Re: Commercial facility names on non-commercial stations

["Sean Smyth" <ssmyth@suscom.net>]

Dan Billings writes:
> In one city, I think it was Denver, the local newspaper refuses to call
the
> stadium by its new commercial name.

Yes, the Denver Post refused to mention the Broncos' new stadium by its
sponsored name, "Invesco Field at Mile High." Instead, they call it The
Stadium at Mile High, or something like that. Funny enough, I think the Post
still refers to Denver's other major sports facilities as the Pepsi Center
and Coors Field, respectively, yet doesn't raise a stink about it (both must
be decent ad clients). By going the route it did, the paper actually gave
Invesco far more free advertising than they would have by printing the line
"Invesco Field at Mile High" a few hundred times (if that) a year.

An interesting sideline in this story involved a Post (pretty sure it wasn't
a Rocky Mountain News) columnist dubbing the new stadium "The Diaphragm."
Last I heard, Invesco had filed suit and the case had yet to go to trial.

Most times during sports broadcasts, a station will mention the facility
name once or twice and use a nickname or pseudonym thereafter (or they might
just throw a generic geographical name, such as "Foxboro," out there if the
locale is rather small and known only for the stadium's/arena's location).
Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte is often called "The Cell" and Detroit's
Comerica Park is referred to as "Copa". Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix is
simply "The BOB" and Pac Bell Park in San Francisco is "The Phone Booth."
Philadelphians show their affinity (or lackthereof) for First Union by
calling the First Union Center the "F.U. Center."