Keyword
NFL
Scores
Schedules
Standings
Statistics
Transactions
Injuries
Players
Message Board
NFL en español
CLUBHOUSE


SHOP@ESPN.COM
TeamStore
ESPN Auctions
SPORT SECTIONS
Monday, August 5
 
Pats sell rights to Boston-based Gillette

Associated Press

FOXBORO, Mass. -- The New England Patriots' new $325 million field will be called Gillette Stadium, ending the team's association with Internet holding company CMGI.

"It's especially gratifying to have not only such an internationally recognized name on the Patriots' new stadium but also to be partnered with a company with such deep local roots,'' team owner Bob Kraft said Monday.

The deal with Boston-based Gillette Corp. is for 15 years. The cost was not announced.

CMGI agreed to pay $114 million for naming rights to the stadium in 2000, when its stock was trading at $44 per share. The company has piled up hundreds of millions of dollars of losses and its shares are now trading around 40 cents.

The Super Bowl champions make their debut in the new stadium Aug. 17 in a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Patriots unveiled a new stadium banner and a logo on the grass at midfield. Road signs to the stadium still read CMGI Field, and Kraft could not say when those would be changed.

The move is the latest indication that the stadium naming industry is shifting toward traditional, more stable companies. The Baltimore Ravens renamed their field Ravens Stadium after its former corporate sponsor, PSINet, went bankrupt. Enron Field in Houston became Minute Maid Park.

After strong growth during the 1990s that saw the total value of stadium naming deals hit $3.2 billion, such arrangements have cooled off some with the recent economic downturn.




 ESPN Tools
Email story
 
Most sent
 
Print story