2005
March
• TCF Financial Corp. signs a $35 million, 25-year stadium naming-rights deal with the University of Minnesota.
August
• Bank of America agrees to a five-year deal, effective in 2007, to become the official bank, mortgage company and auto financing company of NASCAR.
 |
GETTY IMAGES
Citi names the new home of the Mets. |
2006March
• Citi signs a $400 million, 20-year naming-rights deal with the New York Mets.
2007
January
• Barclays PLC signs a $400 million, 20-year naming-rights deal with the New Jersey Nets.
 |
SHOP ARCHITECTS
Barclays signs with the Nets. |
December• Recession officially begins, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
2008
January
• Kia signs a three-year sponsorship with the NBA.
 |
GETTY IMAGES
Volkswagen joins MLS D.C. United. |
May
• Volkswagen signs a one-year leaguewide deal with MLS that will see the German automotive company return as the official vehicle of the league. The company also signs a shirt sponsorship with league club D.C. United.
August
• GM announces it will not renew its U.S. Olympic Committee sponsorship when its contract ends after 2008.
October
• President George W. Bush signs into law the Troubled Asset Relief Program, commonly referred to as TARP.
• Honda signs a three-year deal replacing Chrysler’s Dodge brand as the NHL’s official vehicle.
November
• RBC and Florida Atlantic University postpone a potential $20 million naming-rights deal for the school’s proposed football stadium.
 |
GETTY IMAGES
Buick parks its deal with Tiger Woods. |
•
Buick and Tiger Woods end their nine-year relationship one year before the contract is supposed to expire. The move comes as Buick says it will not provide courtesy cars to most tournaments next year.
December
• Honda pulls out of Formula One.
• Mercedes-Benz ends its $13 million annual sponsorship of the ATP Tour and drops its three-year sponsorship of the Milwaukee Brewers.
2009
February
• The New York Yankees and Bank of America announce an end to negotiations for a major sponsorship deal for the new Yankee Stadium.
• Honda returns to the LPGA after a one-year hiatus, signing a three-year deal to title sponsor the Honda LPGA Thailand.
March
• Volkswagen signs a four-year extension of its MLS sponsorship.
• Bank of America Chairman, CEO and President Ken Lewis defends the bank’s spending on sports marketing, saying, “For every dollar we spend on sports marketing, we get $10 in revenue and $3 in earnings. This is not wasted money.”
 |
GETTY IMAGES
Wells Fargo drops the name of Wachovia from its PGA Tour stop in Charlotte. |
Spring
• Morgan Stanley, Chrysler and Wells Fargo remove their names from PGA Tour events after receiving billions in loans from the federal government. The PGA Tour removes the name of Stanford Financial, being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud, from an event in Memphis after the company pays most of its sponsorship tab but misses its final media payment.
April
• Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
May
• GM says it will cut its factory support of teams in the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.
 |
GETTY IMAGES
GM pulls the plug on its Pontiac brand. |
June
• GM files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing includes terminating the Pontiac brand, a familiar face in NCAA and other sports sponsorships.
• After 16 years of supporting Team USA, Bank of America says it will end its longtime partnership with the USOC.
• TD Ameritrade signs a 20-year, $15 million naming-rights deal at the 24,000-seat stadium in Omaha, Neb., that will house the College World Series beginning in 2011.
August
• Northern Trust announces it will continue titling the PGA Tour tournament in Los Angeles after repaying its $1.6 billion TARP loan.
• Toyota expands its partnership with the Chicago Bears through the 2011 season.
October
• Mercedes-Benz signs a four-year deal with the USTA to be presenting sponsor of the U.S. Open Men’s Singles Championship and the official vehicle of the U.S. Open.
• Morgan Stanley decides to put its name back on a PGA Tour tournament after repaying its TARP debt.
 |
GETTY IMAGES
|
December
• Mercedes-Benz announces it has acquired the naming rights to Shanghai Arena, a venue being constructed in China by AEG and the NBA.
2010
January
• RBC becomes a PGA of America Official Patron, the highest level of partnership and designation granted by the organization.
• Sun Life Financial signs a five-year, $37.5 million naming-rights deal with the Miami Dolphins, just days before the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.
