Quote:
The home of the Chicago White Sox is getting a new name.
Chicago-based mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate has purchased naming rights to the South Side ballpark in a deal that will rename it Guaranteed Rate Field through the end of the Sox's stadium lease in 2029. The team has an option to extend the deal through 2030.
Guaranteed Rate replaces U.S. Cellular, which has owned the naming rights to the venue since 2003. The new name will officially go into effect on Nov. 1.
U.S. Cellular had naming rights to the stadium through 2023, but the carrier pulled its brand from the market in 2012 in a sale to Sprint Nextel. The company's naming rights deal was worth about $3.4 million annually.
“We are pleased to find, in Guaranteed Rate, a new naming rights partner founded in Chicago by Chicagoans, which shares our commitment to the city and to our fans,” White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in the statement. “We view this partnership as an opportunity to connect a successful Chicago business with a historic baseball franchise, and we look forward to growing this important relationship over the coming years as millions of fans enjoy White Sox baseball at Guaranteed Rate Field.”
Financial details were not disclosed, but the White Sox won't be the only ones pulling in revenue from the deal—the state's stadium authority will get a boost as well.
While Guaranteed Rate will pay the Sox a sponosorship fee through 2026, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority—the government agency that owns and operates the park—will receive up to $6.4 million from Guaranteed Rate over the final years of the deal, beginning in 2027.
That structure has to do with the way the U.S. Cellular agreement was set up.
That 20-year deal coincided with a 2003 ISFA bond sale to fund a series of renovations to the park, including reconfiguring sections of the upper deck to make it less steep.
The Sox agreed to forgo a portion of maintenance funding from ISFA in return, which the agency has put toward retiring the bonds. But the Sox would keep money from the naming rights deal until it recouped the cost of the renovation.
Under the new deal, Guaranteed Rate assumes U.S. Cellular's financial obligation to the team, though the Sox won't be made whole on its naming rights deal until 2026. That is when revenue from the Guaranteed Rate deal will begin going to ISFA.
On top of that, the Sox also waived a clause in its lease—for the final years of its rental agreement—that says ISFA must pay for an upgrade of major stadium amenities if at least 75 percent of MLB teams have them. That clause is why ISFA was responsible to buy the team massive new outfield video boards this season, for example.
ISFA Chairman Manny Sanchez said that move could save the stadium authority as much as $25 million in facility upgrades over the course of the final years of the Sox's lease.
"That's a huge piece of this from an ISFA perspective," Sanchez said. "This is something that is a really, really serendipitous godsend that we have encountered."
Revenue and savings late during the next decade will be critical for ISFA, which uses hotel tax revenue and annual city and state subsidies to pay off the debt from the renovation of Soldier Field and the construction and maintenance of the Sox's park.
That annual debt obligation will steadily balloon from $38.5 million for the year ending June 30, 2017 to $87 million in 2032.
Sharing in revenue from the deal and waiving the upgrade clause "was something that was important to ISFA... and something that we were willing to discuss," said White Sox Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "As we discussed this and figured out the best way to put this together, this was something we were willing to concede."
Meanwhile, the deal is another big marketing splash by Guaranteed Rate, which has invested heavily in promoting its brand.
Ya, this is going to end up being a disaster. Jerry loves to extract public money to prop up his garbage franchise/stadium. Voluntarily turning down major stadium upgrades? Suuuuuuuure. Can't wait to find out how taxpayers are going to get fucked over.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Those are good ones. 
