Giants & Jets in "advanced" talks over stadium name rights

In an off season that's seen more stadium name changes than anything else the New York NFL teams might soon have a new name for their home.

New York based insurance giant MetLife are the company in talks with both teams boards about renaming the New Meadowlands Stadium to MetLife Stadium. Sports Business Daily says the deal could be worth between $17-18 million.

MetLife currently pays about $7 million annually to be one of four cornerstone sponsors for the stadium. It would drop that position if it acquired the naming rights, opening a sponsorship for another company. The other cornerstone partners are Verizon, Anheuser-Busch and PepsiCo.

If the deal is finalized, MetLife would join Progressive (Cleveland Indians) and Farmers (Los Angeles' planned NFL stadium) as insurance brands with sports venue naming rights, according to Sports Business Daily.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82081e38/article/metlife-stadium-jets-giants-home-might-be-called-just-that

Any truth to the rumours (started by me now) that this is being forced through by the Giants to prevent any more 'Miracles at the Meadowlands'?

Miracle at the MetLife doesn't have the same ring to it. But it will still sting the same.

Regardless what they change it too I'll still call it the Meadowlands. The MetLife stadium, naaah, not for me. I suppose there are a lot worse out there, there's some crackers in minor leagues. At least its not as bad as "whataburger field" in minor league baseball.

The old stadium was in the Meadowlands sports complex, the new stadium was built right next door (and I mean the stands almost touch) and was named New Meadowlands Stadium, I can't see any stadium naming bid being a smart move.
As Gaelic says, the name it currently has will stick, the only way they really work is if naming bids are done before the stadium opens, but the fact the stadium name represents the location of the complex in which it's based, suggests to me that Metlife have got this wrong....

Metlife have a habit of getting in the way of things in New York... The Metlife building blocks the Chrysler Building from the "Top of Rock" observatory... The Metlife Building towers above Grand Central Station messing up some nice photo ops...

As Griz says, there is no way anyone barring commentators being forced into it are going to call it the Metlife Stadium. Seems like a little bit of a waste of money when they already have there own stadium "quarter" sponsorship.

crazy_dave23 wrote:Metlife have a habit of getting in the way of things in New York... The Metlife building blocks the Chrysler Building from the "Top of Rock" observatory... The Metlife Building towers above Grand Central Station messing up some nice photo ops...
.

Haha - great spot dave. I've done the TOTR a few times and always wondered what that building was.
Where were the planners ? ? ?

Metlife would be a silly name for such a stadium, would be far better to do that to Citi Field.

I'm no expert in US geography.....but isn't the New Meodowlands not only not in New York City, but also in another State!

Probably doesn't mean anything, but seems strange to me.

Same could be said for the Redskins. A lot of stadiums are based outside of the city teams represent largely down to the fact that they need the space that being in a city can't give them.

TM Moot wrote:I'm no expert in US geography.....but isn't the New Meodowlands not only not in New York City, but also in another State!

Probably doesn't mean anything, but seems strange to me.

Yes, the Jets have been based in New Jersey since they moved to the Meadowlands in 1984, the Gaints have been based there since 1976 but also spent the 1973 and 1974 seasons playing at the Yale Bowl in Connecticut.

[quote="DerbyblueYes, the Jets have been based in New Jersey since they moved to the Meadowlands in 1984, the Gaints have been based there since 1976 but also spent the 1973 and 1974 seasons playing at the Yale Bowl in Connecticut.[/quote]

Shea Staduim rings a bell, wasn't that the Jets at some stage?

TM Moot wrote:

Derbyblue wrote:Yes, the Jets have been based in New Jersey since they moved to the Meadowlands in 1984, the Gaints have been based there since 1976 but also spent the 1973 and 1974 seasons playing at the Yale Bowl in Connecticut.

Shea Staduim rings a bell, wasn't that the Jets at some stage?

Yes the Jets were based there between 1964-1983, the Giants also spent the 1975 season there, but that stadium was in Queens, New York.

Considering we have sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park.

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:Considering we have sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park.

Another example of a sponsorship name that has simply been ignored!

crazy_dave23 wrote:

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:Considering we have sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park.

Another example of a sponsorship name that has simply been ignored!

I had no idea that it was called that. I'm sure they don't bother saying that in commentary.

Isn't the Giants and Jets not actually playing in New York sort of like Chelsea actually being based in Fulham?

Derbyblue wrote:

crazy_dave23 wrote:

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:Considering we have sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park.

Another example of a sponsorship name that has simply been ignored!

I had no idea that it was called that. I'm sure they don't bother saying that in commentary.

Isn't the Giants and Jets not actually playing in New York sort of like Chelsea actually being based in Fulham?

Stamford Bridge is half a mile from Chelsea on Fulham Road which is the road to Chelsea. The Chelsea & Kensington Hospital is also on Fulham Road.

