There are some bad stadium names out there.
The Dolphins recently announced one of their own, in fact.
But the White Sox may have just topped the list, as they announced their own naming rights deal on Wednesday:
BREAKING: Guaranteed Rate has purchased naming rights to U.S. Cellular Field. Will be known as Guaranteed Rate Field thru 2030.
— Danny Ecker (@DannyEcker) August 24, 2016
Guaranteed Rate and the #WhiteSox announce new ballpark naming rights partnership for 'Guaranteed Rate Field': pic.twitter.com/n1hbdN70uL
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 24, 2016
Guaranteed Rate Field replaces U.S. Cellular Field, which should prove the end for “The Cell” as a nickname. (Which is too bad, as the cell was where some of their famous field-invading fans tended to end up after the game.) U.S. Cellular had sponsored the stadium since 2003, and prior they’d always played at Comiskey Park, whether the original or the new version that opened in 1991.
Guaranteed Rate is a mortgage company, and their logo is, well, not ideal for this partnership:
Leave it to the White Sox to partner with a company whose logo is a red arrow pointing downward pic.twitter.com/iYXbNpSj3W
— bird hating account (@atf13atf) August 24, 2016
That was not the only opinion:
If the White Sox keep Chris Sale, maybe the name should have been
Cut Rate Field
— Randall J. Sanders (@RandallJSanders) August 24, 2016
I think Guaranteed Rate Field is a wonderful name for a ballpark. say, have you met my kids, Clubber-Butter and Fish Grease
— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) August 24, 2016
Even Sox manager (and former player) Robin Ventura didn’t seem to be on board:
Robin Ventura on Guaranteed Rate Field: 'I think it's still Comiskey' https://t.co/GGfw63PeV3#WhiteSoxTalk pic.twitter.com/OkJQbYDfJy
— NBC Sports Chicago (@NBCSChicago) August 24, 2016
Then #BetterSoxStadiumNames started trending:
https://twitter.com/NickNelson87/status/768563077541277697
Drake LaRoche Field. #BetterSoxStadiumNames
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) August 24, 2016
I Spent $6 on StubHub Field #BetterSoxStadiumNames
— Brett Lyons (@Brett__Lyons) August 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/JulieDiCaro/status/768556145942339584
https://twitter.com/MikeWickey/status/768552351175016449
Okay, they probably should have at least jokingly announced Harambe Memorial Stadium, because right now that tweet would have a million RTs.
Obviously no corporate name is ideal, and based on that it makes sense to get the most revenue that you can, especially if any of that gets put back into the team. But even on the sliding scale of corporate naming deals, this one stands out. Other all-time contenders: Lucas Oil Stadium, Enron Field, and perhaps Talking Stick Resort Arena, which is where the Phoenix Suns now play, somehow.
Of course, considering in March Guaranteed Rate was ordered to pay $25 million in damages for corporate espionage, it seems like they’d be a much better fit for a different MLB team.
