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How about this: Red Bull New York
It's going to take Americans some time to get used to this kind of commercialization. Even though we see it everywhere else, people seem to think a team's name is sacred. But I guess we did get used to the Mighty Ducks....sort of.
NEW YORK -- Major League Soccer's MetroStars are being sold and renamed Red Bull New York.
Anschutz Entertainment Group, owned by Colorado billionaire Philip F. Anschutz, completed an agreement Thursday to sell the team to Red Bull Co. Ltd., an Austrian firm that manufactures an energy drink. Red Bull also bought naming rights for the soccer stadium the team hopes to build in Harrison, N.J., and will have 50 percent ownership. AEG will be in charge of building and operating the stadium.
AEG still owns four of the 12 MLS teams: the Chicago Fire, D.C. United, the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy. Red Bull also owns a soccer club in Austria: SV Red Bull Salzburg.
Red Bull said its Austrian and American teams will work together "in athletic areas as well as in management and marketing."
"Projected plans include talent scouting, mutual training camps and friendly matches," the company said in a statement.
I think overall it will be good for the sport, at least from a marketing standpoint. And I believe it is the same ownership group that just hired Scott Speed to drive F1 over in Europe- truly a global company.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Red Bull is buying Major League Soccer's MetroStars, and the first order of business for the energy drink maker was to give its club a new team name.
As in, brand new.
Goodbye, MetroStars. Hello, Red Bull New York.
Anschutz Entertainment Group completed an agreement Thursday to sell the team to Red Bull Co. Ltd., which already has its red, blue and silver colors on everything from European soccer jerseys to race-car paint jobs.
"This is a seminal moment in the history of this team and this league," team president and general manager Alexi Lalas said. "What Red Bull brings to the table is something the likes of which this league has never seen."
Like a corporate moniker in the name, for instance - something that's new for MLS, but not new for the company that bought one of the league's 12 franchises. Red Bull also owns a soccer club in Austria that it renamed - what else? - SV Red Bull Salzburg.
The official franchise name is Red Bull New York, but the league said the team would be informally known as the New York Red Bulls. The MLS Web site already featured the new team logo Thursday.
Red Bull, which has a regional office in nearby Hoboken, N.J., also has racing teams that compete in Formula One, the Indy Racing League and soon in NASCAR. The company is also heavily involved in extreme sports.
Lalas did not confirm the sale price but said it exceeded the MLS record $26 million paid for the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1998.
Red Bull also bought naming rights for the soccer stadium the team hopes to build in Harrison, N.J., and will have 50 percent ownership. AEG will be in charge of building and operating the stadium.
AEG still owns four MLS teams: the Chicago Fire, D.C. United, the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Lalas said the partnership between AEG and Red Bull "gets the stadium done in Harrison for the 2008 season." He said the name of the stadium has not yet been determined.
Red Bull said its Austrian and American teams will work together "in athletic areas as well as in management and marketing."
"Projected plans include talent scouting, mutual training camps and friendly matches," the company said in a statement.
Last edited by PAmedic on March 10th, 2006, 1:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
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