How much is a roof in the flight path of Newark Airport worth? The Red Bulls are going to find out.
The team has retained both Leverage Agency and MP & Silva to sell the naming rights for their state of the art building in Harrison, N.J., which until now had held the name of the parent company, Red Bull. It is not dissimilar to or far from where the now dormant IZOD Center stood, which had Continental Airlines on its roof for years as its name when it was home of the Devils and the Nets. The Red Bulls home is probably even more valuable as it also sits right next to New Jersey Transit and PATH, bringing thousands by the building every day.
“We felt the two-agency route would be best to expand the base of potential partners,” Amy Scheer, Red Bulls Chief Commercial Officer told Ian Thomas of the Sports Business Journal. “I’ve worked closely with [Leverage Agency founder and CEO] Ben [Sturner] before, and MP & Silva has made their living globally in the soccer space. I’m thrilled we’re working with both.”
The Red Bulls would likely be seeking at least a 10-year deal valued in the seven figures annually, according to a source. Most MLS stadium naming-rights deals average between $1.5 million and $2 million annually. MLS expansion club LAFC recently secured a 15-year, $100 million deal with Banc of California, which at $6.7 million a year is one of the league’s largest according to Thomas.
“I think there’s an opportunity to get in with a league on the rise that is doing really well with its target audience of youth and families,” Dan Cohen of MP & Silva said. “Not to mention, it’s in a nexus of transportation. A plane goes over Red Bull Arena going to Newark, JFK or LaGuardia about once a minute.”
Location, location, location.