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November 24, 2008
Citi, AIG Won't Drop Big Sports Sponsorships
Critics Slam Bailed-Out Firms' Pricey Deals for Naming Rights, Logo Placement
ABC News — The Blotter
by Justin Rood
Just because taxpayers are having to bail out financial firms to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars doesn't mean those firms are giving up their expensive stadium naming-rights deals.
AIG, Citibank and a number of other federally bailed-out financial institutions have no plans to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in sports team sponsorships, even as they take billions in taxpayer support, ABC News has found.
...Struggling Citibank just sealed a multi-billion-dollar emergency "backstop" deal with the U.S. government. The financial behemoth, suffering with billions in bad mortgage-related assets on its books, recently shed 53,000 workers and saw its stock price lose over half its value. Yet it's in a 20-year contract to pay the New York Mets $400 million to name the team's new stadium "Citi Field."
"This type of spending is indefensible and unacceptable to Citigroup's new partner and largest investor: the American taxpayer," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., in a statement Monday.
..."Up until now they were businesses who could invest or waste their money as they see fit," said Taxpayers for Common Sense's Ellis. "But now we're the shareholders. And frittering their money away with naming rights and ties to sports teams isn't a really good investment of taxpayers' money -- particularly when credit markets are collapsed."
NoLandGrab: Barclays, which has a naming-rights deal with Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, has thus far resisted taking funds from the British government; some allege that's because Barclays' top managers don't want to have their compensation limited by government regulators.
Also:
Daily Kos, You are funding CITI's marketing efforts (and the New York Mets)
Posted by eric at November 24, 2008 6:04 PM