8 minutes ago, NightNectar said:

Drove down 670 recently and the stadium lights were on. The light does not shine thru the metal panels as much as I expected. Really hoping they have plans in place to light the exterior of the stadium because it truly disappears in the night once the sun sets. Fingers crossed.

Yeah that is the only thing I’m disappointed by. The renderings are different panels with way more light coming through, overall the stadium is amazing still. 

20 hours ago, NorthShore647 said:

Stadium name announcement tomorrow?

 

lower.com Field

I saw this on r/Columbus 

 

Wow...just wow.

5 minutes ago, OhioFinest said:

Wow...just wow.

 

What's the issue? 

5 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

What's the issue? 

If true on Lower.com it’s a pretty bad one, but it is what it is. Naming rights is all about money and the highest bidder wins, Fans need to understand that.

1 minute ago, 646empire said:

If true on Lower.com it’s a pretty bad one, but it is what it is. Naming rights is all about money and the highest bidder wins, Fans need to understand that.

 

Who cares? They are local company who are growing quickly and offered more money than the other big local companies in a bidding war. The team should definitely take their offer. On top of that, the company has no real controversies attached to them are ranked as one of the best companies to work for in the Columbus metro area. Seems like a good deal to me. 

I thought this was lame at first.  But, this is a local, growing tech company with a nice, modern logo and a good looking website.  I can't wait to see what their logo looks like on the roof.  They outbid 4 other companies to grow their brand and it's already paying off as nobody had heard of them until this.  

Edited June 15, 20213 yr by TH3BUDDHA

2 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Who cares? They are local company who are growing quickly and offered more money than the other big local companies in a bidding war. The team should definitely take their offer. On top of that, the company has no real controversies attached to them are ranked as one of the best companies to work for in the Columbus metro area. Seems like a good deal to me. 

This all can be true but many fans are going to hate it. Also basic sports fans are not going to connect the name with “a great company to work for”. As I said it’s about money and owners can sell naming rights to who ever they want especially when they are paying for the stadium. I don’t have a problem with it.

1 minute ago, 646empire said:

This all can be true but many fans are going to hate it. Also basic sports fans are not going to connect the name with “a great company to work for”. As I said it’s about money and owners can sell naming rights to who ever they want especially when they are paying for the stadium. I don’t have a problem with it.

 

Fans of the team will likely embrace it once they understand this company is paying the team a boat load of money to have their name on the stadium. More money means better players and hopefully more trophies. Who cares what casual sports fans think. If you have a nice stadium in a good area and a winning team, they will still come check out a game. 

I guess the rumors last week were true (official announcement still at 11:30am today)

 

I actually like "Field" a lot for a soccer stadium. There are only 5 other "Fields" in the MLS (Fire, TFC, Sounders, DC and Minnesota).

The Columbus Crew's new downtown stadium has a name: Lower.com Field

Jacob Myers - The Dispatch - June 15, 2021

 

 

"It’s unknown for how much Lower.com purchased the stadium naming rights. Most deals range 10-15 years and yield a few million dollars annually, but that figure ranges significantly. Stadium naming rights are normally valued higher than the next biggest commodity a soccer team has to offer: the official jersey sponsor. The Crew is receiving more than $3 million annually from Nationwide for more than six years."

 

 

 

I'm just calling it Lower Field.  No one says "PayPal.com Park."

Well the field is dug out and sunken, so Lower.com Field is not so bad I guess.  It will also be sort of low profile once all of Astor Park gets built in and the triangle gets developed along with the area south of the stadium below Nationwide Blvd to 33.

Sorry for the low quality, it's a screen grab, but will the outside lights on the stadium look like this or was this only for the preview video? It would be incredible if it did. 

I saw this in the video released on the crew website, if it ha lights like this, it will be amazing. 

Just now, jwarner1979 said:

Sorry for the low quality, it's a screen grab, but will the outside lights on the stadium look like this or was this only for the preview video? It would be incredible if it did. 

Damnit, beat me by like a second 

3 minutes ago, jwarner1979 said:

Sorry for the low quality, it's a screen grab, but will the outside lights on the stadium look like this or was this only for the preview video? It would be incredible if it did. 

