US cap company New Era has acquired the naming rights to Ralph Wilson Stadium, the 71,870-seater home of National Football League (NFL) franchise the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, New York State.
The deal will commence with immediate effect. No financial terms have been officially released but the Associated Press (AP) is reporting that the agreement will run for the remaining seven years of the Bills’ lease on the venue. New Era is believed to have right of first refusal in the event of a renegotiation to the team’s contract at the stadium or to the naming rights for any new ground.
An AP source also values the deal at more than US$3 million a year.
Initially known as the Orchard Park, the stadium became recognised as the Rich Stadium when a Buffalo-based food products company brought the naming rights in 1973. After that 25-year deal expired in 1998, it was renamed Ralph Wilson Stadium in honour of the team's founder, who helped secure the Bills a home in Buffalo after they joined the NFL.
According to Forbes, the Buffalo Bills were ranked 28th out of 32 NFL teams in revenue last season and were the least valuable team in the league, with a net worth of US$1.4 billion.
US cap company New Era has acquired the naming rights to Ralph Wilson Stadium, the 71,870-seater home of National Football League (NFL) franchise the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, New York State.
The deal will commence with immediate effect. No financial terms have been officially released but the Associated Press (AP) is reporting that the agreement will run for the remaining seven years of the Bills’ lease on the venue. New Era is believed to have right of first refusal in the event of a renegotiation to the team’s contract at the stadium or to the naming rights for any new ground.
An AP source also values the deal at more than US$3 million a year.
Initially known as the Orchard Park, the stadium became recognised as the Rich Stadium when a Buffalo-based food products company brought the naming rights in 1973. After that 25-year deal expired in 1998, it was renamed Ralph Wilson Stadium in honour of the team's founder, who helped secure the Bills a home in Buffalo after they joined the NFL.
According to Forbes, the Buffalo Bills were ranked 28th out of 32 NFL teams in revenue last season and were the least valuable team in the league, with a net worth of US$1.4 billion.
