By SportsBusiness.com

Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise the Miami Marlins ended their long search for a stadium naming rights partner by agreeing a multi-year deal with California-based financial services company loanDepot.

Under the agreement, which also makes loanDepot the team’s official mortgage provider, Marlins Park will be renamed ‘loanDepot park’. Marlins Park opened in 2012, but the team’s former ownership and its current group had been unable to land a sponsor, until now.

The loanDepot deal leaves just eight MLB ballparks without naming rights attached to them – Dodger Stadium, Nationals Park, Yankee Stadium, Angel Stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Kauffman Stadium.

As part of their new alliance, loanDepot will donate $50 for every Marlins run scored during the regular season to expand youth baseball and softball opportunities through the Miami Marlins Foundation programming at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade.

Additionally, loanDepot will serve as the presenting sponsor of Salute & Serve Days. Every Monday at loanDepot park, active and retired military personnel, veterans, fire rescue personnel, members of the police department and healthcare professionals will receive two complimentary tickets to the game.

The loanDepot park branding transformation will take place over the coming months, with new signage integrated inside the ballpark throughout late spring and early summer. External ballpark signage is anticipated to be in place in time for the July All-Star Break.

“We’re excited to welcome fans back for Opening Day at loanDepot park,” said Marlins CEO Derek Jeter. “A partnership like this, with a nationally recognised brand excelling through innovation alongside a strong philanthropic commitment, is foundational to our ability to build sustainable success.

“With loanDepot as a part of our family, we have an ideal partner who shares our principles and values as well as our championship drive.”

For loanDepot, the deal marks the latest addition to its MLB connection. The company became the League’s official mortgage provider in January, before taking presenting sponsor rights to both of League Championship Series through 2025.

“This is a momentous day as we join the Miami Marlins in bringing our ‘Home Means Everything’ message to the South Florida community,” said loanDepot CEO and founder, Anthony Hsieh. “As the official mortgage provider of MLB and the Marlins, we are committed to delivering the dream of homeownership to Americans nationwide – and as the naming sponsor of loanDepot park, we are equally committed to bringing a world-class experience to Marlins fans.”

By ISSA and R.V. Baugus

With the Major League Baseball regular season returning on April 1, many fans may be wondering what a day at the ballpark will be like this season. The Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, today announced that Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla., home to the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals during spring training; American Family Field in Milwaukee, home to the Milwaukee Brewers; Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, home to the Cincinnati Reds; and T-Mobile Park in Seattle, home of the Seattle Mariners have achieved GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation.

“GBAC is proud to be working closely with many MLB stadiums so their teams know how to prepare, respond, and recover from infectious disease risks,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “Spectators, players, and employees can rest assured that accredited facilities prioritize cleanliness at every opportunity to enable safer sports.”

The three MLB stadiums join Oracle Park in San Francisco, home of the San Francisco Giants, in completing the performance-based program, with four other stadiums currently in the process of accreditation. Accredited facilities follow GBAC STAR’s strict 20-step program, which includes the proper cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques, and best practices to combat biohazards and infectious diseases, such as the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19.

Target Center in Minneapolis and Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, both with seating capacity for nearly 20,000 attendees, also join the list of newly accredited stadiums and arenas.

The latest accredited facilities include:

Convention Centers

Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Conn.
Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau in Grapevine, Texas
Infinite Energy Convention Center in Duluth, Ga.
Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Wash.
Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah

Performing Arts Center

Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago

Stadiums and Arenas

American Family Field/Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club in Milwaukee, home to the MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers
Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla., home to the MLB’s Houston Astros and Washington Nationals during spring training
ExtraMile Arena at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho
Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, home to the MLB’s Cincinnati Reds
Infinite Energy Center Arena in Duluth, Ga.
Palmer Event Center in Austin, Texas
Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix
Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., home of four minor league baseball teams
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Wash.
T-Mobile Park in Seattle, home to the MLB’s Seattle Mariners
Target Center in Minneapolis

“GBAC STAR accredited facilities have the proper procedures, training, chemistry, equipment, tools, personal protective equipment, and infection control in place,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “Organizations around the world, including many professional sports venues, have found value in the program and are making facilities safer for everyone who walks through their doors.”

Learn more and apply for GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation at gbac.org/star.

Find accredited facilities and those pursuing accreditation via the GBAC STAR Facility Directory at gbac.org/directory.

