Meadowlands Stadium could have a new name on the horizon - Ingles

New Meadowlands Stadium will be renamed for MetLife, the insurance company, possibly as early as next week. The Jets and Giants, who have been without the income from a naming rights deal, would split $17 million to $20 million annually over 20 years, according to published reports.

MetLife’s interest in the stadium, where it is currently a cornerstone sponsor paying about $7 million annually, was first reported in June by Sports Business Journal.

The pending announcement of the deal would come about three years after a more lucrative naming rights agreement with Allianz, a German-based insurer, collapsed amid reporting in The New York Times about the company’s ties to the Nazi government before and during World War II.

If MetLife’s contract averages as much as $20 million annually, it will equal what Citigroup is paying to have its name on Citi Field, the home of the Mets. The other sports facilities in the New York metropolitan area with corporate names are the Prudential Center, the home of the Devils; Barclays Center, the future home of the Nets; and Red Bull Arena, where the Red Bulls play. The new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009, did not sell a naming rights sponsorship. Madison Square Garden has no plans to change its iconic name.

And the Nassau Coliseum, where the Islanders play, has never had a corporate name on it. This article was written by Richard Sandomir and appeared in The New York Times.