The Bradley Center with a different name

[ChicosBailBonds]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=720886


For the record, I've known Dean Bonham and Vogel for eons.  They assisted me with our Staples Center, American Airlines Center, CMGI Field (now Gillette Stadium) and other deals over the years.  They're good people and very good at what they do.  I first heard of this possibility about 6 months ago and was skeptical that the board would let this happen, but the BC has lost money I believe every year of existence sans maybe 1 (at least from the old data that's what I recall).

I'd go to Miller first, and when they say no I might go directly to Anheiser Busch and ask them because they might want to stick a thumb in Miller's eye.  Beyond that, the naming rights market isn't what it used to be and with a downturn in the economy it will be interesting to see who they can get to pony up a few million per year to name a stadium that has 21 years under it's belt under another name (which means the naming rights aren't worth nearly as much as a brand new stadium with no previous history).

[spiral97]

No interest in a "DirecTv Center"? 

[ChicosBailBonds]

No interest in a "DirecTv Center"? 

 

A few years ago, you bet.  All the sponsorship money now is tied up in other areas, however.  Believe me, Bonham would be calling otherwise. 

[chapman]

If it were possible to go to fewer Bucks games than I already do, I surely would if the arena were named after any Anheiser Busch properties.  It would be an insult to Milwaukeeans, or Wisconsinites for that matter.  

For naming rights that wouldn't require a substantial investment, I think the Harley Davidson Center would be a nice fit and has a nice ring to it.  Plus it's a local company.  But no way they would pay $2 million a year for 10 years to name an old building.  I don't see anyone jumping at that.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Northwestern Mutual Life Center

US Bank Center

[mu_hilltopper]

Mental note .. Miller is merging with Coors .. the HQ is going to be in Denver, Milwaukee, or to really piss everyone off, somewhere else like Chicago or Houston.

I'd say, in that list .. Milwaukee is 4th.

Apparently, "Bradley" will probably remain in the stadium name.

I'm thinking "Bradley Center, brought to you by Hey Hey Ricky's On State."

[NavinRJohnson]

Well, considering Miller is moving out of town soon, I'm not sure they would be a very good candidate.

The Johnson Controls Center... would be nicknamed, the Johnson, so perhaps not.
Manpower Arena...Not bad, but definitely some dangerous potential there as well.
The Kohl Cen...never mind
Harley Davidson...not sure they have the scratch these days.

Seriously, I do think JCI or Manpower would be pretty good candidates.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

If it were possible to go to fewer Bucks games than I already do, I surely would if the arena were named after any Anheiser Busch properties.  It would be an insult to Milwaukeeans, or Wisconsinites for that matter.  

For naming rights that wouldn't require a substantial investment, I think the Harley Davidson Center would be a nice fit and has a nice ring to it.  Plus it's a local company.  But no way they would pay $2 million a year for 10 years to name an old building.  I don't see anyone jumping at that.

There used to be a revolving Bud Light sign on top of the YMCA (now East Hall) that irritated Milwaukeeans to no end.

[Marquette Gyros]

Well, considering Miller is moving out of town soon, I'm not sure they would be a very good candidate.

The Johnson Controls Center... would be nicknamed, the Johnson, so perhaps not.
Manpower Arena...Not bad, but definitely some dangerous potential there as well.
The Kohl Cen...never mind
Harley Davidson...not sure they have the scratch these days.

Seriously, I do think JCI or Manpower would be pretty good candidates.

Typically, strictly B2B companies like JCI and Manpower won't drop marketing dollars on naming rights for sports arenas.  The spend just is not justifiable, especially when people can't go to the store immediately after hearing the facility's name and pick up one of that company's products.  This is why you see Miller Park, the American Airlines Center (both of them), the Staples Center, etc, etc, etc.

Unfortunately for the operators of the Bradley Center, welcome to 2008.  Companies are under increased scrutiny when it comes to marketing spend, mandating clear, strong ROMI (return on marketing investment).  It's become more difficult to justify multi-million dollar naming rights unless you can clearly track back increased sales to that investment.

That said:
Marquette Gyros Arena has a nice ring to it, and that place is always busy -- bet they could afford it...

[NavinRJohnson]

Typically, strictly B2B companies like JCI and Manpower won't drop marketing dollars on naming rights for sports arenas.  The spend just is not justifiable, especially when people can't go to the store immediately after hearing the facility's name and pick up one of that company's products.  This is why you see Miller Park, the American Airlines Center (both of them), the Staples Center, etc, etc, etc.

