Democrats Afraid To Call “Bank Of America Stadium” By Its Proper Name
On the last night of the Democratic National Convention, President Obama will deliver his Acceptance Speech before a crowd in Bank Of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, just he delivered his closing speech in 2008 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. Oddly, though, the DNC seems unwilling to call the Charlotte Stadium by its proper name:
National Democrats have repeatedly touted their stand against taking corporate money for their convention in September, and so it was striking to see two emails from the DNC host committee referring to the Charlotte venue where President Obama will speak as “Panthers Stadium.”
It’s the place where the Panthers play, but it’s actually called Bank of America stadium.
A recent email from the host committee signed by former Al Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile urged people to win a trip to Charlotte for the event, which will wrap “Thursday night at Panthers Stadium with President Obama.”
Another email in June made the same pitch about the stadium.
Here’s Brazille’s email:
Donna, Donna, you’re enough of a football fan to know there is no such thing as “Panthers Stadium.”
Seems like a stretch to say they’re “afraid”, but whatever floats your boat.
After the election they’ll retroactively refer to it as Bank of America Stadium.
Bank of America probably expected some publicity for that stadium buy, but (a) they probably did not expect their name featured in a party convention, and (b) they may not want their name featured in a party convention.
For every Democrat who loved them more, there would be a Republican who loved them less.
I’m not sure which disturbs me more, the fact that they won’t call it by it’s real name or the fact that it’s actually called “Bank of America Stadium.” That’s as bad as the crappy named Wells Fargo Arena here in Des Moines. At least here we can ignore all the corportism and just call it the Iowa Events Center. Of course the events center not only holds the Wells Fargo Arena, but also Hy-Vee Hall, and the really badly named “Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center at Veterans Memorial” which used to be called simply Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
/sigh
“STAPLES Center” is kind of annoying, but at least it’s brief.
@john personna:
It’s less annoying if you pretend that it’s really named after “Pops” Staples.
Have the public spend a few hundred million to build a new stadium. Sell naming rights to whoever for millions which go to the team that plays there rather than the taxpayers that actually payed for the stadium and the public seems to ignore it.
I miss Enron Field. The juice box just isn’t as catchy a phrase as the fraud stadium.
@Rufus T. Firefly: “It’s less annoying if you pretend that it’s really named after “Pops” Staples. ”
Or Mavis.
@Davebo: Basically.
If it were my call, every stadium funded via tax dollars would be named “People’s Arena”. Want your business’ name on it? Then pay for it your damn self.
I doubt the Democrat’s decision has anything to do with fear. It’s all about politics and image.
What do the folks in Charlotte call the place? I’d put my money on Panthers Stadium.
It’s also known as the stadium where BoA buried all of the Countrywide loans they bought in the crash. Supposedly they’re all under one of the goal posts.
Don’t like what the stadium is called? Fork over your own goddamned money for the naming rights. Call for BofA to get a full refund for what they paid for those rights.
I don’t like BofA and would never do business with them, but blaming them for buying what was freely offered for sale is… well, typically stupid for leftists.
@Jenos Idanian #13:
No, no, no. You got it backwards, bud.
They paid for the naming rights. Getting everyone to call it that….that costs extra.
Doug is afraid to call it Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
@Herb: You probably get all bent out of shape when the president is referred to by his full name, Barack Hussein Obama, too, I’ll bet.
@Jenos Idanian #13: Huh? I don’t see how that’s remotely similar.
Look…here’s the deal:
Just because Company X paid Stadium Y a lot of money for the name doesn’t meant that anyone who is not getting paid has to call it that. I get it though….someone else gets paid. I do all the work. You know, like Facebook.
Naming rights are a waste of money for the sponsor and they’re obnoxious for the consumer. In many cases it becomes a game of “So what’s the stadium going to be called this year?”
That’s why I say I will gladly call any stadium whatever they want….but they’ll have to pay. I didn’t make the rules. They did. I’m just playing by them.
That e-mail from Brazile reads like the script for a SNL skit.
@MM:
Unless I am mistaken, it did not have that name in 2008 when Obama spoke there
@Doug Mataconis: No, that year it was called Invesco Field.
Funny enough, when I don’t hear it called Mile High (the old stadium name), it’s just called “the Stadium.”
The stadium I see every day is Comiskey Park. I don’t care who pays what to put their name on it. It’ll always be Comiskey to me.
Of course, if they tried to change the name of Wrigley Field, the fans would probably burn it down, so I don’t see that being a problem.
We’re getting that here with what started as the Entertainment & Sports Arena for a year or two, became the RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) Center, and has been the PNC Center now for some months.
I would say around here: “Panther Stadium”: 60%, Bank of America Stadium: 40%