The Corporate Olympics

In 1984, Los Angeles completely changed the Olympic Movement.  By financing the Games with private and corporate funding, as well as using existing venues and infrastructure, LA showed that you can host the Olympics and actually make a profit.  That model became a template that future Olympic host cities followed.  In 1984, Los Angeles will completely change the Olympic Movement again.  And once again, it'll be by the use of corporate dollars.

The 2028 Olympics will be the first with venue naming rights.  The Honda Center in Anaheim, home of the Ducks during hockey season, will be hosting Olympic volleyball...when it will be called the "Honda Center."  The temporary squash venue in the Universal Studios parking lot, meanwhile, will be called the "Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios."  Comcast, of course, is NBC's parent company.  (It's also worth noting that LA28 and NBCUniversal are working together to coordinate Olympic sponsorships.)

This is obviously a historic change, and it's being done with the IOC's full support.  Honda and Comcast are just the first two naming rights sponsors to be announced, but you'd have to figure there will be plenty more.  Other qualifying LA28 partners will be able to keep their name on existing venues, while up to 19 temporary venues will also have naming rights on offer, with participants in the IOC's existing The Olympic Partner program getting first dibs.

A few key clarifications were also made.  The first is that existing venues will either keep their regular name or, should a naming-rights deal with that company not be reached, be given a generic one like in Olympics past.  So, there's no chance three of LA's most iconic venues--Dodger Stadium, the LA Coliseum and the Rose Bowl--will suddenly have corporate names during the Olympics.  Nor will SoFi Stadium be referred to as (for example) Coca-Cola Stadium.  It'll either be SoFi or "2028 Stadium" (the temporary Olympic name it was given on the competition schedule that was released last month).

This isn't a requirement, either.  I don't know why a venue naming-rights sponsor would pass on the opportunity, but, if the price is too high or they can't come to an agreement with the organizers, they have the assurance that some other corporation won't be able to come in and slap their name on the venue during the Olympics.  If they don't want to do it, it'll just be the generic name that would've been used anyway under the previous rules where corporate venue names can't be used.

Existing IOC rules about maintaining a clean field-of-play will still apply, as well.  Which means no sponsor names or logos on the playing surface.  I've always loved that about the Olympics.  The field of play has nothing on it but simple, Olympic branding.  That will continue.  Although, this does presumably mean they won't need to cover up the scoreboard (assuming it has the sponsor's name/logo on it) or, more importantly, cover up the venue's name on the outside.

It's been a long-standing and well-known rule that corporate names aren't allowed by the IOC or FIFA.  This is a practical and reasonable provision to protect IOC and FIFA sponsors.  It prevents free advertising for a non-IOC/FIFA sponsor or, worse, for the competitor of an IOC/FIFA sponsor.  Although, the result is an often ridiculous generic name for the venue ("Dallas World Cup Stadium," anyone?) that will only be used on TV and in anything printed.  People attending the event will still refer to the venue by its actual name or nickname, regardless of what its "official" name during the competition is.

That's a point LA28 President Casey Wasserman was quick to emphasize.  Gymnastics will be at the Lakers' and Kings' home arena (which I will always call "Staples Center," even though that's not its name anymore).  People aren't suddenly going to start calling it "Downtown Gymnastics Arena" during the Olympics just because that's the name the IOC is using.  Ditto about all the NFL stadiums being used at next year's World Cup.

I do wonder, though, how Toyota (an IOC sponsor) feels about its competitor, Honda, getting a naming rights opportunity during the Olympics.  Assuming the IOC will continue allowing venue naming rights moving forward, this is a question that will have to be answered.  Sometimes there's no conflict.  Delta is the Official Airline of Team USA, so it won't be an issue for the Delta Center to keep its name when the Winter Games return to Salt Lake City in 2034.  But what will happen when there is one?  Or will this be a situation like the NFL/NBA, where team sponsors are often different than the league sponsors.

Still, while this is a somewhat surprising development, it's also something that feels like it was a long time coming.  And inevitable.  Venue naming rights aren't a phenomenon exclusive to the United States or even North America.  I'd argue that more sporting venues around the world than not have corporate names.  It's rare to not have multiple venues at an Olympics referred to by a generic name for those two weeks (there's always at least one).

And, from the sounds of Wasserman's comments in the release, it appears this isn't a one-time thing, either.  LA's in a unique position in that these Olympics are being completely privately funded without any governmental support.  That's why these corporate partnerships are so important.  They're a necessary extra revenue source.  That extra revenue won't just benefit the LA Games.  It'll benefit the entire Olympic Movement.

They wisely won't let it get out of control, either.  Giving the corporations that already have naming rights to the facilities the first opportunity to keep them during the Olympics is a reasonable accommodation.  I'd argue that it makes things even more worthwhile for them, especially since they wouldn't otherwise see any benefit from such a major event being held in the venue.  If they pass (and I'm not sure why any of them would), it's not like it'll be open bidding.  That corporate free-for-all could lead to a financial windfall, but this gives existing Olympic sponsors more bang for their buck, which gives corporations more incentive to be an Olympic sponsor.

Broadcast rights are the biggest source of IOC revenue.  That doesn't figure to change.  Individual Olympic host cities don't reap much of a benefit from that, though.  When it comes to the cost of running the Games, they're mostly on their own.  Which is why corporate sponsorships are so necessary.  And venue naming rights are a far more lucrative opportunity for both the sponsor and the organizing committee alike.  There's money to be had in naming rights.  Which is why they've been sold at virtually every major league venue (and many college venues) in the U.S.

Don't be surprised if this is the start of a trend, either.  You know FIFA saw this announcement and thought about how much more money they could've made had they allowed Met Life, SoFi, AT&T, etc., to keep their names on their venues during the World Cup (for an additional price, of course).  So, while the LA28 Olympics will be the first with venue naming rights, they won't be the last.  And World Cup venue naming rights will almost certainly follow.