Capital One (COF) has purchased the naming rights to Washington’s downtown sports arena, formally known as the Verizon Center and will rename the building, Capital One Arena. The deal is reportedly worth $100 million over 10 years, a significant jump from their previous agreement, and now among the most lucrative naming rights sponsorships in the league. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which manages the venue, announced a separate $40 million investment into arena with the money going to a new data based effort to analyze fan preferences and a new POS system designed to create more efficient lines.
Verizon Center to become Capital One Arena, starting now
Howie Long-Short: If you are going to measure ROI for a naming rights deal based on social mentions, Capital One should do well. Both the Caps & Wiz are expected to be playing deep into the ’18 playoffs.
Fan Marino: Do you really need to spend $40 million to analyze fan preferences? It’s a simple formula: better food + cheaper beer + more bathrooms = happy fan.
