Ready to go to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and enjoy a drink at the “Legg Mason Centerfield Rooftop Deck Bar?” Or how about to watch a home run fly onto the “Papa John’s Flag Court?”
Both are distinct possibilities in the very near future, according to this article in the Baltimore Business Journal today:
The Baltimore Orioles plan to shop naming rights deals for the Eutaw Street flag court and center field roof deck at Camden Yards, part of an aggressive business strategy to boost sponsorship sales.
The deals will cost between $500,000 to $600,000, said Marco A. Gentile, who rejoined the Orioles in January as vice president of corporate partnerships.
On the bright side, it sounds as if the team would like the names to be sold to a local company.
Better connecting with local businesses is chief among his priorities before making a stronger push to sign up regional and national companies.
“The Baltimore market is paramount to us,” Gentile said recently from his office on the second floor of the historic B&0 Warehouse overlooking Oriole Park.
The efforts show.
In the first two months on the job, Gentile and his staff sold 19 new deals for this season worth more than $2 million. Baltimore titans Legg Mason Inc. and Under Armour Inc. — both absent from Camden Yards in recent years — are among the new sponsors. The bulk of the new sponsorships are single-year deals. In total, the Orioles have 106 sponsorship deals in place.
Here’s hoping the CF bar naming rights are bought by say, Flying Dog. Maybe all of the local breweries can join in. “The Flying Dog Heavy Seas Evolution Union Full Tilt Oliver Centerfield Rooftop Deck Bar” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
All well. This is the world we live in now.
I suppose it could be worse…at least the team isn’t selling naming rights to the stadium. Yet.