Manning-to-Manningham wrote:

Derbyblue wrote:

crazy_dave23 wrote:

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:Considering we have sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park.

Another example of a sponsorship name that has simply been ignored!

I had no idea that it was called that. I'm sure they don't bother saying that in commentary.

Isn't the Giants and Jets not actually playing in New York sort of like Chelsea actually being based in Fulham?

Stamford Bridge is half a mile from Chelsea on Fulham Road which is the road to Chelsea. The Chelsea & Kensington Hospital is also on Fulham Road.

Still not in Chelsea though, it was also the only example that came straight into my mind as most of the teams stick with their local fan base though some have moved slightly outside of the city, MK Dons would be one example of a team completely relocating but it's rare. I guess it's just cheaper for them to build the stadium in New Jersey than New York but I think they should be made to rename themselves or move back into the state of New York.

Derbyblue wrote:

Manning-to-Manningham wrote:

Derbyblue wrote:

crazy_dave23 wrote:

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:Considering we have sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park.

Another example of a sponsorship name that has simply been ignored!

I had no idea that it was called that. I'm sure they don't bother saying that in commentary.

Isn't the Giants and Jets not actually playing in New York sort of like Chelsea actually being based in Fulham?

Stamford Bridge is half a mile from Chelsea on Fulham Road which is the road to Chelsea. The Chelsea & Kensington Hospital is also on Fulham Road.

Still not in Chelsea though, it was also the only example that came straight into my mind as most of the teams stick with their local fan base though some have moved slightly outside of the city, MK Dons would be one example of a team completely relocating but it's rare. I guess it's just cheaper for them to build the stadium in New Jersey than New York but I think they should be made to rename themselves or move back into the state of New York.

But Chelsea didn't relocate. The ground was an abandoned athletic stadium and Fulham turned it down so the owners decided to create a football club, Fulham was already taken and they're only half a mile from Chelsea, and the rest is history. We may have to relocate as the council always turn down the planning permission to expand Stamford Bridge, and with relocation there would be the chance of the death of Chelsea FC because of the Chelsea Pitch Owners.

But a lot of teams play outside where they say they are. Old Trafford is 7 miles from Manchester and the village of Everton is 11 miles from Bedford but the team play 200 miles away in Liverpool.

Obviously the 2nd one is a joke but Chelsea is closer to Chelsea than United is to Manchester.

I know this is not the place for football discussion but I just wanted to say that.

Hence the 'Welcome to Manchester' Tevez poster.

There are a few playing outside their city/state:

Skins - Fedex is in Maryland
Jets/Giants - in New Jersey
Chiefs - Kansas City is in Missouri (I know it doesn't really count, but how can Kansas City not be in Kansas? )
Cowboys - Arlington
Dolphins - technically true as the stadium is in Miami Gardens not Miami city
Panthers - cheating as Carolina is 2 states, not one
Bills - Orchard Park not Buffalo city
Packers - Green Bay isn't even a place!
Patriots - likewise New England

Maybe various city's should sue teams that are miss using their name?

Green Bay is a place, it's a city of around 100,000 people:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay,_Wisconsin

So if Green Bay doesn't exist then neither does Carlisle or Darlington.

Have you been to Carlisle?

My bad in missing it existed, but still, they don't actually play in Green Bay city do they?

skins4ever wrote:There are a few playing outside their city/state:

Skins - Fedex is in Maryland
Jets/Giants - in New Jersey
Chiefs - Kansas City is in Missouri (I know it doesn't really count, but how can Kansas City not be in Kansas? )
Cowboys - Arlington
Dolphins - technically true as the stadium is in Miami Gardens not Miami city
Panthers - cheating as Carolina is 2 states, not one
Bills - Orchard Park not Buffalo city
Packers - Green Bay isn't even a place!
Patriots - likewise New England

Maybe various city's should sue teams that are miss using their name?

There is a Kansas City in Kansas, it's just smaller than the one in Missouri and four miles away http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&biw=1024&bih=464&q=kansas+city+kansas&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x87c08ce427cf3515:0xdc77777b70c31e05,Kansas+City,+KS,+USA&gl=uk&ei=a8QNTv7nNce5hAf80MmADg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ8gEwAA

The Patriots do play in New England because Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut are the six states called New England. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England

They certainly do, right in the centre of the city. If you search for Lombardi Avenue on Google Maps you can see the stadium right there.

I was going to make a similar statement about those places as I've spent a fair bit of time in Carlisle but in reality its amazing that somewhere so small has a team at the top level of any sport can you imagine if Darlington could support a team as large and successful as the Packers.

I've brought the pedants out today haven't I!

I object to the Patriots on principle. What's next the North American Everymen (playing in Venezuela)? :P

If you can't bring out the pedants on an internet forum then there is something seriously wrong with you.

I was being sarcastic, I'm one of them.

Is there a universal symbol/smiley for sarcasm? Maybe the opposite of a wink?