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February 3, 2009
Mets plan to honor partnership with Citigroup
Newsday
By Wallace Matthews
In his defense of the Citi Field naming-rights deal, an official for the Mets flunks his audition to be a contestant on Jeopardy:
The federal government may have bailed out Citigroup, but the Mets insist they're not bailing on their $400-million naming rights deal with the bank whose name adorns the walls of their new ballpark, Citi Field.
"We're committed to our agreement with Citi, and Citi has indicated it is committed to us," said David Howard, the Mets' vice president for business affairs. "They're our partners and both sides are going to live up to the agreement."
...
Howard said the Mets believe Citi is being "unfairly singled out," and rattled off a list of 12 financial institutions - including Barclays Bank, which bought the naming rights to the still-unbuilt Atlantic Yards complex in Brooklyn - as examples of companies that took the money but have thus far escaped public criticism.
NoLandGrab: Howard may be interested to know that Barclays is a British bank headquartered in the United Kingdom, which is commonly found in Europe.
Barclays has not been the recipient of federal bailout money and, allegedly in order to maintain control over executive pay, has yet to receive assistance from the Bank of England.
Posted by lumi at February 3, 2009 4:51 AM