The Denver Broncos just won a Super Bowl, so you might think they would have an easy time finding a new business partner to take on the naming rights to their stadium. That does not appear to be the case, however, as the Broncos are watching the bidding process be extended in hopes of luring interest to fill the void left by the Sports Authority.
With sporting goods retailer Sports Authority going into extinction, an opportunity to take on the corporate sponsorship naming rights for the home stadium of the Denver Broncos is on the market. A company managing Sports Authority’s assets has assisted in helping to sell the naming rights to any interested party for the remainder of the contract (five years) as Sports Authority attempts to finalize their bankruptcy filings.
The deadline to make a bid for the remaining five years on the contract signed by Sports Authority was supposed to be on June 23. It was eventually pushed back to Tuesday of this week, but the company managing the process has had no choice but to extend the deadline. That deadline was originally extended to Wednesday. Now it has been extended to Monday.
As noted by Denver Business Journal, there could be some interference preventing potential bidders from jumping in with an offer, although it is difficult to say. The Metropolitan Football Stadium District (the company that owns the stadium) is attempting to hold Sports Authority responsible for the naming rights for the duration of the contract, suggesting it has the right to approve or reject any stadium name change.
The cost for the naming rights of the stadium through 2020 is $19 million. Sure, it would be nice to simply call it Mile High Stadium, but that is more a rarity in today’s game than it used to be. But if nobody comes through with a bid to help Sports Authority out, we could be heading back that way. Unless you like the sound of John Elway Stadium, of course.
The more realistic scenario, if no bidders come through, is the Metropolitan Football Stadium District could likely be given a brand new window to pursue naming rights partners with a brand new contract, rather than simply just a five-year deal. That could be a big reason why the MFSD could be fighting the naming rights selloff as strongly as they are. A chance to work a brand new deal could be much more rewarding than picking up the tab on the remaining years on the existing deal.
Get money. That’s what this all comes down to, of course.
