Santa Clara-based software company Network Associates
will acquire naming rights to the Oakland Coliseum in "a
long-awaited deal that will generate less money than public
officials had hoped, according to Renee Koury of the SAN
JOSE MERCURY NEWS. But a broker said Thursday they were
"lucky to find a buyer, considering the controversy swirling
around the soured Raiders" naming deal with Umax. The
Coliseum Authority voted 3-0 yesterday to sign a contract
with Network Associates. The deal "is expected to be sealed
within a few days, and the company plans to hoist the
'Network Associates Coliseum' sign on the refurbished
stadium within two weeks." The deals calls for Network to
pay $5.8M over the next five years, or $13.2M over 10 years
"if the company wants to extend the contract." The Raiders
and the Coliseum Authority will split the cash, with each
getting about $500,000 a year. Koury reports, "That's less
than the $750,000 public officials wanted," and it's also
less than the $19M over 10 years that would have been earned
under the proposed deal with Umax (MERCURY NEWS, 9/11).
