(no subject)
May. 28th, 2004 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drewbearIs anybody else sick & tired of ballparks, stadiums, and other semi-historical long-standing venues being renamed after corporate sponsors?
Here in Arlington (between Dallas and Fort Worth), one of the biggest tourist draws is The Ballpark in Arlington, which is the home field for the Texas Rangers. That's its name. The people of this city paid for all of its construction costs (through a series of bonds) and the city still pays a whole freakin' lot for its upkeep. But it's just been renamed the "Ameriquest Field in Arlington" after its newest sponsor. Fuck that. The city itself is and has been the biggest supporter of the ballpark, team, and club, and it's wrong to so cavalierly disregard that. No, I don't go to see the games very often, but I do have some civic pride. (Not much, but some)
Plus, whoring out your name to the highest bidder can backfire, as Enron Field in Houston found out. It's now Minute Maid Field, which I find a little confusing; how am I supposed to tell it apart from the Orange Bowl? Oh, that's right, it's the Minute Maid Field in Houston.
*gag*
When the fields/stadiums/whatever have to include the cities where they're located in the name so that fans watching on TV can tell where the fuck they are, you've got problems.
[/end rant]
Here in Arlington (between Dallas and Fort Worth), one of the biggest tourist draws is The Ballpark in Arlington, which is the home field for the Texas Rangers. That's its name. The people of this city paid for all of its construction costs (through a series of bonds) and the city still pays a whole freakin' lot for its upkeep. But it's just been renamed the "Ameriquest Field in Arlington" after its newest sponsor. Fuck that. The city itself is and has been the biggest supporter of the ballpark, team, and club, and it's wrong to so cavalierly disregard that. No, I don't go to see the games very often, but I do have some civic pride. (Not much, but some)
Plus, whoring out your name to the highest bidder can backfire, as Enron Field in Houston found out. It's now Minute Maid Field, which I find a little confusing; how am I supposed to tell it apart from the Orange Bowl? Oh, that's right, it's the Minute Maid Field in Houston.
*gag*
When the fields/stadiums/whatever have to include the cities where they're located in the name so that fans watching on TV can tell where the fuck they are, you've got problems.
[/end rant]
