What's in a Name

Your name is your identity. It says, to the world, a little bit about you.

name (nm)n.
1. A word or words by which an entity is designated and distinguished from others.
2. A word or group of words used to describe or evaluate, often disparagingly.
4. a. A reputation: has a bad name.
b.A distinguished reputation: made a name for himself as a drummer.

I live in Utah. Utah has a basketball team called the Utah Jazz. Now there has been some discussion about the misnomer with that name since Utah has very little to do with Jazz. But we have accepted this name because it sounds cool.

15 years ago the Jazz moved into a big new arena called the Delta Center. It got the name from the airline with a local hub, Delta Airlines, who became a major sponsor for the Jazz. The Delta Center has been an easy name for both the eyes and the tongue. It sounded like a name to be proud of.

Now, with Delta Airlines facing banqruptcy and the changing of the times, the owners of the Utah Jazz felt it in their best interest to seek out another major sponsor. Yesterday during the game they announced that the new name of the arena will be the EnergySolutions Arena.

.....


.....


UGH!!!!

Reaction on the street was, according to the Deseret News, less than enthusaistic.

Here were some responses according to the News:

Olivia Egbert, a Salt Lake resident, said the name change was unfortunate.

"From now on when people think about the Utah Jazz they will be thinking about nuclear waste," Egbert said. "EnergySolutions isn't something I really want to correlate with Jazz basketball."

Brittney Erickson of North Salt Lake was bewildered at seeing the new name Monday on the outside of the building as she purchased Jazz tickets.

"I think the Delta Center sounds better than 'EnergySolutions Arena,"' said Erickson, who added that she would continue to refer to the building as the Delta Center. "I think that most people still will."

"From a sports angle it's no score for Utah, it's a foul," Pierce said. "Branding our state's sports complex with the name of a massive nuclear waste dump isn't the PR that we want for Utah.

The Utah Jazz are not alone by having their arenas dubbed in such a fashion. According to ESPN:

Stadium naming rights

Average annual name branding rights paid by companies:
• FedEx Forum (Memphis Grizzlies) — $4.5 million, Federal Express
• Pepsi Center (Denver Nuggets) — $3.4 million, PepsiCo.
• Conseco Fieldhouse (Indiana Pacers) — $2 million, Conseco
• TD Waterhouse Centre (Orlando Magic) — $1.6 million, TD Waterhouse Group
• Wachovia Center (Philadelphia 76ers) — $1.4 million, Wachovia Bank
• KeyArena (Seattle Supersonics) — $1 million, Key Corp.
• Arco Arena (Sacramento Kings) — $750,000, Atlantic Richfield

Source: ESPN

What's your opinion??