What once was a significant stream of free money for sports teams now has become a dry, dusty hole.
The market for naming rights -- i.e., the slapping of a corporate moniker on a stadium -- has softened dramatically, due largely to the current economic climate.
The latest look at the problem centers on Jacksonville, where the three-years-and-counting inability to find a successor to Alltel shouldn’t be surprising, given that the Jags still have a hard time selling enough tickets to their home games to avoid local blackouts.
Still, it might be more than the economy and/or a mid-size market that doesn’t support its team like it should.
It could be that companies are realizing that having their names mentioned whenever the name of the venue is mentioned really doesn’t do much to impact the bottom line.
Sure, it helps to promote brand awareness. And that makes plenty of sense for a brand that is relatively unknown.
But it becomes a chicken-and-the-egg proposition for many smaller companies looking to establish a national platform. If they have the financial wherewithal to justify buying the naming rights to a football stadium, they likely already enjoy sufficient brand recognition.
The new relationship between Land Shark and the Dolphins therefore makes sense, since the up-and-coming beer behind the name is part of a bigger conglomerate (Anheuser-Busch) that can afford to write the check. As a result, an otherwise niche product takes on a much higher profile.
So that might be the ideal approach for a team like the Jaguars.
Unfortunately, however, a prime local opportunity already has been missed.
Every bottle of Land Shark Lager points out that it was made by the Margaritaville Brewing Company. Located in Jacksonville.