Naming rights In the private sector , naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility or event , typically for a defined period of time . For properties like a multi - purpose arena , performing arts venue or an athletic field , the term ranges from three to 20 years . Longer terms are more common for higher profile venues such as a professional sports facility . The distinctive characteristic for this type of naming rights is that the buyer gets a marketing property to promote products and services , promote customer retention and or increase market share . There are several forms of corporate sponsored names . A " presenting sponsor " attaches the name of the corporation or brand at the end ( or , sometimes , beginning ) of a generic , usually traditional , name ( e . g . Mall of America Field at Hubert H . Humphrey Metrodome ) . A " title sponsor " replaces the original name of the property with a corporate - sponsored one , with no reference to the previous name . In a few cases , naming rights contracts have been terminated prematurely . Such terminations may be the result of contractual options , sponsor bankruptcy , or scandals . Stadium naming . Stadium naming may have shifted in recent years to promoting corporate trade names , but in earlier decades is largely traced to the family names of company founders . Naming rights in North America may have been traced back to 1912 with the opening of Fenway Park in Boston . The stadium ' s owner had owned a realty company called " Fenway Realty " , so the promotional value of the naming has been considered . Despite this , it is more widely believed to have begun in 1926 when William Wrigley , the chewing gum entrepreneur and owner of the Chicago Cubs , named his team ' s stadium " Wrigley Field . " In 1953 , Anheuser - Busch head and St . Louis Cardinals owner August Busch II proposed renaming Sportsman ' s Park , occupied by the Cardinals , " Budweiser Stadium " . When this idea was rejected by Ford Frick , the Commissioner of Baseball at that time , Anheuser - Busch then proposed the title " Busch Stadium " after one of the company ' s founders . The name was readily approved , and Anheuser - Busch subsequently released a new product called " Busch Bavarian Beer " ( now known as Busch Beer ) . The name would later be shifted to the Busch Memorial Stadium in 1966 , shortened in the 1970s to " Busch Stadium " and remained the stadium ' s name until it closed in 2005 . By that time , Major League Baseball ' s policy had changed – with Coors Field in Denver and Miller Park in Milwaukee going up in that span – and Anheuser - Busch ( who retained the naming rights after selling the team ) was able to use the same name for the Cardinals ' new stadium which opened on April 4 , 2006 . Another early example is when the New England Patriots of the National Football League sold the rights to name the stadium that they had constructed in Foxborough , Massachusetts in 1970 – 1971 to the Schaefer brewery . The public reaction to this practice is mixed . Naming rights sold to new venues have largely been accepted , especially if the buyer has strong local connections to the area , such as the case of Rich Stadium in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park , Heinz Field in Pittsburgh , and Coors Field in Denver . Selling the naming rights to an already - existing venue has been notably less successful , as in the attempt to rename Candlestick Park in San Francisco to 3Com Park . The general public ( and some media outlets ) continued to call the facility what it had been known as for over three decades – Candlestick Park . After the agreement with 3Com expired , the rights were resold to Monster Cable , and the stadium was renamed Monster Park . San Francisco voters responded by passing an initiative ( Proposition H ) in the November 2004 elections that essentially stipulated the name must revert to Candlestick Park once the contract with Monster expired in 2008 . The initiative proved largely ceremonial , however , and it was overturned by the passage of Proposition C in 2009 in response to desperate economic times . The naming rights to the park have yet to be resold . A distinction , and potential source of contention , is whether a stadium has been financed in whole or in major part by public funds , and is owned by the municipality where the venue is located . Sports stadiums with naming rights deals are not limited to the United States . " Named " stadiums can be found in countries including Australia , Japan , China , Finland , Canada , and Israel . The practice is widening in the United Kingdom ; for instance the current stadium of Bolton Wanderers is the Reebok Stadium and Arsenal Football Club ' s new stadium for the 2006 / 2007 season is the Emirates Stadium , their previous ground being Highbury Stadium . In cricket , the most famous example is The Oval , home of Surrey County Cricket Club . It has had several sponsors over the years , and is currently known as " The Kia Oval " , having originally been known as the " Kennington Oval " , the district of London in which it is . The record for the highest amount paid for naming rights belongs to Citi Field ( opened in 2009 ) and Barclays Center ( scheduled to open in 2012 ) , both located in New York City . Each garnered deals of $ 20 million per year for at least 20 years , totaling $ 400 million . The New Meadowlands Stadium ( since named MetLife Stadium ) , shared home of the New York Giants and New York Jets in East Rutherford , New Jersey was expected to eclipse both deals , with experts estimated it would value $ 25 – 30 million annually . Other examples . While the highest prices have traditionally been paid for stadium rights , many companies and individuals have found that selling their naming rights can be an important consideration in funding their business . In the last few years many new categories have opened up , such as the selling of the rights to name a new monkey species for $ 650 , 000 . Naming rights to public transit stations have been sold in Las Vegas and Philadelphia . Such sales have been contemplated in New York and Boston , and ruled out in San Francisco . A sponsorship for the MBTA ' s State Street station by Citizens Bank lasted from 1997 to 2000 . In Tampa , naming rights for both streetcar stations and rolling stock are available . Naming rights also extend outside stadiums in the realm of sports ; in college football , all of the Division I bowl game s have either modified or abandoned their traditional names in favor of title sponsors . While most include the traditional name in some form ( e . g . " Discover Orange Bowl " , " The Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio " ) , there have been bowl games that have totally eliminated their traditional name in favor of solely using a corporate sponsor ' s name in an effort to dissuade fans from using a generic name ( for instance , the former " Citrus Bowl " is now known as the " Capital One Bowl " and the former " Peach Bowl " is known as the " Chick - Fil - A Bowl " ) , a move that generally is treated with consternation from fans . Team names have occasionally been sold to corporate sponsors as well ( such as the New York Red Bulls ) , but this is generally rare in the United States and more common in other parts of the world . During the 1980s , sanctioned auto races in NASCAR and IndyCar began to abandon their traditional names in favor of exclusive sponsor names . The trend expanded rapidly in NASCAR such that in 1991 , all 29 races in the Winston Cup Series featured sponsor names ( including the Daytona 500 , which was titled the " Daytona 500 by STP " ) , with little or no reference to the original names . As of the 2000s , very few exceptions remain in NASCAR , and typically races without sponsor names only lack them because a suitable sponsor could not be secured in enough time . IndyCar follows suit , with most races ( except the very traditional Indianapolis 500 ) embracing title sponsorship . Television and radio series , especially in the early days of each medium , frequently sold the naming rights to their programs to sponsors , most of whom bankrolled the program . This form of sponsorship fell out of favor in the late 1950s . Social connotations . In some places , and especially in the UK and US , the naming or renaming of arenas or events is often met with disapproval from the general public . Some people see it as an example of a selling out , especially when they see no obvious benefit to themselves . They often refuse to use a new name , preferring instead to use a non - branded name , especially in colloquial situations . Re - branding can also lead to confusion . In such cases , there may be a lengthy period during which the property is known by both names . A common example is Willis Tower in Chicago which was and often still is referred to as the Sears Tower , even though the building was sold some time ago . Sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games prohibit the use of corporate - sponsored name on stadiums , construing the practice as a form of ambush marketing . Any stadium that uses a corporate - purchased name must always be referred to in all event - related media ( including live broadcasts ) by a generic name ( e . g . General Motors Place [ now Rogers Arena ] was referred to as " Canada Hockey Place " during the 2010 Winter Olympics ) . The regular corporate signage of a site , including billboards and deck advertising , is usually covered up in these cases ; in the FIFA case the signage is replaced solely with FIFA sponsors . However , with the near - universal use of LED ribbon boards , scoreboards and sideline boardings since the mid - 2000s in most major league sites where only known sponsors have advertising displayed , " neutralizing " an arena has become a much easier process than in the past . Nonprofit usage . A nonprofit organization has the option to recognize a major gift from a donor by bestowing naming rights to a property in recognition of the financial support . This is not a financial transaction in the style of the private sector . For example , in honor of the more than $ 60 million donated over the years by one donor to the National Air and Space Museum properties , the directors of the Smithsonian Institution chose to name its satellite facility in Loudoun County , Virginia after the donor , calling it the Steven F . Udvar - Hazy Center .