As far as rich NFL tradition goes, it doesn’t get much more historic than Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.
The stadium, which opened in 1957, is the second-oldest in the NFL behind only Soldier Field, home of the Packers’ NFC North rival, the Chicago Bears.
But for all of the history that’s taken place at historic Lambeau Field, and despite former team president Mark Murphy disclosing in 2015 during a shareholders meeting that the franchise would never sell the naming rights to venue, there is a scenario where the stadium operates under a new name in the future, according to team CEO Ed Policy.
“We’re soon to be the only stadium without naming rights,” Policy said. “That’s not a threshold we’re looking to cross any time soon, but we might be a little more aggressive with some of the other entitlement inventory we just hadn’t taken advantage of in the past, including things like training facility entitlements and the Titletown campus.”
Packers Fans Angry Over Lambeau Name Change
GettyLambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers
Naming rights partnerships can be a profitable way to supplement revenue for NFL teams. New, state-of-the-art stadiums like SoFi Field, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, or Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, have brought in $25 million to $30 million per year in additional profit.
But just because there’s money to be made, that doesn’t mean that Packers fans are onboard with selling the naming rights to a Wisconsin institution.
Many of those fans hit social media to make it known they do not support possibly selling the naming rights, while others called for Policy to be fired if it happens.
“Absolutely fire this man. Lambeau Field is sacred ground you don’t slap a corporate name on something like that. Some things are bigger than a sponsorship deal and this is one of them. Packers fans would riot and they’d be right to,” one fan scoffed.
“That should be a fireable offense,” another added.
“Fire anyone who wants to change Lambeau field name SERIOUSLY.. COMING FROM A GUY FROM WEST ALLIS AND BORN A PACKER FAN!” a third fan exclaimed.
“No! They need to catch up with the rest of the NFL! However, they best keep the name ‘Lambeau Field’ in any naming rights or we will find Policy out of job,” one user replied.
“FIRE HIM NOW,” remarked another user.
“I will riot,” proclaimed another fan.
Packers’ Revenue Not Where it Needs to Be
Selling the naming rights to Lambeau Field is just one avenue for the team to increase its profit.
Another way is to continue to raise ticket prices. The team has already increased its prices from 3% to 11% for next season, but Policy feels that’s not quite good enough considering Green Bay is still priced in the middle of the league comparative to the ticket demand (he says the Packers are top-3 in that category).
“Given the pace that the expenses have accelerated over the past few years, if we find ourselves falling behind, it’s going to be really hard to catch up,” Policy added. “So, we have to keep ourselves in a position where we’re not falling behind.”
Packers Get Pushback Over Controversial Potential Change to Lambeau Field