The Jake is no more

[Pronk48]

Indians announce 16-year, $58 million deal to rename ballpark Progressive Field
Indians announce 16-year, $58 million deal to rename ballpark Progressive Field

By M.R. KROPKO, AP Business Writer
January 11, 2008

AP - Jan 11, 1:38 pm EST

CLEVELAND (AP) -- "The Jake" is no more. The home of the Cleveland Indians will be called Progressive Field as part of a naming rights deal that is worth nearly $58 million over 16 years.

Car insurance company Progressive Corp. and the American League team announced the terms of the agreement for the 42,000-seat downtown ballpark on Friday.

The stadium had been known as Jacobs Field since it opened in 1994, named when the team had been owned by Cleveland-area businessman Richard Jacobs. Progressive will pay an average of $3.6 million a year for the rights.

Indians president Paul Dolan said at a news conference on Friday that the club is aware of fans' emotional connections with Jacobs Field.

"I'm sure the fans' thinking about this place being something other than Jacobs Field will take a while," Dolan said. "But I'm also sure that over time, Progressive Field will also sink in with the fans' psyche."

Glenn Renwick, Progressive's president and chief executive, said that the annual average cost of the naming rights represents about 1 percent of Progressive's annual advertising and marketing budget.

"Quite frankly, as a company we are approached all the time with opportunities for various sponsorships. This came after a lot of thought. It's a great opportunity for both our customer base and the fan base," Renwick said.

Jacobs' contract for the naming rights expired at the end of the 2006 season, and the club hired sports marketing firm IMG to find a new naming rights partner.

Progressive, based in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Village, is the nation's third largest auto insurer behind State Farm and Allstate. The $14 billion company has about 26,000 employees and about 30,000 independent agents.



Updated on Friday, Jan 11, 2008 5:06 pm, EST

This really saddens me. No more Jacobs Field. I hope they use some of that money from the Progressive Field naming rights deal to sign C.C. Sabathia to a new long term deal.

[catman]

I agree. The least they can do with the naming rights is pay Sabathia to stay in Cleveland.
I wonder how many times announcers will make mistakes and call it "the Jake" next season?

[Pronk48]

Probally a lot.

The sign that reads "Jacobs Field Home of the Cleveland Indians" came down yesterday, officially ending the Jacobs Field era.

It's gonna be so wierd when I drive to the east side now. I am so used to being greated by the Jacobs Field sign.

[brewersfan19]

That is going to be weird hearing the Jake be called Progressive Field.

[RS17]

Woah. I didn't hear about this. That's crazy.