• Wells Fargo declines to renew its naming-rights deal for Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and is later replaced by Mohegan Sun.
February
• Kia signs Michelle Wie to an endorsement deal and agrees to title sponsor a new LPGA tournament at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.
• Oldsmobile Park, the Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts’ ballpark, gets a new naming-rights partner, as GM declines to renew its deal. Lansing-based Thomas M. Cooley Law School takes over the naming rights.
• Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, gets a new naming-rights partner, State Farm, as the area’s Dodge dealers decline to renew their deal.
• PNC Bank signs a stadium naming-rights deal with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Yankees.
• Bank of America does not renew its arena naming-rights deal at the University of Washington, worth $500,000 annually.
• Citi declines to extend its naming-rights deal at the Long Island Ducks’ ballpark.
March
• Capital One becomes an NCAA Corporate Champion, which typically costs in the low eight figures annually.
April
• Honda Canada signs a one-year deal to become the new title sponsor of the Izod IndyCar event in Edmonton.
• Citi declines to extend its seven-year run as presenting sponsor of the Rose Bowl.
July
• Bank of America ends its NFL sponsorship.
• General Motors Place in Vancouver is renamed Rogers Arena, after GM declines to extend its naming-rights deal.
• BMW signs a $24 million deal with the USOC, running through the 2016 Olympics. BMW Group will also be a partner of USA Bobsled & Skeleton, U.S. Speedskating, USA Swimming and USA Track & Field.
 |
GETTY IMAGES
EverBank joins the Jags. |
•
EverBank Financial Corp. signs a 5-year, $16.6 million stadium naming-rights deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
August
• Mercedes-Benz signs a three-year naming-rights deal with the Orlando Magic to sponsor a premium club at the team’s new Amway Center.
• Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium reopens in Louisville after a $72 million renovation that includes the PNC Club, which features 1,700 covered seats.
September
• JPMorgan Chase and Madison Square Garden reach a deal, worth $300 million over 10 years, that is expected to include naming rights to areas inside the Garden, as well as a significant media component. The deal comes as MSG prepares for a major renovation project.
• Barclays replaces Bank of America as issuer of NFL credit cards bearing league and team logos. The “Official Bank” category remains vacant.
• Kia renews with the NBA for another three seasons.
October
• Oklahoma area Ford dealers decide not to extend their arena naming rights for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s home.
| 
WAYNE EBINGER
Amway Center's Kia Motors Terrace. |
• Amway Center opens in Orlando, which includes the
Kia Motors Terrace and
Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge.
• Chevrolet’s MLB deal expires. No extension has been reported.
November
• GM emerges from bankruptcy reorganization and issues the world’s largest IPO.
December
• Cadillac signs a six-year agreement with the PGA Tour to title-sponsor the World Golf Championships event at Doral in March.
• RBC signs as the official financial services and banking partner of USA Hockey.
2011
January
• KeyCorp does not renew its naming-rights deal at KeyArena in Seattle.
• Kentucky-based Whitaker Bank takes over the naming rights to Applebee’s Park, home to the Class A Lexington (Ky.) Legends.
• Hyundai replaces Korean broadcasting company Seoul Broadcasting System as title sponsor of the PGA’s season-opening Tournament of Champions.
• GM and NBC Universal announce that the automaker will be the exclusive domestic automotive advertiser during NBC’s U.S. coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
• GM signs a title sponsorship, for its Cadillac brand, of the PGA Tour World Golf Championship event at Doral.
February
• Buick signs on as the presenting sponsor of a new 13-episode show titled “Inside March Madness Presented by Buick,” to air on truTV and TBS.
• GM is on the verge of returning to the NCAA marketing fold, this time as a corporate partner. GM had been a corporate champion, the NCAA’s highest level of sponsorship, before breaking off the deal in 2009.
•
PNC Bank extends its partnership with the Cincinnati Reds through the 2015 season.
• TNT’s NBA All-Star Game telecast is presented by Kia Motors, with Hyundai as presenting sponsor of the postgame show. Acura, Chrysler and Ford are major ad buyers during in-game coverage.
• TD Ameritrade signs a two-year, seven-figure deal to sponsor the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 Games in London.
— Compiled by David Broughton
