Rangers to whore out stadium naming rights

[Drbio]

Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Ballpark in Arlington would reportedly be renamed under a proposed deal by the Texas Rangers to sell the naming rights to Ameriquest.



Sources close to the negotiations told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Thursday's editions that the California-based finance company is in talks with the team to pay to put its name on the stadium.



The newspaper reported that Rangers owner Tom Hicks has been trying to find a company that would purchase naming rights for The Ballpark since he bought the team, plus land near the stadium, for $250 million in 1998.



Rangers officials have said that they hope to keep the city of Arlington in The Ballpark's name even after it gets a corporate makeover.



"I would like to keep the name as it is," Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said Wednesday. "It's not the option of the mayor or anyone in the city."



Cluck added that the team understands that it's important for the city to have its name on the property.



"Our citizens paid for most of the expense of The Ballpark," he said.



Arlington voters in 1991 approved a sales tax increase to finance municipal bonds for constructing the stadium.



Hicks' Southwest Sports Group, which owns the Rangers and the Dallas Stars hockey team, has sole authority as operator of The Ballpark to sell the name. Southwest leases the stadium from Arlington, which sold taxpayer-backed bonds to build it in the early 1990s.



"Nothing has been finalized," Hicks told the newspaper. "Nothing's considered done until it's done."



A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Rangers had pushed hard to get San Antonio-based SBC Communications to buy the naming rights. But the deal fell through when a merger brought SBC the name to Pac-Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.



Ameriquest, which specializes in the subprime mortgage market, has 17 Texas offices including one in Bedford, one in Arlington and two in Dallas. An employee at a local office said the lender has increased its advertising in the past year to boost its presence. Orange, Calif.-based Ameriquest Capital Corp. is the parent of subsidiary Ameriquest Mortgage Co.



Ballpark attendance and total ticket revenues have fallen in recent years. Hicks has vowed to cut costs and improve revenues wherever possible. Sports business experts suggest that a deal for the naming rights could bring $2.5 million to $3 million annually for as many as 30 years.



"It's certainly a plus for the Texas Rangers from a cash-flow standpoint," said Linda Howell DiMario, chief executive of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau.

[Drbio]

Ameriquest Park in Arlington?


This was long expected when Hicks bought the team. Maybe we can use the additional 3 million per year on a pitcher.

[madape]

Cuban should buy it and name it the "Dallas Maverick's Baseball Park"

[Max Power]

Originally posted by: Drbio
Ameriquest Park in Arlington?


This was long expected when Hicks bought the team. Maybe we can use the additional 3 million per year on a pitcher.

Or maybe Hicks could use it to line his pocket. I'll believe the "spend money theory" when I see it in action. Hicks is letting WAAYY too many players leave over money (Rangers and Stars).

[Drbio]

That's easy to say when you aren't paying the bills, but I understand. The Stars seem to have been hit pretty good over the last couple of years.

[NYCdog]

Well, in Hicks defense...........YES there is actaully a line of defense for this guy.........

It is understandable why he lets players leave over money, specifically pertaining to the Stars. In the Stars case, the NHL might not exsist after this season. With the CBA contract about to expire and players taking a har line stance, this is the absolute worst time to have a strike, which will probably happen. Especially, when you consider the fact that league-wide attendance and TV ratings are at an all time low for the sport and big market teams like the LA Kings (whom are trying to hide there books) are in the red and on the verge of bankruptcy. With combined lossess totaling $273 million dollars, a strike would kill about half the franchises in this league, and leave the few survivors on life-support.

So in Hicks defense...........why would you throw your financial support behind this financially doomed league?

To me sadly (a lifelong NY Ranger fan), the league is done for and will have its tombstone etched in September. Rumor has it up here though that if the NHL collapses as expected, the AHL will probably become the new major league hockey market and its small market clubs would be moved to larger cities to form the old NHL clubs ie........Rochester moving to NYC to become the new Rangers or remain the Americans, Grand Rapids to Detroit to become the new Red Wings etc..........Expansion Franchises could be another option to get other big markets in the fold.

