After 94 years as the Los Angeles Coliseum, the home of the USC Trojans is reportedly getting a new name.
Now this is a pretty big deal. The Coliseum has been around a long time and resisted corporate sponsorship all along, so surely some people won’t be thrilled that it’s being renamed now. But maybe fans will accept a stadium sponsor if it’s a trustworthy corporation with a sterling reputation.
Well according to Sports Business Daily, the Coliseum will henceforth be named after… United Airlines.
Yep, USC is selling naming rights to a company currently identified with dragging away an innocent person for no good reason and then catastrophically botching the PR fallout.
At least the Trojans will be well-compensated. Per SBD, United will pay USC $70 million over 15 years, surpassing the 10-year $45 million deal between Alaska Airlines and the University of Washington.
One amusing irony of the Coliseum’s new name: USC is reducing the stadium’s seating capacity by 17,000 seats and, yep, relocating season-ticket holders from their seats.
#USC will relocate season ticket holders seats – and #United is their sponsor- now that is irony
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) May 18, 2017
Look USC, you asked for it with this one. Of all the companies in America who would have paid millions for L.A. Coliseum named rights, you chose the one with its reputation furthest down the drain. Now you’ve got to deal with the jokes.
