugs me, especially since the original proposed site for the park might have led to the name “Broadway Commons,” which I think is kinda cool.
I love Lemieux (and would argue with anyone that Lemieux had more pure talent than Gretzky any day of the week, even if Wayne had the better career), but I’d love to see the legacies of “Badger Bob” Johnson and Herb Brooks, both of whom were taken from us long before their time, honored in the new arena name.
Indianapolis has Victory Field, home of the AAA Indianapolis Indians. I could get behind renaming Lucas Oil (even though “the Luke” is a cool nickname IMO) Victory Stadium. I don’t really care much about the Pacers anymore, but I’d rename Conseco Fieldhouse and call it Indiana Fieldhouse, which was its name before they had corporate sponsorship.
Corporate stadium names are so soul-draining.