The only teams in the present day AHL that would stay in its present location would be Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Houston.

So if your in luck, if Hicks or any other Dallas investor decides to reinvest into professional hockey again after the NHL dies, maybe Dallas could be the future home to the Rampage (formely of San Antonio).

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: Drbio
That's easy to say when you aren't paying the bills, but I understand. The Stars seem to have been hit pretty good over the last couple of years.

Stars have not lost money since before moving to the AAC.

[Drbio]

I was speaking towards tohe rotating door of players not the fiscal line.

[Dooby]

Supposedly a done deal according to Norm on the Ticket.

[Drbio]

Did Norm say what they had decided on?

[Dooby]

Ameriquest something or other

[Drbio]

The last I heard was the Ameriquest Ballpark in Arlington. The nicknames were ABA. I thought that was kind of gay.

[Big Boy Laroux]

Ameriquest Baseball Ballpark in Arlington

ABBA

Everyone can play "Dancing Queen" when they walk into the batter's box.

[Drbio]

Originally posted by: Big Boy Laroux
Ameriquest Baseball Ballpark in Arlington

ABBA

Everyone can play "Dancing Queen" when they walk into the batter's box.

make the bad man stop......[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

[NYCdog]

The last I heard was the Ameriquest Ballpark in Arlington.

I'm sorry but I sure hope that is a joke......or you atleast misinterpreted the name.

If the name is indeed "Ameriquest Ballpark in Arlington".......well then all I can say is congrats.

You guys can now proudly boast to all of your friends that your hometown is home to the absolute worst corporate named stadium in world history. No corporate stadium name can top.....or shall I say, be worse then this name the ballpark will now be known by.

That name, "Ameriquest Ballpark in Arlington," is such an absolute joke, I am literally at a loss for words to describe it.

Only pictures can describe this horrible feeling..........

[NYCdog]

Well as I am sure most of you know, the deal is done and the Rangers now play at Ameriquest Field in Arlington. But there was one thing I found interesting about the whole deal.........

Guests at Ameriquest Field in Arlington will witness some new ballpark experiences that will provide even more character to this unique venue, including the Ameriquest Bell, the company's signature trademark. A 15-foot-high bell will be placed in the left-field terrace and will ring each time a Rangers player hits a home run, and will toll one time for each run the Rangers score in an inning.

If I recall correctly, Philly has this same "bell" in there outfield of new Citizens Bank Park doing the exact same thing at the exact same time.....tolling for runs scored. In fact, there "bell" used to be the home-run signature at the crumby ole Vet too.



So this begs the question.........How do you feel about the Rangers and Ameriquest attempt at making the ballpark original steeling Philly's signature?

[mavsfanforever]

I am not sure I will be used to saying "I am going to ameriquest field today instead of I am going to the Ballpark today".

[NYCdog]

I am not sure I will be used to saying "I am going to ameriquest field today instead of I am going to the Ballpark today".

Sad thing is I really liked the name "The Ballpark in Arlington." It was original and timeless.

But now that the name is "Ameriquest Field in Arlington," I won’t be surprised if the "in Arlington" part is eventually dropped simply because most will just settle for calling it "Ameriquest Field" instead of saying that whole mouthful.

One can liken the situation to Baltimore. The official name of the Orioles home is "Oriole Park at Camden Yards." But the world knows it as "Camden Yards"

To the citizens and taxpayers of Arlington, I'm sure the Ballpark name represented and acknowledged them for the contribution they generously made to fund the construction of the Ballpark. I'm sure they probably felt is was a way of thanking the community by the Ranger organization by focusing the name of the Ballpark around the name "Arlington."

But now with name being changed to "Ameriquest Field," that will all be gone as all the "thanks for the contributions" will go from the people of Arlington to some corporation who shelled out a tenth of what the community paid to gain that recognition. Corporate America wins again........

[MavsFanatik33]

They are finally good and have already sold out, that sucks. Its not like no other stadium is sponsered though....

[kingrex]

Not really a big deal to me. Like others have said, I'll still call it the Ballpark, no matter who owns the naming rights.