True. That sort of thing is certainly not JCI's style anyway. Manpower is a little different animal though...they are into so many things, not the least of which is recruiting people. Something like that would make some sense along the lines of a Monster or similar. Again, not necessarily consistent with Manpower's history though. Just depends on your objectives as there are some exceptions I can think of...the Cintas Center, Oracle I think, and I thought I head something about Cisco as well.

[MUbaseball49]

How about The Real Chili Bowl?  They could save us a trip and serve at the game!

[Marquette Gyros]

Typically, strictly B2B companies like JCI and Manpower won't drop marketing dollars on naming rights for sports arenas.  The spend just is not justifiable, especially when people can't go to the store immediately after hearing the facility's name and pick up one of that company's products.  This is why you see Miller Park, the American Airlines Center (both of them), the Staples Center, etc, etc, etc.

True. That sort of thing is certainly not JCI's style anyway. Manpower is a little different animal though...they are into so many things, not the least of which is recruiting people. Something like that would make some sense along the lines of a Monster or similar. Again, not necessarily consistent with Manpower's history though. Just depends on your objectives as there are some exceptions I can think of...the Cintas Center, Oracle I think, and I thought I head something about Cisco as well.

There are definitely exceptions to my rule, probably as a result of a new "overall PR" trend, as companies begin to realize that marketing and advertising investments they make can help things other than sales (e.g. stock price).  However, I can't think of many purely B2B companies that have named arenas.  Oracle in NorCal, the Cintas Center in Cincy, and then...

There are some massive B2B companies out there that certainly have the money to fund naming rights to an arena, but I'd be surprised if we ever saw the Goldman Sachs Dome, or any venue named after Accenture, Morgan Stanley, Aon, McKesson, Medco, or Boeing, just to name a few.

The Bradley Center may want to look to national B2C companies that aren't headquartered in Milwaukee but have a substantial presence in the city -- places like Menards, Home Depot, any number of automakers...

How about this serious idea -- Marquette Arena?  I know the school's investments are in other places, but if the price is right, I could actually see this happening.

[NavinRJohnson]

I love the Marquette Arena thing - could probably negotiate a pretty interesting deal too, given the circumstances.

I agree looking outside Milwaukee as well - especially given the virtual world we live in...Google, Yahoo, Amazon, CDW, eToys, Best Buy, Guitar Center (Oooo, that would be cool in a place like Memphis - The Guitar Center)...you name it.

[🏀]

I love the Marquette Arena thing - could probably negotiate a pretty interesting deal too, given the circumstances.

I agree looking outside Milwaukee as well - especially given the virtual world we live in...Google, Yahoo, Amazon, CDW, eToys, Best Buy, Guitar Center (Oooo, that would be cool in a place like Memphis - The Guitar Center)...you name it.

Those would all be great, but wouldn't they tag on to something newer? What ever happened to new stadium talks? Not that the BC is terrible, it has had excellent staying power.

[only a warrior]

Real Chili Arena......

[NYWarrior]

NML should gobble up the naming rights.  If not them, a few suggested sponsors:

The Mars Cheese Castle
The Cunningham Center
The Fonzarelli Forum (if the town is giving him a statue, why not an arena)
The Sausage Center (Usingers, Johnsonville)
The Sprecher Center

[NavinRJohnson]

Those would all be great, but wouldn't they tag on to something newer? What ever happened to new stadium talks? Not that the BC is terrible, it has had excellent staying power.

Well, you get what you pay for. I don't suspect you would get a Google here in Milwaukee, but just an example- maybe not a very good one, but you get the idea.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

How about The Real Chili Bowl?  They could save us a trip and serve at the game!

Oh, you bastard. I was going to post the same exact thing. Great minds must think-a-like. 

The Chilli Bowl would be great.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I realize Coors and Miller are merging, but the symbolism is what I was after.

Chili Bowl would be terrific.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Mental note .. Miller is merging with Coors .. the HQ is going to be in Denver, Milwaukee, or to really piss everyone off, somewhere else like Chicago or Houston.

I'd say, in that list .. Milwaukee is 4th.

Apparently, "Bradley" will probably remain in the stadium name.

I'm thinking "Bradley Center, brought to you by Hey Hey Ricky's On State."

WARNING: I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE THREAD HI-JACK.

Is Miller really considering moving the majority of their operation out of the state?

