Naming a stadium: Good marketing or a waste?

"This is not a silly thing. This is not an indulgence. This is not a corporate jet," Madway said. But, he added, "if they just have the name, and that's all they do, it's not going to work."

Citigroup, which said it has no plans to abandon the contract, noted back in 2006 the deal will not only include naming rights, but also ATMs at the ballpark; promotional programs for fans, Citigroup clients and employees; the creation of a Jackie Robinson Foundation Museum and Education Center in Manhattan; and other ventures.

Part of the reason it's hard to predict the value of a sports team sponsorship for a bank's bottom line is that, simply, sponsorships have tended not to last very long. The financial services industry has seen huge changes even before the financial crisis hit.

Philadelphia's arena for the 76ers and the Flyers is a prime example. It's called the Wachovia Center, but Wells Fargo & Co. acquired Wachovia Corp. on Jan. 1. Five years ago, the arena was named after First Union, which bought Wachovia and took over the Wachovia name. Five years prior to that, it was named after CoreStates Bank, which First Union took over.

But even in good economic times, there can be dissent from fans who don't like their team's venue plastered with corporate branding. When it was time to replace the old Boston Garden, the new arena was called the Shawmut Center, then the FleetCenter, and finally TD Banknorth Garden.

"Purely personally, it annoys me as a Celtics fan," Sexton said.

But to Peroff, Citi Field appears to be a smart investment. He said $20 million a year for 20 years is "a drop in the bucket" when you consider Citigroup's revenues, which last year exceeded $52 billion. He pointed to the millions of people attending Mets games, watching the games on television, and those driving by the stadium every day.

Furthermore, some lawmakers' argument over the appropriateness of the deal does not even touch the issue of encouraging a major company to scrap a contract — a bad precedent to set, Peroff said.

A company's image, however, is driven by many factors. And the people in charge of marketing at big banks using taxpayer money cannot operate as they did a few years ago, said Sexton.

He said it would make more sense if banks spent money on ads and efforts at the branch level to educate consumers about how to handle their finances in a downturn.

"Nowadays, managers need to be especially sensitive to the fact that there's a big chunk of the country that is really badly hurt," Sexton said.

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