A Montreal Stadium is priority in trying to bring MLB back to Montreal. The business aspects have to make sense, and that’s part of it. Whether you’re in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, or Montreal, you need solid sponsors to make it work. So who are the big players in the Montreal region? Who’s going to chip in a large amount to become the sponsor of the new stadium, or to have their logo over the scoreboard, etc…
As a source recently told the Canadian Press:
That should include the potential sponsorships. How much money are we talking?
Well, the following are recent naming rights deals:
- Golden State Warriors: more than $10M per year
- Atlanta Braves: $250M over 25 years ($10M per year)
- New York Mets: $400M over 20 years ($20M per year)
Those are some of the latest, but here’s a more in depth look at what’s been done over the years:
| Stadium | City | Sponsor | Price | Years | AAV | Expires |
| Farmers Field | Los Angeles | Farmers Insurance | $600M | 30 | $20M | TBD |
| MetLife Stadium | N.J. | Met Life Insurance | $425M to $625M | 25 | $17M to $20M | 2036 |
| Citi Field | Queens | Citigroup | $400M | 20 | $20M | 2028 |
| Reliant | Houston | Reliant Energy | $310M | 31 | $10M | 2032 |
| Gillette | Foxboro | Gillette | $240M | 15 | $8M | 2031 |
| FedEx | Landover | FedEx | $205M | 27 | $7.59M | 2025 |
| Minute Maid Park | Houston | Coca-Cola | $178M | 28 | $6.36M | 2029 |
| University of Phoenix | Glendale | Apollo Gp | $154.5M | 20 | $7.72M | 2026 |
| Bank of America | Charlotte | Bank of America | $140M | 20 | $7M | 2023 |
| Lincoln Financial | Phily | Lincoln National | $139.6M | 20 | $6.98M | 2022 |
| Lucas Oil Stadium | Indy | Lucas Oil Products | $121.5M | 20 | $6.07M | 2027 |
| Citizens Bank Park | Phily | Citizens Bank | $95M | 25 | $3.8M | 2029 |
| M&T Bank Field | Baltimore | M&T Bank | $79M | 15 | $5M | 2017 |
| Great American Ball Park | Cincinnati | Great American Insurance | $75M | 30 | $2.5M | 2032 |
| Home Depot Ctr | Carson | Home Depot | $70M | 10 | $7M | 2013 |
| U.S. Cellular | Chicago | U.S. Cellular | $68M | 23 | $2.96M | 2025 |
| Chase Field | Phoenix | JPMorgan Chase | $66.4M | 30 | $2.2M | 2028 |
| Comerica Park | Detroit | Comerica Bank | $66M | 30 | $2.2M | 2030 |
| Petco Park | San Diego | Petco | $60M | 22 | $2.73M | 2025 |
| Sports Authority | Denver | Sports Authority | $60M | 10 | $6M | 2035 |
| Century Link Field | Seattle | Century Link | $60M to $100M | 15-20 | $4M-$5M | 2019 to 2024 |
And if you’re thinking, well that’s all good, but what about in Canada?
When the Edmonton Oilers opened up their new rink, the following was divulged:
That was for a 13-year deal.
But more importantly, Bell Canada paid $100M US for naming rights to the now Bell Centre (then Molson Centre) over the next 20 years. That deal is set to expire soon, in 2022, and breaks down to a $5M per year deal.
The point is that in recent years, the deals have gotten substantially larger and we can expect that future Expos owners will get a boost from selling naming rights to their future stadium. We can expect the floor to be $5M per season, with the more likely scenario being $10M or more per season.
When you’re expected to pay up for a new Montreal stadium, that can significantly help you out in the cost department.
Could Tesla be interested in joining other car companies and put their name on a Montreal stadium? What about the Bank of Montreal? There are so many possibilities that you can envision their being able to get a lucrative deal.
Time will tell which company steps up, but if you’re looking for one reason to be optimistic about a future stadium in Montreal, put some weight in the naming rights.