Sports Authority is "in negotiations with Invesco Ltd., the Broncos and the Metropolitan Football Stadium District to assume naming rights" to Invesco Field, according to Mike Klis of the DENVER POST. If the stadium district approves the proposed deal during next Tuesday's public meeting, the Colorado-based Sports Authority "will pay $150 million over the next 25 years for the right to have its name on the Broncos" stadium. The facility would be renamed Sports Authority Field at Mile High in time for the Broncos' Sept. 12 regular-season home opener. Denver-based Invesco Funds Group in '00 signed a 20-year, $120M deal for naming rights to the stadium. From those naming-rights revenues, "50 percent goes to the stadium district and 50 percent is allocated to the Broncos." The same split "would be retained in the proposed deal" with Sports Authority. Invesco's deal is not set to expire until '20, and all parties involved in the negotiations indicated that Invesco "was not looking to end its relationship with the Broncos." Invesco Managing Dir for Corporate Affairs Douglas Kidd said, "Earlier this year, we were approached with an idea by Sports Authority that did seem like a compelling offer that was in line not only from our point of view but it also seemed to be in the best interest of Broncos fans and the district." Klis notes one reason Invesco was "willing to move on was that the company has changed its business model in recent years from selling directly to consumers, where advertising can pay dividends, to pitching to financial advisers." Sports Authority has been a Broncos sponsor "for several years," and has plans to expand by "putting a retail store inside the Broncos' stadium" (DENVER POST, 8/11). Sports Authority's primary competitor, Dick's Sporting Goods, has the naming rights to the MLS Rapids' home field (THE DAILY).
