Citigroup Gets Naming Rights for New Mets Stadium

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

We take a break from our breaking soccer news to turn our sports-loving attention to baseball. Specifically: the New York ?Weren?t We Great Once in ?86? Mets have reached a naming rights deal with the U.S.?s largest bank, Citigroup Inc., for their new baseball stadium to open in 2009.

The ballpark will be called ?Citi Field? and allows for brand and business unit presence for Citigroup throughout the new ballpark. Other goodies Citigroup gets in the deal: the purchase of media on cable network SportsNet New York, community outreach initiatives, and the development of international business opportunities in sports and entertainment, Citigroup and the Mets said.

“Citigroup has just won the World Series of sports sponsorships,” Citigroup Vice Chairman Lewis Kaden said at a press conference that was aired on the Mets’ Web site, which is one more than the Mets themselves have won since the mid-?80s. The Mets tried not to look hurt at this comparison, and muttered something about Mookie Wilson.

The stadium will cost in excess of $600 million in private money to build. In addition, New York City will contribute $90 million in capital funds and the state $75 million for infrastructure costs, the Mets said.