I don’t really remember when it all started, but the craze over selling stadium naming rights has recently been pushed even higher now that the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones are set to sell of the rights to their new monstrosity of a stadium - set to open in 2009. Evidently, the Cowboys are expecting to receive $20 million per year from whatever company that purchases the rights to the stadium name.

Ridiculous?

That much is for sure - well at least in this humble writer’s mind it is - but in reality, it’s just par for the course. The Cowboys are the single most valuable sports franchise in the world, and are worth an estimated $1.5 billion - yes that was billion with a capital B. When they open the doors in 2009, their new stadium in Arlington will likely be the most state of the art facility anywhere in the world, with amenities fit for a king. And as an added bonus, with their new retractable roof, the Cowboys have already scored the most coveted event in American sports - a Super Bowl for the city of Dallas in 2011.

So who in their right mind wouldn’t mind forking over $20 million a year to Jerry Jones for advertising, especially after considering the incredible amount of people who will see it either first hand at the stadium, or via their television and the Goodyear blimp?

Although many of you are probably going crazy right now in front of your computers, wondering how in the world a name can be worth so much coin, $20 million a year is pocket change to the type of companies that are sure to be lining up outside Jones’ office door as we speak. That one piece of advertising could easily net the company involved millions upon millions of potential customers over the course of the deal, and that is all that matters in this case.

It’s Economics 101, and while we all love the idea of teams keeping hold of the traditional names of stadiums, pro sports franchises are no different than any other large corporation. They exist to make money, first and foremost, and if they can do that without lifting a finger by simply granting name rights to a large company, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.

All of this boils down to a question of whether the Chiefs should follow suit and sell of the naming rights to our beloved Arrowhead Stadium. Personally, I despise the idea of seeing Arrowhead spoiled with the image or logo of a massive corporation (see Invesco Field in Denver), but I also understand the reality behind such a decision, and while it’s easy for me to say no as a fan with no financial interest in the team, I can see why it would make sense to the Hunt family and the franchise as a whole.

Now before you get too worked up on this issue, I will say that the Chiefs have literally no chance whatsoever of landing a deal like the Cowboys are set to get, seeing as our franchise is not worth nearly as much cash, and our team is currently in a semi-state of disarray when it comes to our on-field production.

A deal worth $3-5 million a year is much more likely, as the list of potential suitors is much smaller in a small market city like KC. Big corporations like Sprint, H&R Block, Applebees, and Garmin all call the KC metro area home, but that’s not to say that they would all be interested in getting their logo and name up on Arrowhead Stadium, so the Chiefs would have their work cut out for them if they actually did choose to sell off the rights to the name of their stadium.

Another key factor is what the Jackson County officials who physically own the stadium and the land around it, would think about such a deal. The team would inevitably have to fork over some of the cash to the county, and given Jackson County’s propensity for wasting such funds in the past on meaningless projects, the team would be rightfully concerned about doing just that. Any funds from a stadium naming rights deal should be directed right back into the franchise and/or facilities, yet it is far from being a given in this case. The discussions between the team and the county would likely become fairly contentious I suspect, and once again the real loser would be the average fan who will end up paying more of their hard-earned money to see their favorite team play a game they can just as easily watch at home for free.

So all things considered, a potential deal with a corporation in Kansas City to name the stadium is not likely to occur in the near future. But that’s not to say that it couldn’t happen very quickly if all the factors present were to align in the right way. Like it or not, the selling of stadium naming rights is firmly here to stay. And there’s not much any fan can do to prevent it from happening in Kansas City or anywhere else for that matter.

Money talks, and in this case, it speaks louder than words.

The real question is whether the Chiefs are listening.

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Technorati Tags: KC, Kansas City, Chiefs, Arrowhead

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