By Limey
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on January 30, 2002.
This subject has become the staple of the TZ during the activity-starved days of “The Void”. It’s always darkest before the dawn, says the old adage, and this has never been more apparent as we inch agonizingly slowly towards the glorious sunrise that is the reporting of pitchers and catchers. With The Hun either sitting on his hands or (more likely, IMO) having had them crazy glued together by McLane, the dearth of activity from the Astros organization has been excruciating. As a result, the TZ has become a vacuum where half-arsed theories about Enron’s involvement with the Astros can breed and fester.
At first, such discussions were therapeutic. The open, freewheeling discussions attracted comments, theories, news, fact, innuendo, lies, half-truths and, of course, insults. All of which are characteristics of any TZ debate. But then a pall fell over the topic. It wouldn’t go away. It would get repeated. Re-posted ad nauseam under new subject headings but with the same old misunderstandings. Cabrera, it seems, is still a Brave.
In an attempt to strain some of the crap out of these muddy waters, I offer the following information on the topic of Enron’s involvement in the Astros.
* Enron agreed to pay $100mm over 30 years for the right to name the Ballpark at Union Station.
* This is the 10th largest naming rights deal in professional sports.
* Enron is current on its payments through August 2002.
What this means is the Astros are contractually bound to leave Enron’s name up on the ballpark. It has been speculated that the contract may have some form of bankruptcy or morality “get out” clause. I suspect this is not the case, as I believe that the Astros would have exercised such an option if they had one. Everything that has been broadcast from the front office points to them being bound to the agreement until Enron offers to terminate the deal or defaults on a payment. The latter cannot happen until August at the earliest.
There is no shortage of suitors for the ballpark’s naming rights. The Astros claim to have been contacted by a number of interested companies. However, I don’t think anyone should be holding their breath waiting for a name change.
Ever heard of Pro Player Stadium? Of course you have, it’s where the Dolphins roll over and where the Marlins play. What you might not know is that Pro Player was a subsidiary of Fruit of the Loom, which itself went bankrupt years
ago. Yet the name remains . . .
More appropriate to this situation, I believe, is the plight of the Baltimore Ravens. “Who gives a fuck about the Ravens?” I hear you cry. I don’t, but perhaps that’s na?ve. When they reached the end of the greenback errrr yellow brick road from Cleveland, the new crib that awaited them was dubbed “PSINet Stadium” after a booming dot-com company of the same name. Of course, not many dot-coms exist anymore, and PSINet is one of the ones that went the way of the dinosaur. Yet the name remains . . .
The point here is not only that the stadium name is unchanged, but that PSINet’s bankruptcy administrator has kept up the payments. Why? Because the naming right is an asset which has a value on the open market. The administrator intends to auction off the naming right to the highest bidder, and has been to court to protect this interest. The naming right, you see, could be a lucrative
sale for the bankrupt dot-bomb.
So, these companies talking to Drayton about naming the BUS may be barking up the wrong tree. If the administrator in Enron’s case decides to pay the next installment before August, we could be stuck with the name for a while yet.
Sure, McLane could offer to return the money, or try to decline further payments. The impact this would have on Enron’s right to name the park would be zero. And it might even impact the team if he decided the payroll had to be
reduced by the amount of lost income. He could tear down the entire signage bearing the failed sponsor’s name, and find himself in breach of contract. How embarrassing would it be for the Astros to be sued by Enron? How costly? How
futile?
Nope, the name stays. At least until August, and very possibly for years to come. And there’s nothing that Drayton McLane, Ken Lay, the New York Times, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, you or I can do about it.