The home of the Seattle Seahawks NFL team and MLS outfit Seattle Sounders has a new name following the acquisition of Qwest by CenturyLink.
Qwest Field, as the 67,000 seat stadium has been known since 2004, will become CenturyLink Field, part of a rebranding exercise that has accelerated since CenturyLink’s takeover in April.
The terms of the naming rights agreement, negotiated seven years ago, are believed to be unchanged with CenturyLink taking over the US$75 million ten year contract. The deal is due to expire at the end of 2014, but according to the Seattle Times has a five year renewal option.
The stadium, in the heart of Seattle, opened in 2002. Originally known simply as Seahawks Stadium, until a naming rights deal was agreed, construction cost some US$430 million.
Qwest was purchased by fellow telecommunications company CenturyLink in April for a total of US$22.4 billion, including some US$11.8 billion of debt.
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