The Triple-A Int'l League Buffalo Bisons next season will play in Sahlen Field, the ballpark's "fifth sponsored name" since it opened in '88, according to a front-page piece by Stephen Watson of the BUFFALO NEWS. Team execs and officials from the Buffalo-based meat-processing company yesterday "announced the 10-year naming rights agreement" and "touted the ties between Sahlen Packing Co.’s main product and the Bisons." The club said that it "sought a naming rights partner with a deep history in the community that fits well with the team’s family-friendly atmosphere." The Bisons announced in March that Coca-Cola "would not renew its naming rights contract" that began in '08. Bisons GM Mike Buczkowski would "not say how many companies sought the new naming rights contract." But he said the team "quickly came to focus on Sahlen’s." Coca-Cola "retains the pouring rights contract for the ballpark" (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/10). Sahlen Packing also has naming rights at the soccer stadium in Cary, N.C., which is home to USL club N.C. Courage and NWSL club North Carolina FC. Sahlen pays $400,000 over five years for the rights to that soccer venue (David Broughton, THE DAILY).
