Staples Receives Lifetime Naming Rights To Staples Center

Staples Has Naming-Rights Deal For Staples Center Extended In Perpetuity

Staples today announced it has elected to extend its naming-rights agreement for the AEG-owned Staples Center. With Staples paying a previously-negotiated fee, its original 20-year naming-rights agreement will now be extended in perpetuity, marking the first lifetime naming-rights extension for a major-market arena. Staples has owned the naming rights to the arena since its opening in '99. Financial details have not  been released. Staples originally agreed to pay $116M over 20 years for the naming rights, which were set to expire in '19 (THE DAILY).

LET ME UPGRADE YOU: CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS' Ed Sherman reports the upper-deck at the United Center "now is known as 'the Madhouse on Madison,'" an example that "part of good marketing is the ability to repackage the product." The level will now feature "three new bars designed to allow fans to hang out and watch the game," as well as "new video systems featuring photography, video and animation on the concourse walls which will create images and specialized programming for each individual event." Sherman notes the idea is to give fans "more bang for their buck." Bulls Exec VP/Business Operations Steve Schanwald: "We wanted to make sure that even the fans who sit in the least expensive seats in the house know they are important to us and that we don't take them for granted" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 10/19).