A name change to Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum could be in the works, as a potential naming-rights deal with RingCentral is being explored.
Though best known to Oakland A’s fans as the Coliseum, the venue’s identity has been affected by various corporate naming-rights partnerships over the years, including the most recent agreement with O.co. It has been known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum continuously since 2016, when O.co opted out of its agreement, but a new naming-rights deal might be taking shape.
Coliseum officials have acknowledged interest from RingCentral, a cloud-based communications provider headquartered in Belmont, CA. There is no final agreement at this point, but Coliseum Authority members could consider a contract and term sheet in March. More from The Mercury News:
Coliseum Authority Executive Director Scott McKibben said RingCentral is interested in naming rights at the stadium. Executives from the Belmont-based company toured the Coliseum last month, he said.
“At this point I am cautiously optimistic that we can get a deal done for the upcoming 2019 baseball season,” McKibben said in his Friday executive director’s report to the Coliseum board.
McKibben expects to bring a contract and term sheet to the board at its March meeting. The board of the county and city owned facility is comprised of Alameda County supervisors, Oakland council members and appointed citizens. McKibben is also consulting with the A’s, the only tenant if the Raiders choose to play elsewhere next season.
It appears likely that any naming rights will be part of a short-term arrangement. The A’s are currently pursuing a new Howard Terminal ballpark that could open as early as 2023, and the Coliseum’s days will be numbered if those plans move forward.
The Coliseum has had a flurry of activity over the years when it comes to naming-rights deals. The first agreement went into effect in 1998, when the facility became Network Associates Coliseum. That stuck until Network Associates renamed itself McAfee in 2004, resulting in the venue becoming McAfee Coliseum. McAfee passed on renewing the naming rights in 2008, and it took until Overstock.com in 2011 for the facility to secure another naming-rights partner.