Corporate Naming Rights: ORGAN BUILDERS

It's amazing the crazy thoughts that can come to one's mind while in the car or in the shower, or on the can.  Last night, it was corporate naming rights, you know, corporations putting their names on things, namely sports venues.

For example, over a decade ago, the Providence Civic Center became "Dunkin Donuts Center Providence".  Well, many nickname it "The Dunk", which isn't so bad, especially when PC has a basketball game going on.  There are some others these days named after food and drink: "Minute Maid Park" (Houston Astros play there), "Tropicana Field" (Tampa Bay Rays).  Major League Baseball also has three ballparks named after beer.  Of course: America's pastime and the favorite drink of sports fans almost everywhere!  We have Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals), Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers), and Coors Field (Colorado Rockies).

About an hour up the Interstate from "The Dunk" (I-95 and I-93), there's the Boston Garden, well, now "TD Bank Garden".  You see a lot of that these days.  Many venues being named after companies who specialize in handling (or mishandling) your money - banks, insurance companies, investment firms ("Martha Stewart and Pals Stadium" would be cool).  I'm waiting for law firms to jump on that bandwagon.  "Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe Arena - home of the Shysters!"

Then there are the other products.  Two comical ones that come to mind are from the movie BASEketball, not exactly a family movie.  They are "Preparation H Arena" and "Maxi Tampon Stadium".  The New England Patriots play in Gillette Stadium (razors, lighters, etc.).  At one point they played in Schaefer Stadium (a beer stadium, as described above).  I still remember that jingle from my youth, "Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one!"

I'm waiting also for venues named after organ builders, pipe, electronic, digital, theater, you name it.  Imagine a hockey team in Quebec playing in "The Casavant Centre", or a musical going on at "Wurlitzer Hall".  You could even hear "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" played at "The Hammond B3 Ballpark".  Or what if the Rogers Centre in Toronto became the "Rodgers Center".  You could even name your venues after defunct organ builders - "Aeolian Skinner Stadium" or "Estey Field", for example.  What if Miller Park in Milwaukee became "Möller Park"?

The possibilities are endless!  How about some ideas?

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP