DrCrawdad
02-01-2003, 06:56 AM
How surprising that the Cubune’s article on the naming rights has a negative slant. Even Charles Comiskey’s comments have a more negative feel to them in the Cubune.
Cubune:
It was also a sad day for the Comiskey family.
"I'm not happy with it. The Comiskey name has lasted a lot longer than a lot of these cellular companies," said Comiskey's 77-year-old grandson and former team owner, Charles A. Comiskey II.
"But things change in life. I was hoping they would keep the name. This seems like the route they go today."
When asked whether he thought there'd be a fan backlash, Comiskey said: "I think you'll get a lot of criticism. People are just accustomed to the name Wrigley and Comiskey and Soldier Field. My kids will be disappointed. It would have been nice to go to Comiskey to see my fourth All-Star game."
He said that team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf kept him in the loop on the negotiations, but he wasn't told a deal had been completed. He hasn't received word as to how his grandfather's name will be honored in the ballpark, as the White Sox have said.
Sun-Times:
(Charles A. Comiskey II) was trying to figure out the change Friday from Comiskey Park--what Chicagoans have called the Sox's home base for 93 years--to U.S. Cellular Field in a business sense. And it made him laugh.
A naming rights deal for $68 million over 20 years, announced on the first day of SoxFest at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, just didn't add up for the grandson of the team's former owner.
''That's nothing,'' Comiskey said, scoffing at the amount the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority will receive. ''With what it costs to run a stadium, that's probably not enough to change the light bulbs in that place. Think about it. What is that, just over $3 million a year?''...
''It's not a slap in the face,'' Comiskey said from his home just outside Tampa, Fla. '''It's businessmen thinking they have a good way of revenue.
''It would be like somebody going to the U.S. government with $100 million to change the name of the Hoover Dam. Does that make sense? People will still call it the Hoover Dam. To us, and probably most White Sox fans, it will always be Comiskey Park.''
Comiskey, who works in commercial construction, views the naming of a stadium a bad-luck proposition. He cited TWA and Enron, two companies that put their names to sports facilities in St. Louis and Houston, respectively, before both companies went belly up.
The whole thing made him wonder where the naming-rights game eventually will stop.
''If somebody has enough cash, can they change the name of Chicago to something else?'' he wondered. ''You can change the name of a physical object, but it doesn't change what it is. To me, it's silly to change the name Wrigley, or Comiskey, or any public venues.''
Cubune:
It was also a sad day for the Comiskey family.
"I'm not happy with it. The Comiskey name has lasted a lot longer than a lot of these cellular companies," said Comiskey's 77-year-old grandson and former team owner, Charles A. Comiskey II.
"But things change in life. I was hoping they would keep the name. This seems like the route they go today."
When asked whether he thought there'd be a fan backlash, Comiskey said: "I think you'll get a lot of criticism. People are just accustomed to the name Wrigley and Comiskey and Soldier Field. My kids will be disappointed. It would have been nice to go to Comiskey to see my fourth All-Star game."
He said that team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf kept him in the loop on the negotiations, but he wasn't told a deal had been completed. He hasn't received word as to how his grandfather's name will be honored in the ballpark, as the White Sox have said.
Sun-Times:
(Charles A. Comiskey II) was trying to figure out the change Friday from Comiskey Park--what Chicagoans have called the Sox's home base for 93 years--to U.S. Cellular Field in a business sense. And it made him laugh.
A naming rights deal for $68 million over 20 years, announced on the first day of SoxFest at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, just didn't add up for the grandson of the team's former owner.
''That's nothing,'' Comiskey said, scoffing at the amount the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority will receive. ''With what it costs to run a stadium, that's probably not enough to change the light bulbs in that place. Think about it. What is that, just over $3 million a year?''...
''It's not a slap in the face,'' Comiskey said from his home just outside Tampa, Fla. '''It's businessmen thinking they have a good way of revenue.
''It would be like somebody going to the U.S. government with $100 million to change the name of the Hoover Dam. Does that make sense? People will still call it the Hoover Dam. To us, and probably most White Sox fans, it will always be Comiskey Park.''
Comiskey, who works in commercial construction, views the naming of a stadium a bad-luck proposition. He cited TWA and Enron, two companies that put their names to sports facilities in St. Louis and Houston, respectively, before both companies went belly up.
The whole thing made him wonder where the naming-rights game eventually will stop.
''If somebody has enough cash, can they change the name of Chicago to something else?'' he wondered. ''You can change the name of a physical object, but it doesn't change what it is. To me, it's silly to change the name Wrigley, or Comiskey, or any public venues.''