Overstock.com told the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority that the online retailer has "opted out of a five-year-old naming rights deal" for O.co Coliseum, the home of the A's and Raiders, according to Ron Leuty of the S.F. BUSINESS TIMES. The "timing of the decision is odd, considering the A's open the regular season" tonight against the White Sox. It was "unclear Saturday when the company informed the joint powers agency." The A's "had a year remaining" on the original six-year, $7.2M deal for the O.co Coliseum. Half of the $1.2M in annual payments "went to the Raiders." The A's are "entering the second full season of a 10-year lease at the Coliseum." A's Dir of Corporate Communications Catherine Aker said that Overstock.com's corporate sponsorship with the A's -- "including some in-stadium signage -- will remain in place." Leuty noted the facility "now will be known" as Oakland Alameda Coliseum. The Coliseum Authority now "must seek a new naming rights partner." Such an agreement "might be more difficult to obtain, given the uncertainty of the Raiders future at the Coliseum -- much less in Oakland -- and the desire of the A's to find a new stadium" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/2). Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority Exec Dir Scott McKibben said, “They’ve always been able to terminate the contract if they wanted. Like a lot of corporations, they sit back and look at their sponsorships and marketing efforts and came to the conclusion they wanted to go in another direction" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/3).
