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Madison Square Garden is about to undergo a massive $800 million phased renovation that will not be completed until 2013, but when finished will create an essentially new MSG.  If a recent story by Sports Business Journal is correct, then a significant portion of the financing for the project has been secured in the largest ever sponsor/arena rights deal, as JP Morgan Chase is paying $300 million for a ten year deal to become the marquee sponsor of the new MSG.  It is important to note, that the Garden has not sold the naming rights to the building, which will continue to be named Madison Square Garden, but that JP Morgan Chase will have naming rights inside the building, including the old Felt Forum, will have extensive media rights, and will have media and ticketing rights that extend to all MSG properties, which include Radio City Music Hall, the Chicago Theater and the Beacon Theater. 

Interestingly, the three largest naming rights deals in North America have all involved financial institutions, and, not surprisingly, have been in New York City.  This deal eclipses the $20 million per year that Barclays is paying to put its name on the arena under construction in Brooklyn that will be the new home of the Nets and the $20 million per year that Citibank is paying the Mets for the rights to Citi Field.  Each of those deals, however, run for 20 years.

A few inks to get Tuesday off to a good start:

When Anheuser-Busch was bought by Brazilian-Belgian giant Inbev last year, there was great concern that Anheuser-Busch's sports advertising and promotion might be in jeopardy as the two companies had had a different philosophy towards advertising and promotion.  At the time of the merger, the two companies had made public assurances that nothing would change, but companies do that routinely at merger time, whether they really mean it is another question.  It's sort of like a coach who tells you that he loves his current job, the city great, the fans are wonderful and he would never consider another job and wham, he becomes Nick Saban and you wake up two days later and he has a new job.


Well, it appears that this time, the companies were telling the truth.  Anheuser-Busch and the NFL are preparing to announce a $1billion (yes, with a "B") deal for Bud Light to replace Coors Light as the official beer sponsor of the NFL.  It will be a six year deal beginning in 2011.  Even though Coors Light has had official sponsorship since 2002, Budweiser has held official sponsorship of the Super Bowl for the last 22 years.  Prior to 2002, Budweiser shared sponsorship of the league with Miller, but that changed in 2002 when sponsorship became an exclusive and Miller won the original exclusive bidding.