Is this McIngvale's field of dreams?
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, January 20, 2002
HOUSTON — HOUSTON — Could the Houston Astros' Enron Field ballpark become Gallery Furniture Field?
Gallery's Jim McIngvale likes the idea, and in the wake of Enron Corp.'s recent bankruptcy filing, he may go after it.
The Houston-based Top 100 furniture store is no stranger to sports sponsorships, but at an estimated $2 million to $3 million a year, it would be the most expensive one the retailer has ever undertaken. (College football's Galleryfurniture.com Bowl, for example, costs about $500,000 a year, he said.)
"But you talk about name recognition," McIngvale said. "It would be name recognition out the gazoo."
Gallery's interest aside, it's not clear yet whether the professional baseball park's naming rights are up for grabs. Despite its troubles, Enron is current on its $3.3 million-a-year payment for the rights, and a bankruptcy judge could decide against releasing them.
Indeed, some other stadiums still use the names of bankrupt or out-of-business corporations. McIngvale joked they may just change the name to "Enron Folds."
"I'm wondering about the stadium naming curse," he added. "It's kind of like buying a haunted house."
He said he has yet to talk to anyone in the know about the sponsorship potential, and they haven't approached him. He said he'll probably decide within a month or so whether to pursuit it.
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