Fly the friendly skies... to USC football? That’s apparently the case as one of college football’s most historic venues is going corporate.
Sports Business Journal is reporting that USC and the Los Angeles Coliseum have entered into a 15-year naming rights agreement worth a whopping $70 million with United Airlines. It’s unclear what the name of the new venue will be (or if the field at the site is what is being named) going forward in the wake of this but SBJ notes that officials involved have stressed in the past that ‘Memorial Coliseum’ will remain no matter who the sponsor is.
The deal is understandable on both sides even if Trojans supporters can’t be happy about seeing the corporate influence on the venerable stadium pop up. The Coliseum is undergoing a reported $270 million renovation in various stages that is expected to be completed in time for USC’s 2019 home opener. The city is a large hub for the airline and United CEO is apparently a USC alum as well.
That’s not the only news at the site either, as Thursday also brought word that the Los Angeles Rams would remain a tenant at the Coliseum for another year -- through 2020 -- as the result of construction delays at their new stadium in Inglewood.
With the additional year of revenues from the Rams and the new sponsorship agreement, USC appears well on their way to paying for those significant renovation costs that are quickly approaching.
