Caesars Entertainment Inc., an American hotel and casino entertainment company based out of Reno, Nevada has agreed to a deal making it the naming rights partner of the Superdome, a multipurpose stadium and home of the NFL franchise New Orleans Saints. The said deal is for a time span of two decades and is worth a staggering $138 million.
The hotel and casino entertainment company will take over the naming rights of the Superdome from Mercedes-Benz, a German luxury automotive brand. Mercedes-Benz had signed a 10-year deal with the Saints, running from 2011-2021. The deal which was worth around $60 million had expired last week. Both parties decided not to renew their deal further as they couldn’t reach an agreement on financial terms.
Therefore, Mercedes-Benz decided to put their focus on other existing ventures, which includes their naming rights partnership with NFL’s south division franchise Atlanta Falcons.
As part of the deal, the Superdome will now be called ‘Caesars Superdome’ following approval from the Louisiana State Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee.
The franchise also released an official statement upon receiving the approval and said, “This approval was a procedural step in securing the naming rights. And now we move to finalize our partnership agreement. Once that is official, we will have a formal announcement.”
According to the lease agreement, Caesars Entertainment will pay the amount directly to the New Orleans Saints. The franchise has already made clear its intention to revamp the Superdome and meet the guidelines set by the NFL Association. In addition, making it a more spectator-friendly experience for the fans of the franchise.
After months of stringent negotiations, both parties eventually agreed on terms for the deal to go through and get approved by the state of Louisiana. This deal also brings up quite a turnaround for the league which at one point stood against the potential collaboration of the franchises with gambling associations. But, in 2021 and beyond, the NFL is pushing all of its chips to the centre of the table.
The renovation which is estimated to be around $450 million will get immensely boosted via this deal and will help the Superdome to be ready just in time to host the Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.