Heinz Field May be Losing Its Namesake: How B2B Companies Can Capitalize

Highlights

• Heinz is expected to walk away from renewing its naming rights for the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ stadium.
• The current deal in place has Heinz paying roughly $2.8 million per year, which is below market value for naming rights to an NFL stadium.
• The Steelers are looking for a deal in the $10 million/year range.
• The stadium has had the Heinz name since it opened in 2001. In recent years Heinz has shifted operations from the Steel City to Chicago as part of a merger with Kraft.
• The current Heinz deal runs through 2021. This could end sooner if the Steelers choose to do so.

Does This Signal A Shift?

• We could see a shift towards lesser known but more valuable companies making bids for stadium naming rights.
• Oracle and Fiserv are two of the biggest B2B brands to buy the naming rights to stadiums. Could similar companies be next to buy naming rights?

Most Expensive Naming Right Deals:

• AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX: $19 million/year
• Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada: $30.4 million/year
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA: $11.5 million/year
• MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ: $16-24 million/year

(Data as of April, 30, 2018, according to Sports Business Journal)