The Sports Authority (SA) bankruptcy has been as exciting as can be expected from a former sporting goods powerhouse. Recently, a judge rejected a multimillion dollar exit bonus plan for the SA executives. The judge said, “I think it’s just inappropriate to pay senior executives bonuses when all the employees are losing their jobs.” After selling off all its physical merchandise in the last few months, the latest episode revolved around the naming rights of the stadium at Mile High. This too has now been resolved.
In a deal between Sports Authority and the Broncos, the retailer agrees to pay the team $50,000 for the naming rights to the Broncos home stadium. The football team in return will take over the responsibilities of SA, including paying dues to the Metropolitan Football Stadium—the state owned corporation that still owns the stadium. Sports Authority maintained that it had difficulty securing a lucrative deal with the 200 potential buyers it reached out to and therefore settled with the Broncos.
The Broncos will host the San Francisco 49ers on August 20, however the name change is not likely to have been implemented by then. In the meantime, the team will be looking for a new naming partner that could help cover the $300 million maintenance cost the stadium requires.