IAVM members seeking to apply for accreditation through GBAC, please use the link https://gbac.issa.com/iavm/!

By R.V. Baugus

IAVM member Sue Wieman has retired from the La Crosse (WI) Center after 21 years at the venue and 36 years overall in La Crosse city government.

Wieman’s illustrious career began in 1985 when she started with the police department before eventually moving to the La Crosse Center in 2000.

Wieman started with the police department in 1985, and went through other departments until going to the La Crosse Center in 2000. She held several positions there with the most recent being business manager. She also supervised the box office and coordinated many other events including concerts.

As the venue undergoes expansion, Wiemn decided the time was right for the next phase of her life.

“A lot of people think that what we do is concerts, because we have the arena,” Wieman told local media. “Concerts are a big part of who we are, but we also do a lot of conventions, trade shows, meetings, weddings.”

Before departing, she also shared her thoughts for the business that will come in the future as a result of the expansion.

“It’s always exciting here because it’s not another type of business where we do one thing,” she said.

Wieman plans to stay active with a wellness and nutrition business.

By Convention Center Communications Department

Employees of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) recently took personal time off to volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank — and there’s a special reason why. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) cancelled its in-person show in February but remained committed to its tradition of making a philanthropic donation to a local organization in the city where the annual show is held. In response, Convention Center employees donated their time to volunteer.

This year, NADA donated $25,000 to the New Orleans Second Harvest Food Bank in response to the alarming increase in food insecurity in the region caused by the pandemic. Due to the pandemic, Second Harvest has nearly doubled its food distribution despite a drastic increase in the organization’s operating costs. Second Harvest anticipates its need to remain elevated through 2021.

“Fighting hunger is a community-wide effort, and simply put, we need both monetary and volunteer donations to make our organization run smoothly,” said President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank Natalie Jayroe. “Every single meal we provide to a family, a child, or a senior is because of donations like NADA’s and volunteer efforts such as the Convention Center team members. These individuals have opened their hearts. Words cannot fully express my gratitude for those that have stepped up during this crisis.”

One in five households in Louisiana is at risk of hunger. Across the state and region, the rising cost of food, housing, and utilities, coupled with high unemployment due to COVID-19, has increased the need for emergency food assistance.

“I am certainly proud of our employees,” said Convention Center President Michael J. Sawaya. “I am also proud of NADA. Even though they had to cancel their show, they held true to their commitment. After a year like 2020, the impact this money will have on our community will reach a little farther and wider than ever before.”

By R.V. Baugus

It’s time for me to brush up on exactly how cryptocurrency works, especially in light of its growing presence in the sports industry and now with a new naming rights deal.

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has reached a deal to assume naming rights of Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena to become FTX Arena. The venue has been named AmericanAirlines Arena since opening in 1999, although the company announced in 2019 that it would not extend its $2 million per year deal once it ended in 2020. The venue kept the name while searching for a successor. The deal is pending county commission approval today.

In addition the anchor tenant NBA Miami Heat said that it will dedicate certain sections of the venue to fans who have received COVID-19 vaccinations.

The new partner is indicative and representative of the growing presence of cryptocurrency in the sports industry. The deal is expected to result in an undisclosed amount of yearly payments from FTX to Miami-Dade, which controls naming rights to the arena while the Heat markets other sponsorship for the venue.

Meanwhile, as the venue continues reopening, the April 1 game against the Golden State Warriors will include two sections of the lower bowl that will be fully open to fans who have been fully vaccinated from COVID-19. While masks will still be required, social distancing protocols will be lessened.

Pods of fans will be separated by one seat in the aforementioned two sections. Fans will enter the arena through a dedicated gate and be required to show their Centers for Disease Control vaccination card, or proof thereof, along with valid ID. Fans will need to have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days to be eligible.

In January, COVID-19 Detection Dogs made their debut as Heat fans returned to AmericanAirlines Arena, with the team maintaining their deployment is only one element of their venue safety strategy.

That light at the end of the tunnel continues getting brighter for our industry, with hopefully more good news continuing to come from venues across the country.

As for that needing to learn more about cryptocurrency, my only personal experience came five years ago when I arrived to my home computer to begin working only to discover I had been hit with a ransomware attack with the criminals demanding payment in something called bitcoin, something I had never heard of.

The good news is a cyber genius came to my rescue to restore all of my data, thankfully ending my quest for the elusive bitcoin to pay the thieves.

Image by Phillip Pessar