I was under the understanding that the hard logistics and financial groups would be merging with Coors, but the brands would stay separate from a marketing and advertising perspective.

If that is the case, then I can believe that some jobs may be consolidated and moved, but "Miller" (and Miller brands) on the whole will still be in Milwaukee in its basic form. People will say "Miller is moving", but realistically, any employees that are integral to the brand will be staying in Milwaukee.

I could be wrong, but I thought the merger was really designed to take advantage of a larger infrastructure and distribution... consolidation of any of the brands would be a large mistake (if you ask me).

[Fullodds]

so obvious it must be right.

[NavinRJohnson]

WARNING: I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE THREAD HI-JACK.

Is Miller really considering moving the majority of their operation out of the state?

I was under the understanding that the hard logistics and financial groups would be merging with Coors, but the brands would stay separate from a marketing and advertising perspective.

If that is the case, then I can believe that some jobs may be consolidated and moved, but "Miller" (and Miller brands) on the whole will still be in Milwaukee in its basic form. People will say "Miller is moving", but realistically, any employees that are integral to the brand will be staying in Milwaukee.

I could be wrong, but I thought the merger was really designed to take advantage of a larger infrastructure and distribution... consolidation of any of the brands would be a large mistake (if you ask me).

I would say its possible if not likely that some of the brewing/distribution operations stay here in the short-term..., but unless Miller Coors is not concerned with the bottom line, I don't see any way they don't condense operations as much as possible, as quickly as possible - that is the reason they merged in the first place. It is certainly safe to assume that the entirety of the Administrative/marketing functions will be gone sooner than later. I just think the consolidation will continue at a very rapid rate. They will maintain the brands, but they can brew beer, develop marketing plans and slap Lite labels on bottles in Denver or Dallas the same as they can here. Obviously a lot of variables to play in - labor costs, required equipment/capial investments, business climate, etc., but in my opinion, most of those  things will work against Milwaukee and it is just a matter of (not much) time until some developer is pitching plans for the Former Miller Brewing site.

[Chili]

WARNING: I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE THREAD HI-JACK.

Is Miller really considering moving the majority of their operation out of the state?

I was under the understanding that the hard logistics and financial groups would be merging with Coors, but the brands would stay separate from a marketing and advertising perspective.

If that is the case, then I can believe that some jobs may be consolidated and moved, but "Miller" (and Miller brands) on the whole will still be in Milwaukee in its basic form. People will say "Miller is moving", but realistically, any employees that are integral to the brand will be staying in Milwaukee.

I could be wrong, but I thought the merger was really designed to take advantage of a larger infrastructure and distribution... consolidation of any of the brands would be a large mistake (if you ask me).

I would say its possible if not likely that some of the brewing/distribution operations stay here in the short-term..., but unless Miller Coors is not concerned with the bottom line, I don't see any way they don't condense operations as much as possible, as quickly as possible - that is the reason they merged in the first place. It is certainly safe to assume that the entirety of the Administrative/marketing functions will be gone sooner than later. I just think the consolidation will continue at a very rapid rate. They will maintain the brands, but they can brew beer, develop marketing plans and slap Lite labels on bottles in Denver or Dallas the same as they can here. Obviously a lot of variables to play in, but in my opinion, it is just a matter of time, until Miller is pretty much completely gone.

The corporate headquarters of the new joint venture known as MillerCoors will be based in Chicago (90% sure on this). This will be all of the marketing/brand people, ExCom team, accounting, purchasing, ect. It makes a lot sense to move to Chicago, mainly that all of the agencies Miller deals with have offices in Chicago.

The brewery in Milwaukee will remain open. There is also talk of Milwaukee being the brewing operations headquarters for the new JV that will incorporate Coors 2 breweries into Millers current system.

[jaybilaswho?]

I'm thinking "Bradley Center, brought to you by Hey Hey Ricky's On State."

Bradley Center brought to you by Soreff's Carpet Outlet.

did anyone mention M&I? I think that they have a good amount of dough laying around after selling of Metavante.

Allen Edmonds?

i think Ziggy should get off that mountain of cash he sits atop and put his name on the building.

[The Man in Gold]

a few other possibility's:

-Rockwell Arena (Welcome to the Rock...Take that SHU)
-Any Chinese Conglomerate (That would be the ultimate play for Yi and the Chinese market)
-Of course we could have the Kohl's Arena (Kill me now if this happens)

-Or my personal favorite the Sobelman Centre