I think that’s unlikely and just graphics  for the hype video. The stadium is just weeks away from opening, If this lighting was a thing it would be installed and testing by now. But I could be wrong. 

26 minutes ago, Toddguy said:

Well the field is dug out and sunken, so Lower.com Field is not so bad I guess.  It will also be sort of low profile once all of Astor Park gets built in and the triangle gets developed along with the area south of the stadium below Nationwide Blvd to 33.

That's a nice thought - but the stadium needed to be raised up about 12 feet to get it out of the flood plain.  If only the company's name was Higher.com(!)

 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

Fans of the team will likely embrace it once they understand this company is paying the team a boat load of money to have their name on the stadium. More money means better players and hopefully more trophies. Who cares what casual sports fans think. If you have a nice stadium in a good area and a winning team, they will still come check out a game. 

 

You're probably right about this.  I don't love the new name - but I don't hate it either.  Lower.com Field is just something we will get used to saying, kinda like Mapfre Stadium.

I’m not a fan of the name. It just seems negative. 
Lower quality, lower expectations, lower scores.

Now if it meant lower ticket and concession prices…

A lot of companies like that end up with a different name after a while anyway.

1 minute ago, Pablo said:

I’m not a fan of the name. It just seems negative. 
Lower quality, lower expectations, lower scores.

Now if it meant lower ticket and concession prices…

 

That's where my mind went immediately after hearing the name as well. I understand that it's a great, up-and-coming, local company. But the name likely matches their business. It doesn't really match a sports stadium. But, as mentioned, it's a dollars game. Good on them for getting their name out in such a dynamic and public way. I don't think it will grow on me, though. I still can't stand the name Value City Arena...🤮

1 minute ago, CMHOhio said:

 

That's where my mind went immediately after hearing the name as well. I understand that it's a great, up-and-coming, local company. But the name likely matches their business. It doesn't really match a sports stadium. But, as mentioned, it's a dollars game. Good on them for getting their name out in such a dynamic and public way. I don't think it will grow on me, though. I still can't stand the name Value City Arena...🤮

 

Nobody calls it Value City Arena. Most people call it "The Schott". Quicken Loans Arena is referred to as "The Q". Mercedes-Benz Stadium is often referred to as "The Benz".  It wouldn't surprise me if Lower.com Field comes to be known as "The Low" or some other type of nickname. Heck, a lot of Crew fans referred to Mapfre Stadium as "The 'Fre". 

This picture has me pumped to finally see this stadium filled with fans! The team just announced the Nordecke is sold out, so that north wall of the stadium is going to be rocking!

 

27 minutes ago, Columbo said:

That's a nice thought - but the stadium needed to be raised up about 12 feet to get it out of the flood plain.  If only the company's name was Higher.com(!)

 

 

You're probably right about this.  I don't love the new name - but I don't hate it either.  Lower.com Field is just something we will get used to saying, kinda like Mapfre Stadium.

Oh ok never mind.  If it was Higher.com they could expand the proposed liquor area to include legal weed smoking. But such is life.  Soon enough as people move down Nationwide Blvd to the Stadium they will be "goin' down tha low" I guess. 

14 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Nobody calls it Value City Arena. 

 

...except all facets of the media including television, print and online. That's what gets heard and seen far beyond the local lexicon. But I digress...

I asked my 17 year old son what he thought: “that’s the stupidest thing ever.”

 

the headlines will write themselves! 
“Crew hits new low at lower field”

😀

Honestly the renderings with the logo on the roof look pretty damn cool. I'm not a fan of the .com part in the name, but it's great to see a local company that isn't a giant multinational corporation secure the naming rights to the field. It's awesome that this entire project was done with the actual city of Columbus in mind like how they are going to have local food businesses have stalls inside the stadium and all that.

8 minutes ago, CMHOhio said:

 

...except all facets of the media including television, print and online. That's what gets heard and seen far beyond the local lexicon. But I digress...

 

...and yet the entire public refers to it as "The Schott". So who cares what the TV calls it?

59 minutes ago, Columbo said:

You're probably right about this.  I don't love the new name - but I don't hate it either.  Lower.com Field is just something we will get used to saying, kinda like Mapfre Stadium.

