A's Refusing To Call Coliseum By O.Co Branding Due To Ongoing Legal Issues

The A's venue “bears the brand name O.co” reflecting a naming-rights deal with Overstock.com, but in game notes after Friday night’s home opener against the Mariners, the team “referred to it as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum,” according to Angela Woodall of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. The reference “prompted questions about whether the Coliseum would be looking for yet another corporate sponsor just one year into a six-year deal with online retailer." SMG General Manager Ron Little, whose company operates the venue, said that the O.co name “would be staying put.” He added that the A's “refuse to accept the O.co name.” Woodall noted it is “a sticky issue that the lawyers for both sides -- the A's and Coliseum -- are still trying to iron out.” The Coliseum and the Raiders “are supposed to split the earnings from the naming deal, worth about $1 million a year,” as the A's “were not part of the naming rights agreement.” O.co also “has to pay the A's and the Raiders separately for any other promotion of the company's name during games” (MERCURYNEWS.com, 4/7).