Gallery's bid to put name on ballpark strikes out
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 24, 2002
HOUSTON — HOUSTON — Top 100 retailer Gallery Furniture has lost a bid to put its name on the Houston Astros' two-year-old ballpark.
The major league baseball team opted to name the field Minute Maid Park after the Houston-based juice manufacturer reportedly agreed to pay more than $100 million for the naming rights to the field through 2030.
When the stadium opened in 2000 it was called Enron Field, but the Astros bought back the naming rights after the disgraced energy-trading firm filed for bankruptcy protection.
Wire service reports quoted Astros officials as saying the club also got proposals from Conoco and Landry's Seafood Restaurants, both based in Houston.
Gallery Furniture and its high-profile president, Jim McIngvale, have sponsored a number of Houston-area sporting events over the years, including rodeos, professional tennis tournaments, a college football bowl game, and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Assn.
