Citi is taking money from the government to keep their company afloat, but it’s not stopping them from keeping their naming rights deal with the New York Mets

SCOTT JACOBS

I had wondered this aloud, but had heard nothing of it: with Citi banks in the tanks, what would they do with their massive naming rights deal with the New Yorks Mets?  The first premise of the question stemmed on the issue of whether they could break the deal before the first year (it was inevitable I figured that a naming rights deal would be the first thing a dying company would eliminate).  But in these horrendous economic times, apparently you can have your cake and spit in our government’s faces too.

Shockingly, Citi is not only keeping their naming rights deal with the Mets, it seems like they never had any plans to ditch it it in the first place.  This despite the fact that they recently let go (I mean axed) 53,000 workers, and saw their stock freefall.

ABC News reported the following:
Citicorp is not reviewing its deal with the Mets, chief financial officer Gary Crittenden said in an interview Monday. 

And with it comes one of the biggest slaps in the face to our government I’ve ever seen.

Let me get this straight: Citi is sticking to a $400 million deal over 20 years that they will pay the Mets (not the other away around folks) in the midsts of getting a ‘multi-billion dollar emergency ‘backstop deal’ with the U.S. government?’

$400 MILLION!?!?

CitiCorp will receive a government bailout worth approximately $326 billion.  But don’t worry, they’ve saved up $400 million so they can pay the Mets to have their proud name on New York’s brand new stadium

They laid off 53,000 workers.

They laid off FIFTY-THREE THOUSAND WORKERS!

And they have the nerve to continue a naming rights deal with the Mets to pay them $400 million?

Are you freaking kiding me Citi?

There are times when sports and economics clash, and clearly this is one of them.  Yes, having your name high atop a  new state of the art stadium in New York is great press, but when you CLEARLY can’t afford it, it’s ruthlessly unjust.

Read the full article here (Warning: story may make you nauseaus)

There’s a really interesting piece on the fourth page about why companies supposedly do naming rights deals, and what other companies are doing with their naming rights deals in the shadow of this economic freefall.  So check it out, it’s a very informative read.

Read more about Bailout Ballpark (I mean Citi Field)

> In the meantime, Newsday has an article up stating that the Mets may actually not see the $20 million.
> Flashback: Citi Field?  What’s next: Krispy Kreme Grounds
> $20 mil a year? Why Citi’s deal is double the largest per year naming rights deal in sports history!

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