Exactly. I’m not a big fan of the name, but I wasn’t a big fan of Mapfre either, and it ended up growing on me. 

I will just refer to it as Crew Stadium....sorry not sorry.  Just totally blah for me.  To each their own.  I'm just looking forward to it opening and the build out of Astor Park.  

It's fine. I also agree the ".com" in the name is very tech bubble 1999/2000.  But clearly paying for the name is already raising their profile as intended, because it sounds like no one on this message board all of whom are tied into Columbus had no idea this company existed. 

 

Plus they can't all be as seemlessly perfect as Great American Ballpark. 

^They pretty much had to do the .com since Lower is such a common word. But it did make me say "Lycos -- Go Get It" to myself.

5 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

^They pretty much had to do the .com since Lower is such a common word. But it did make me say "Lycos -- Go Get It" to myself.

Yeah buts that's why you go with some odd spelling like LowR. (see Flickr, Tumblr, Grindr, Scribd, Lyft, Digg, Blendr, there's even The Weeknd).  This problem has been solved. 

 

Anyway, I am very curious what the going rate was? Were of the contract details announced? 

5 hours ago, 17thState said:

Anyway, I am very curious what the going rate was? Were of the contract details announced? 

 

It's in the $3-4M/year range, which is very good for an MLS team, especially one in mid-sized market. Apparently KC's stadium sponsorship deal is only ~$500k/year. I think SJ's is about $2M/year.

 

 

14 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

It's in the $3-4M/year range, which is very good for an MLS team, especially one in mid-sized market. Apparently KC's stadium sponsorship deal is only ~$500k/year. I think SJ's is about $2M/year.

I think this is an important thing to point out to all of the people whining about the name.  Some of the bigger, more well known brands probably weren't willing to put up the kind of money Lower did because they don't have to for brand recognition.  Lower knew this was a one time opportunity to get their brand out there and they were willing to pay for it.  I really think it will pay off for them because they seem to have a good business and were already growing quickly even before this.

In Lower's most recent post on the company Instagram account, even they refer to the field as just #LowerField.  I would imagine that's what everybody will end up calling it and the .com will just be in the logo for branding.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQKD29NDubB/?utm_medium=copy_link

3 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

I think this is an important thing to point out to all of the people whining about the name.  Some of the bigger, more well known brands probably weren't willing to put up the kind of money Lower did because they don't have to for brand recognition.  Lower knew this was a one time opportunity to get their brand out there and they were willing to pay for it.  I really think it will pay off for them because they seem to have a good business and were already growing quickly even before this.

 

Yep. Here's what Lower CEO Dan Snyder said about the need for Lower to get their name out there and how this sponsorship would be part of that effort.

 

“Clearly, in order for us to compete against SoFi or Rocket (Mortgage), we have to get our brand out front and center,” Snyder said. “We’ve grown exponentially. We’ve (generated) hundreds of millions in revenue. To go to the next level, one day we see ourselves going public.”

The first step, he said is “owning the local market.” He has a goal of capturing 10% of the Columbus homebuying market.

But he said, for that to happen, “we’ve got to get our brand out there.”

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2021/06/15/lower-profile-crew-stadium.html

 

 

2 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Yep. Here's what Lower CEO Dan Snyder said about the need for Lower to get their name out there and how this sponsorship would be part of that effort.

 

“Clearly, in order for us to compete against SoFi or Rocket (Mortgage), we have to get our brand out front and center,” Snyder said. “We’ve grown exponentially. We’ve (generated) hundreds of millions in revenue. To go to the next level, one day we see ourselves going public.”

The first step, he said is “owning the local market.” He has a goal of capturing 10% of the Columbus homebuying market.

But he said, for that to happen, “we’ve got to get our brand out there.”

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2021/06/15/lower-profile-crew-stadium.html

 

 

So, the club gets one of the better sponsorship payouts in MLS and there's another chance for a high growth tech company in the region.  Locals should absolutely be excited about this.

Here's a rundown of various sponsorships throughout the league. It can be difficult to get teams to disclose details, so it's very spotty in terms of what details are available for each team. The Crew line up fairly well, especially considering the business metrics were supposedly not feasible according Precourt and Garber.

