With the Brooklyn Cyclones ending their naming rights relationship with National Grid, which bought the old KeySpan energy company, we at CNG’s Courier-Life have some suggestions on naming rights deals we’d like to see.
So, in no particular order, here’s ten:
1. Joe Sitt Stadium – why not rename the ballpark after the man who’s given the Bloomberg administration angina in buying most of the Coney Island amusement district area and then selling it to the city. With the money he made off the deal, Sitt could easily throw down for the naming rights.
2. Nathan’s Stadium – The is a perfect marriage between Nathan’s, their hot dog eating contest and Coney Island, where the eatery was first established. It would go together like mustard and relish.
3. Ratner Field – The borough’s biggest developer, Bruce Ratner, already sold the naming rights to Barclays for the arena he’s building. Perhaps he can turn out one of his side pockets for the Cyclones and put his personal brand on the ball park.
4. L & B Spumoni Gardens Stadium – They may not have the bucks, but L & B’s is a Brooklyn institution with great pizza.
5. CNG Stadium – Perhaps our boss, Mr. Rupert Murdoch, would consider shedding a few shekels to have the Community Newspaper Group logo and colors flying outside where the Cyclones play baseball.
6. Dom’s Place – Named for Coney Island City Council member Domenic Recchia. While Dom has his hands full as the council’s finance chair, his law firm still does well. So why not hand over a few pesos to get the place named after him.
7. Wheeler’s Park – The popular Sheepshead Bay watering hole was a favorite for Courier-Lifers back in the day, and the barkeep, Mike, might just try to make a wheeler-deal.
8. Juniors Stadium – With their signature cheesecake, Juniors is synonymous with Brooklyn.
9. Jackie Robinson Stadium – There’s already a statue of the man, along with Pee Wee Reese, outside the ballpark, but we’re talking about the man who broke baseball’s color barrier and it happened in Brooklyn.
10. Stephen Witt Stadium – Okay, I may not have much of a pot to water in, but it would score a lot of points to bring my kids or a date to a stadium named after me.
