Bye Bye Jacobs Field

by lenred on Jan 10, 2008 11:56 PM EST Comment 27 comments

Hello Progressive Field.

cleveland.com beat reporter Paul Hoynes is reporting that IMG has found a buyer for the naming rights for the Indians' home.

http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/01/tribe_to_play_in_progressive_f.html

I'm just wondering what us locals are going to shorten the name to for a nickname. The Prog? The P?

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the jake

keep calling it the jake.

This is me being polite.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Jan 11, 2008 12:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't mean to bring politics into the whole discussion, but they do this because it's free advertising for everyone who refers to the ballpark by its name, and I just don't like being a corporate billboard because it's manipulation. I won't even say the name of the Mariners stadium.

>>This message brought to you by the campaign of Barrack Obama -- Half Honkey, All Donkey.<<

by elrey34 on Jan 11, 2008 3:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

well

it's certainly advertising, but it's by no means free. companies pay millions for naming rights, for that exact reason.

by jpahk on Jan 11, 2008 1:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, yeah. If you want to go into technicalities.

But you get the picture.

by elrey34 on Jan 11, 2008 2:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Damn, Jacobs Field was a good name

So now its Auto Insurance Field?

I'm still gunna call it Jacobs Field, btw.

by Zonis on Jan 11, 2008 12:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I mean, after all

I still call McAfee Coliseum the Oakland Coliseum.

by Zonis on Jan 11, 2008 12:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

And I still call Houston's place Enron Field.

Oh, wait.

by Yakker on Jan 11, 2008 1:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I call it

Home Ron Field still... just a play on words for the number of Home Runs hit there.

"My mom always taught me it's better to laugh at yourself than to laugh at others. She was so wrong. ;)" -Pedrophile

by Boxkutter on Jan 11, 2008 2:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually

Me too. I thought I was the only one!!

And the "Juiced Box" just conjures up way too much bad mojo, now.

by Yakker on Jan 11, 2008 1:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Long Live The 'Stick!

Anyone in the Bay Area will still call 3com/USRobotics/Monster park Candlestick.

I think we've all given up on the multiple names for the Giants current stadium, but who would have known that SBC and Pac bell would merge, and that AT&T would buy them...

That's one thing I have to hand to the Dodgers, at least they haven't sold the name to their yard.

I'm proud to have seen #756

by Azantor on Jan 11, 2008 5:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Props

To all the teams that haven't sold out yet...

This is me being polite.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Jan 11, 2008 6:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Funny.

That's funny b/c the only teams that haven't sold the naming rights to their fields already have revenues so high that they can afford not to name their ballpark. Boston, LAD, NYY, NYM, ChC are the only ones that fit that category.

Not coincidentally, they are also the teams that are consistently in the top 3 in payroll, and all in the top 5 markets in the US. (Maybe top 10, not top 5.) But the local economies in all of those cities are such that they can charge $40 for "the cheap seats" and still sell out the stadium on any given night.

Cities like Cleveland, Milwaukee, Kansas City, etc. etc. etc. need to find as many ways to bring in money as they can think of. Selling naming rights to the stadium is a decent way to bring in additional money.

People can call the stadiums by their non-sponsored names, but in the end, if it brings a Championship to the team, nobody holds it against the team for selling the naming rights.

by lenred on Jan 12, 2008 12:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

LOL

Um, ChC??

You do know that Wrigley Field was named by the guy who ran the Wrigley Company, right???

by Yakker on Jan 13, 2008 3:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah...

Again, they draw so many people they can charge whatever they want. That allows them to keep the name of the park Wrigley Field, not Olde Style Field.

I'm not really sure what you're arguing, or commenting on. I said that mid-market teams sell the naming rights to their stadium for additional revenue. The Cubs draw enough people that they don't have to sell their naming rights, just like Boston, LAD, NYY, etc.

by lenred on Jan 13, 2008 7:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You're missing the point

The Cubs were one of the first teams ever to go the corporate naming route, naming their place after the CEO of the Wrigley Company and putting bubble gum ads on the scoreboards in the 1920s. To hold them up as one of the teams who've been able to withstand the commercial onslaught in baseball is amusing to me, that's all.

