December 10th, 2008
Stadium Sponsorship Grows to New Levels
By Stephanie Clifford
The New York Times
Along with the usual signs from advertisers, the new Indianapolis Colts stadium features a hallway filled with dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines, brought to football fans by the retailer Hhgregg, which is based in Indianapolis. It is the latest frontier in stadium sponsorship, showing how far sports teams are willing to go to attract marketing dollars.
At the stadium, there are gasoline pumps in the north gate area, sponsored by Lucas Oil, airplane seats in the AirTran Airways food court in the northwest section and cars in the northeast corner, sponsored by Chevrolet. The Indiana law firm of Baker & Daniels sponsors the club lounges at the western end of the stadium, and Advantage Health Solutions, a medical plan, sponsors the club lounges at the eastern end. Sprint sponsors the east gate, Huntington Bank the west, and Hhgregg the south.