Braves Give Bank the Naming Rights to Rich People
Not every team wants to sell the naming right to an entire stadium—sometimes you end up looking like an idiot when the company screws it’s employees, is convicted of fraud, and goes bankrupt (it’s a shame that Minute Maid Park just doesn’t have the same ring as Enron Field).
To circumvent this problem the Braves have come up with a solution. Sell the naming rights to part of your stadium.
Atlanta-based SunTrust Bank has reached a deal to put its name on a new Turner Field seating section designed to appeal to the Braves’ more affluent fans.
The new section, scheduled to be completed by the start of next season, will include 158 seats closer to the action than any others at Turner Field. The seats will come with such amenities as unlimited food and beverage, valet parking, a private stadium entrance and access to a 5,000-square-foot lounge being built adjacent to the Braves’ clubhouse. The seats also will come with a steep price tag: as much as $300 per game or $24,900 per season.
As always, the justification from the sponsor is downright hilarious.
The Braves’ “high level of performance on the field and their service to the community is consistent with our philosophy of serving our clients’ financial needs and supporting the communities where we live and do business,” Jenner Wood, chairman, president and CEO of SunTrust Bank’s Central Group, said in a statement e-mailed to the Journal-Constitution.
Translation: We think the really rich people who sit in those seats will subconsciously begin to associate our brand with posh opulence and having a lot of fun.
Overall, the whole arrangement sounds like a win-win situation. The Braves make money, Suntrust markets themselves, and rich people get to talk on their cellphones without being interrupted by the normal riff-raff at the stadium who cheer during the game. I’m already looking forward to seeing some affluent Atlantans spill their imported beer as Jeff Francouer airmails throws from the warning track into the backstop.
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