Oh, and FWIW, attendance is not the driver for these so-called big money teams. If it were, Boston (11th in overall attendance in 2007) would not be on your list, and teams like St. Louis (4th in attendance at Busch Stadium) and Anaheim (5th in attendance at Edison Field) would.

Oh, and your argument also neglects to mention that Atlanta (Ted Turner Field), Baltimore (Camden Yard), Kansas City (Kaufman Field), Minnesota (Metrodome), Texas (Rangers Ballpark at Arlington), and Washington (RFK/Nationals Park) all have non-corporate names.

by Yakker on Jan 14, 2008 12:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

haha

it's funny, because i feel like i'm "keeping it real" by still calling it Pac Bell.

by bleedjaxblue on Jan 11, 2008 6:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I am wondering

If there might be some tie-in between

"The Prog"
and
"The Pronk"

I am just now reaching the age of Dusty Baker prospectdum. maybe i should give Krivsky a call

by Terry Ryan Jr on Jan 11, 2008 12:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hey I still call

Pacbell . . . I mean SBC ... . or is it AT&T?

Ah never mind.

by Scott Proctor Fan Club on Jan 11, 2008 12:52 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I just refer to it as

Phonebooth Park

by Zonis on Jan 11, 2008 1:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

typical

I remember watching the first ever game there on ESPN...Chris Berman called left Field "Jacobs Ladder." Guess it never stuck.

by LipstickOnDipstick on Jan 11, 2008 1:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

It will probably take me a while to call it

anything other than "Jacobs Field."

Hello lenred,

I just heard about this change myself - I don't think "Progressive Field" is bad by any means, but will take some getting used to.

Terry Ryan Jr. - I was thinking along the same lines when I made my comment over at LGT - "Pronk plays at the Prog"!

It certainly has a nice alliteration ring, doesn't it? :-)

Take care and have a great day!

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Jan 11, 2008 3:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

does that mean

It's going to be the official stadium of Democraticunderground?

by Galt on Jan 11, 2008 9:16 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

We've now got the "P" and the

"Q"!

Hello everyone,

I didn't even think of the connection to its next-door neighbor - the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers - Quicken Loans Arena, also known as the "Q."

Now, we have the "P" and the "Q" downtown. If we name Browns Stadium the "B" and put them together, we've got BPQ - a new type of BBQ! :-)

Seriously, I have no problem with the new name - the Indians get an additional revenue stream and I've heard worst names than "Progressive Field." Progressive also seems to have a good reputation for the most part, including providing charitable contributions on a regular basis, though admittedly, I believe they also laid off workers not long ago around the Mayfield Heights area, which has stirred some people up, wondering how they can lay off workers, yet pay for stadium naming rights.

But overall, except for the richest teams, and with very recognizable stadium names throughout the world (Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, Wrigley Field, etc.,) this is the trend baseball franchises are on, and one way to help those smaller revenue teams close the gap (not much, but it helps a little) with the larger-revenue teams, which is still a problem, even with revenue-sharing.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great day!

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Jan 11, 2008 6:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

layoffs vs. stadium naming rights

Hey Indiansfan,

If you listen to the press conference
http://www.cleveland.com/podcast_files/progressivefield.mp3
the Progressive CEO addressed the exact question of the layoffs right before the naming-rights were announced.

And yes, I was playing off the nickname "the Q" for Quicken Loans Arena : )

Go Tribe!

by lenred on Jan 12, 2008 12:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Jake

I sorry, but are any of us being handed cash by the advertisers? No. Only the owners of the club are being paid off. So they're stuck calling it whatever stupid corporate name they are told to call it. The fans are not being paid and can call the place whatever they want. That's the freedom that comes from not being paid off.

by FunWithHeadlines on Jan 11, 2008 11:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

the hell with using the actual names of things. from now on, i'm calling wrigley by its previous name of cubs park. better yet, by its original 1914 name of weeghman park. if wrigley co decides to pay me $1M, i'll call it wrigley again.

by jpahk on Jan 12, 2008 12:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs