The Rams and TWA have agreed to seek termination of the sponsorship agreement for naming rights to the Trans World Dome, clearing the way for the Rams to seek a new title sponsor for the facility (Rams). FSMW's Rob Nikoleski said the agreement came "in light of TWA filing for bankruptcy [in January]. TWA has been paying $1.3 million a year since 1995 for the naming rights. ... I guess maybe in the meantime we can call it the Chapter 11 Dome in light of the problems for TWA. I guess, (the Rams are) hoping to get more than $1.3M a year" ("RSR," FSMW, 2/29). BLOOMBERG NEWS' Erik Matauszewski wrote TWA "is attempting to auction its assets" to American Airlines parent company AMR (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/28). In St. Louis, Christopher Carey put the 20-year deal, which was to have run through 2015, at about $1.8M per year. TWA VP/Corporate Communications Mark Abels said with the "pending sale of TWA's assets to a new owner, the marketing of the TWA brand through the sponsorship of a stadium bearing our name no longer makes the best business sense for TWA or for the team." American reported in its filing that "it was not interested in retaining the naming rights for the stadium." But TWA's "money woes could bring the Rams an unexpected financial boost," as several other naming-rights deals negotiated since the dome opened "have been far more lucrative." The Rams hired NJ-based 16W Marketing "to help find a new naming-rights partner." Rams exec Allison Collinger said that though the team has "known since the TWA-American deal was announced that they might have to look for a new stadium sponsor, they have not been actively courting potential replacements." Collinger, on finding a replacement sponsor: "Our hands were tied until now" (S.L. POST-DISPATCH, 3/1).
