The Lions and MillerCoors have “inked a multi-year naming rights deal for a 200-person private lounge space that's under construction” as part of the $100M Ford Field renovation “scheduled to be finished later this summer,” according to Bill Shea of CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS. Financial terms and “specific number of years in the deal to name the 200-person space the ‘Miller Lite Taproom’ were not disclosed.” The space is “basically a giant communal suite with an open view of the field.” It “will not have traditional game seats, and MillerCoors will disburse tickets privately instead of the Lions.” A Lions spokesperson said that the naming-rights deal “means this will be the first time MillerCoors products will be offered during Lions games.” MillerCoors, not the team, will “control the seating inventory for the taproom.” That is the “same arrangement” Quicken Loans has for its “special seating section in the stadium.” The lounge was “already being built as part of the stadium renovation,” being privately financed by the Ford family, which owns the team. The space “wasn't purpose built specifically for MillerCoors, such as the MGM Tunnel Club was two seasons again.” Instead, the team “designed the space with the intent to recoup some of its renovation costs via naming rights, which often run in the millions of dollars” (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 7/18).
