OT: Little Caesars Arena to be new Detroit arena name?

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

This article is a couple months old and I didn't see anything on here, so I figure I'd share. It's kind of interesting.

It has been definitively confirmed that naming rights to the new Detroit arena have been sold.

CrainsDetroit, an area business site, reported that the domain name "littlecaesarsarena.com" sold for five figures. This purchase apparently took place two days after Chris Illitch said the naming rights have been sold.

The name of the arena will be revealed this month. I'm kind of bummed as the Wings were the one Detroit proper team that abstained from a corporate-sponsored arena. 

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20160211/NEWS/160219946/little-cae…

saucecastillo

April 11th, 2016 at 9:09 PM ^

Could a name change be in the works for The Palace of Auburn Hills?

It's possible, says Tim Schuler, Detroit Pistons senior vice president for partnership development.

Schuler, speaking to reporters Friday evening after an unveiling for the renamed West Atrium, says team and venue officials are actively seeking a naming rights partner for the 21,231-seat arena.

"We're actually in the marketplace for naming rights to The Palace," Schuler said. "We went through in the market probably six or eight months ago, on the naming rights of The Palace."

CoverZero

April 11th, 2016 at 9:10 PM ^

I was at that game circa 1989 when they announced the new name for The Palace.  It received a loud round of boos.  That was probably the last Pistons game that Ive been to...maybe the only one.

WorldFlyer747

April 11th, 2016 at 8:36 PM ^

The Olympia. It would be great if something that is as magnificent as the new arena is going to be would be named after an icon as opposed to $5.00 shitty pizza.

saucecastillo

April 11th, 2016 at 9:26 PM ^

MeijerArena.com was also registered in January and ChaseArena.com some time last year. It probably means nothing because they could register a different name like LC Center or Meijer Garden. 

The last time I spoke with someone who works for Olympia, he said there was a bidding war between three companies that already sponsors the Wings. My guess would be... GM/Chevrolet, Flagstar Bank and DTE. Coke could also be in the running since they passed on the new stadiums in Atlanta.

These are renders from Project Ten (who for Olympia) with Coke as the sponsor. 

 

LSAClassOf2000

April 11th, 2016 at 9:30 PM ^

The buyer's identity remained unclear late Thursday. It's possible the buyer is another speculator betting big, or it could be a clue that the Red Wings arena will be named after the Little Caesars pizza chain founded by team owners Mike and Marian Ilitch.

I would really rather it wasn't Little Caesar's Arena, if that's the case, so here's to hoping that a rumor and a domain acquisition is just that. There are plenty of companies just in Detroit alone whose names would lend themselves better to an arena if you want a corporate sponsorship, but I tend to agree with others that resurrecting "Olympia" would actually be a nice nod indeed.

Mr. Owl

April 11th, 2016 at 9:34 PM ^

So Illitch will pay Illitch to put Illitch's company's name on an arena that will be owned by the city, but with all profits going to Illitch.



Don't know why Illitch ever made that deal.

saucecastillo

April 11th, 2016 at 10:00 PM ^

They did not have an open bidding process for Ford Field and the Ford's used part of the money for the stadium construction. The financing for the new arena is already in place and Ilitch would be stupid to not take the most money for naming rights. It makes zero financial sense to name the arena after his own company when there's others willing to pay a hefty price for it. It's not 2002, stadium naming rights today can go for as much as $200 million.

BTW, here's the info on Ford Field:

"In February 2002, Ford entered into a Stadium Naming and License Agreement with the Lions pursuant to which we acquired for $50 million the naming rights to a new domed stadium located in downtown Detroit at which the Lions began playing their home games during the 2002 National Football League season. Pursuant to a Concession and Management Agreement between the Lions and the City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority, the Lions have been granted the right to build, operate and use the stadium, including the right to name the stadium or sell that right. We have named the stadium "Ford Field." The term of the naming rights agreement is 25 years, commencing with the 2002 National Football League season. Of the $50 million naming rights fee, which has been used by the Lions to fund in part the construction of the stadium, $30 million was paid in February 2002, $17.5 million was paid in March 2002 and the balance was paid in December 2002. Benefits to Ford under the naming rights agreement include exclusive exterior entrance signage and predominant interior promotional signage. We have analyzed the value of our benefits under the naming rights agreement (including an assessment of the fees paid and benefits received under other naming rights agreements) and we believe the value of our benefits is at least equal to the naming rights fee we paid." What's interesting here is that it has been widely reported that the deal was for $40 million, and such deals are typically paid over each year of the deal. The naming rights agreement was first announced in 1996. In this case, the Lions got the money spread over the stadium's first year, and could use the cash to pay down the capital debt.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120820/BLOG003/120829997/mm3rdqb-how-much-ford-motor-co-really-paid-the-lions-for-stadium

Mr. Elbel

April 11th, 2016 at 10:54 PM ^

As much as I love little caesars (it takes like cardboard, for sure, but it's MY cardboard), that's just the worst name ever. I'd rather have Illitch Arena than that.