 

https://www.sportspromedia.com/analysis/mls-2021-jersey-sleeve-sponsor-national-local-tv-rights-partners

On 6/15/2021 at 11:49 AM, ColDayMan said:

I'm just calling it Lower Field. 

 

That's a great connotation for a major league sports team, right??

 

I was immediately reminded of Guaranteed Rate Field (or whatever) where the White Sox play - and the logo is a giant red arrow that points downward.  

 

Lower.com hasn't even existed for 3 years.  But good for them, I guess.  Hard to believe none of the other businesses in the area could match what they offered so that the naming wasn't so awkward/terrible.

14 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said:

Hard to believe none of the other businesses in the area could match what they offered

 

Many other businesses in the area could have easily matched or one-upped Lower, but none felt the need to. 

I’m not a fan of the name either. I mean, how “low” can you go? I’ll also just call it Crew stadium 

Edit to add, and I’m a Browns fan. Not necessarily a Haslams fan. They make some odd decisions. Screw the highest bidder, Put a name on the stadium that means something. But whatever. I guess it’s just the stadium

Edit to add again, who gives 2 f’s they’re based in Columbus. I would never use them. I bet 90% of the fans wouldn’t either. Poor choice in my opinion

Edit to add again, 90% is probably too generous

Edited June 16, 20213 yr by WagHills

We still on this name thingy?  I'm not sure how much Lower this conversation can go.... 

 

[Redacted 'get over it' rant] 

 

FWIW, the stadium sits on the Lower Olentangy. But anyway, let's get onto serious controversy and how Barrio got the rights to serve the stadium as a Cleveland company and not Condado, a Columbus company. The travesty! /s

 

But anyway, on to more discussion over the lighting effects and parkland development etc. 

 

40 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

e still on this name thingy?  I'm not sure how much Lower this conversation can go.... 

 

[Redacted 'get over it' rant] 

 

FWIW, the stadium sits on the Lower Olentangy.

 

It's also very close to "The Bottoms". 😆

Now that the naming rights have been secured, I'm happy to see the truly finished/matching roof is getting into place.  Here is a picture from Instagram.  As for the name doesn't bother me.  It's new, fresh and will grow on everybody.  The reality is, it's a new budding company and this is a very smart move on their part to grow their brand recognition, so I give them a lot of credit.  If any other company wanted to boost their brand and put up the dollars they would have, so good for you Lower.com.  Also, I don't mind that it is a .com, gives it a very techy feel/influence and if anything is showcasing how innovative, startup-rich and tech-centric Columbus has become relative to the rest of the Midwest!!

1 minute ago, Gnoraa said:

Now that the naming rights have been secured, I'm happy to see the truly finished/matching roof is getting into place.  Here is a picture from Instagram.  As for the name doesn't bother me.  It's new, fresh and will grow on everybody.  The reality is, it's a new budding company and this is a very smart move on their part to grow their brand recognition, so I give them a lot of credit.  If any other company wanted to boost their brand and put up the dollars they would have, so good for you Lower.com.  Also, I don't mind that it is a .com, gives it a very techy feel/influence and if anything is showcasing how innovative, startup-rich and tech-centric Columbus has become relative to the rest of the Midwest!!

We have a lot of rainy days between now and July 3rd.  Wonder if that will affect them getting the final finishing done before then.  The smokestack still needs a lot of work, too, if they planned on having that available for the first match.

Just now, TH3BUDDHA said:

We have a lot of rainy days between now and July 3rd.  Wonder if that will affect them getting the final finishing done before then.  The smokestack still needs a lot of work, too, if they planned on having that available for the first match.

 

I don't think the rain will have much effect because of the most work left to be done is internal. It might effect the smokestack painting, but the stadium should be good to go.

1 minute ago, cbussoccer said:

most work left to be done is internal.

I meant the finishing of the top of the roof.

3 hours ago, Gnoraa said:

 

 

Off topic real quick but this angle of downtown might be the best angle of the skyline to really see all the buildings. From this viewpoint our skyline actually looks decent.