Nissan Stadium Takes The Tennessee Skyline

Nissan Stadium Takes The Tennessee Skyline Like A Titan

Automakers tend not to go for naming stadium deals, for fear of being tied too closely to a single team’s performance. (Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, is the exception that proves the rule.) And such deals don’t always work out; quick, what’s the name of the big stadium in New Orleans? If you forgot to put “Mercedes-Benz” before the “Superdome,” it’s not for a lack of trying by the German automaker.

None of which stopped Nissan from announcing today it’s signed a 20-year deal to rename the home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans as Nissan Stadium. Nissan wouldn’t disclose a price tag, but such deals don’t come cheap even by billion-dollar corporate standards. So why do it?

As always, it’s the Internet’s fault. Now that most forms of entertainment are on demand, there’s more ways than ever to avoid ads. The one sterling exception: Professional sports, which most people prefer to watch live, and where a stadium covered in logos will get plenty of eyeballs over time. Fred Diaz, Nissan’s U.S. sales chief, said the deal would also help Nissan highlight that it’s North American headquarters are just down the road from Nashville.

And yes, Nissan did consider just calling it “Nissan Titan Stadium” as a permanent ad for its Titan pickup, but Diaz says Nissan’s research found that any title longer than two words would get shortened by fans and media.